Stupid Phone

This is my fourth submission. After my first story, I submitted my darkest revenge story (I am a Patient Man) and a positive reconciliation story (Wages of Sin). The comments I have received have been very helpful. I am revising several new stories based on those comments. I have also upgraded by proofreading. I hope you enjoy.

The four-year-old grandson of Zach and Selena Bradley Hamilton walked around the coffee table where he spied his grandmother's cell phone. Since she was busy talking to his mother, Selena and Zach's daughter, he knew he was clear. He grabbed the cell phone and started vigorously punching it with one finger, yelling, "Stupid phone! Stupid phone!". The imitation of his grandmother's duel with technology never failed to bring laughter to all who saw it, even Selena. She believed that technological devices could sense her fear and would take advantage. As it turned out, she had no idea that her problem with cell phone technology would be her downfall.

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Zach and Selena had met in college at Ohio State, THE Ohio State. Both had gone to the Student Grille for food and socializing. The Student Grille was unofficially, but definitely, separated into various cliques. Zach, as an engineering student, sat in the Nerd Section, Selena in the Artsy-Fartsy section (every other group called it that). On that fateful day, Zach sat down at a table on the edge of the Nerd-Artsy border. He looked up and saw Selena for the first time. He was awestruck.

Zach saw an artist dressed as was common then. She had a stretch cap that covered all but a few wisps of blonde hair. Her plaid long sleeved shirt was tied at the bottom, resulting in a bare midriff. Although her breasts were probably smaller than average, they moved unencumbered under her shirt. Blue jeans, of course.

There is a line between sexy and sensual. It may not be possible to define the difference, but Zach had instantly classified her as sensual. Nothing from her face to her butt was outstanding, but he was smitten (if you can merely 'smite' someone with a pole axe).

Zach's stare was interrupted by a shout from Selena, "Hey, jerk, what are you looking at?" Normally, she would not have acknowledged a nerd but a six-foot, well-built nerd with a boyishly handsome face rated as an exception to the rule.

Zach was used to being bluntly honest, not always a good trait for dealing with the opposite sex. "I'm looking at the most beautiful girl I have ever seen."

Selena dropped her face down and retracted her jaw as a sign of "I can't believe this dude." Quickly she responded, "You think a line like that is going to get you into my panties?" Selena liked to be confrontational, especially with the few Nerds she had contact with.

Zach was able to think on his feet without pause. "I would hope it wouldn't be that easy, but, if you are offering, I'd be a fool to refuse you."

Selena was smarting at his response. Her feelings jumped between being insulted and being intrigued. "Sorry, we're from different worlds. It wouldn't work out between us."

Again, Zach needed no time to figure out an appropriate rejoinder, "Well, the air here on Earth is kind of dirty. How is the air on the planet you're from?"

Selena blurted out, "No, you imbecile. I'm talking about the difference between artists and nerds. Doesn't sound like a good combination to me. You need to go find a nerdy girl, take her behind the Science Building and then exchange pocket protectors." She was laughing at him now.

He feigned a look of depression and replied, "I've never been able to get that far with a girl before. Plus, I'm scared that my pencil would be too big for her pocket protector." They both were laughing now.

Zach went on, "How do you know if we could be a good combination unless you try?"

After a little thought which included a challenge to her senses over wasting time with a relationship that had no future, Selena still couldn't quite escape a desire to find out more about this Nerd. Being handsome and in good shape didn't hurt his cause. "Okay, I'll give you a test. I have a recital at 3:00 tomorrow afternoon in the Fine Arts small auditorium. Come there, take notes, and, depending on how good a critique you give; we'll see about a date."

"Do you sing or play an instrument?"

"I am Selena, by the way. I am going to be the best cellist in the world someday."

"I am Zach and I'm an engineer. I am going to make you the best husband in the world someday."

She smiled, admiring his gall. "We'll see about that. See you tomorrow."

Zach sat in the auditorium the next day, serenely confident about how the day would go. He knew nothing about cello playing, but he did know how to prepare. He sat through the performance, periodically looking down at his cell phone. Once the recital had finished, he waited for Selena to appear.

She came out of the auditorium and seemed surprised to see Zach. "A glutton for punishment, I see. Look, I really wasn't expecting you to come, so if you want, we can just forget the whole thing and . . . "

"You promised, and I am holding you to your promise. How about a coffee at Coffee Grounds and Rounds (i.e., doughnuts)?"

"Okay, let's get it over with."

After getting their brews and snacks, Zach asked if he could give his critique. Selena agreed. Zach proceeded to give a newspaper critic level of evaluation mentioning technical music terms and contrasting her style with several well- known cellists. Selena was blown away.

"I had no idea you were so well versed in cello playing and classical music."

Zach grinned and responded, "You STILL have no idea because I cheated."

"What do you mean, 'cheated'?"

"My older sister, Denise, was a music major, piano. I called her, and she listened over the telephone. She texted her critique and I used that to impress you. I have no clue as to what she wrote meant. I do know that I loved hearing you play and hope you value the effort I made to impress you. Now, what are my chances to get a date?"

Selena kept frowning and then said, "I have heard people say that there is a fine line between love and hate and, until now, I wasn't sure what they meant. I can't decide if what you did deserves my love or my hate, but you have interested me to the point I want to know more. So, yes, you can have a date."

They dated for several months off and on, alternating between art venues and what Zach liked. On the fifth date, they wound up in bed. Their difference in personalities carried over to the bedroom. Selena was creative and enthusiastic, enjoying rough physical play. Zach was steady and solid and had amazing stamina. After their first half hour of lovemaking and several orgasms from Selena, she had to take a break. Pulling herself off Zach's still erect penis, she exclaimed, "Does that thing ever go down? Are all engineers able to do that?"

Zach replied as if he had been asked that question before, "When you need a structure to go up and stay up, it's an engineer who handles the erection. As far as seeing how long THIS engineer lasts, you'll just have to see, won't you?" Selena did and found out that her having several orgasms to every one of his ejaculations was to be the norm in their lovemaking.

It was when Zach asked Selena out one time when she had another date that Selena saw a red flag. She really wanted to cancel her date and go with Zach. It was then she realized how serious things were becoming. This was the time to put a stop to an impossible dream. She asked Zach to meet her for coffee again.

She did not wait to spell it out, "Zach, I really, really like you."

Zach interrupted, "For a girl with a small ass, I think you have a great big BUT on the way."

"Damn it. I'm trying to be serious here." She paused as Zach apologized. "I just don't see a future for us. You graduate this spring and I have another year before I graduate. I will be applying for a position with a major symphony and will move to wherever I need to. I don't see how a husband, much less a family, fits into my plans anytime soon." Immediately after she said that, she hoped deep down that he could talk her out of giving up.

"Okay, let me help you see. I will graduate, and I have a very lucrative job offer in town. The way I can help immediately with your last year of school. You have told me that you are going to have to get a student loan for your final year. I believe you said that your parents saved a certain amount back for your college, but it proved to be more expensive than they thought. There was only money for three years."

"I will support your final year in college. With my degree, I will be able to get a well-paying job in any large town. I assume all the major symphonies are in large cities. I will go with you wherever you go. You are already my life; now I want you to be my wife. Hey, that rhymes." A smug grin crossed his face.

Selena gave way to her feelings, "I give up, you big lug. I will try to be a good wife although I think the differences between us will make for challenging times."

Zach got his serious face on, "Just promise me one thing: If you ever feel you don't want me to be THE man in your life, you will tell me before you do anything about it. It would wound me horribly if you wanted someone else, but I could survive if you told me and did not go behind my back."

"I can't imagine being anyone else's wife but yours. However, if it keeps you on your toes, go ahead and wonder if I'm fooling around on you."

The marriage went well for close to 25 years, but there were difficulties. It started right away when Selena got pregnant even though she was on the pill. She could be a bitch when not pregnant, but impending motherhood raised the bar of bitchiness quite a bit. Zach upgraded his level of support and acceptance, enduring a significant level of abuse in the process.

The delivery was difficult. Selena had toxemia and the baby girl, Sophia, was born by C Section. It was life threatening to both. Even though Selena and the baby were fine after a few weeks, the doctor recommended she have no more children. Given her history with the pill, they decided to have Selena's tubes tied to be safe.

With the baby being born, Selena returned to normal levels of bitchiness. She had to audition when she was eight months pregnant, which was not easy given how one usually holds the cello to play. The Cleveland Symphony was impressed nevertheless and offered her a job. Zach did as he had promised, finding a job in Cleveland at close to what he was used to making. Now that Selena was being paid, their combined income was more than before. Selena, by the way, reverted to her maiden name, Bradley, something she assured Zach was typical of female artists so as to project their individual talent.

It was clear almost from the start that Sophia was a daddy's girl. Selena's efforts to get her daughter into music failed miserably. After three years of forced piano lessons, Selena gave up. She let Zach take more than half the parenting role from then on. Sophia was a math whiz. She loved that in math which, not like life in general, had clear right and wrong answers. No nuances. Her early goal was to be an accountant, and nothing prevented her from achieving that. Selena's final gasp at finding an artist in the family was a promise from Sophia to introduce her son to music at an early age.

During their almost 30 years of marriage, the family moved three times, each time because Selena was offered what she considered a better position at a better symphony. Almost 10 years back, Selena's mother and father had died in a car accident and left her several hundred thousand dollars in life insurance. Both were still working so there was life insurance from their jobs as well as their personal policies. Zach had assumed that she and he would sit down and talk about how best to use the money. He didn't want to bring up the subject so close to her parents' funeral. Zach was surprised when she came to dinner one night and declared, "I have an announcement to make I'm very excited about."

"What is it, honey?"

"I bought a Gennaro Galiano cello!" She acted like he should know what that meant.

Zach didn't want to dampen her obvious enthusiasm. "That's great, sweetheart. Tell me about it."

"Well, you know that life insurance money I received? I was thinking about what I could use it for and, out of the blue, my friend Wanda told me about an auction of a Gennaro Galiano cello going on today! I couldn't believe it. She took me right over to the auction house, and I fell in love immediately. The estimated value was $350,000, which was a little over what I inherited. But long story short, I bought it!"

Zach could not hide his waning support. "You did? How much did you pay?"

Selena grimaced as she spoke slightly above a whisper, "$362,000. But it was a bargain at any price. Do you know how many cellists would kill for a genuine Gennaro Galiano cello?"

Zach's displeasure finally showed. "$362,000! You only inherited $315,000. Where did the rest of the money come from?"

Grimacing once more, Selena offered, "Our savings."

Zach gained control of himself. "You are telling me that you not only spent $315,000 of your money without asking me how best we might use it. But the $47,000 was from OUR savings. Taking that money without consulting me is not acceptable. How could you?"

Selena became angry. "Once I sell my parents' house, I can pay you back. I guess all your talk about supporting my career was just that -- talk. This cello will make the difference in me reaching my goal of becoming the first chair cello in the New York Philharmonic. The insurance money was my money and half of our savings is mine too, so get over it!"

Zach left. He was afraid he would say something he would regret. Selena went for the vodka.

About 11:00 that night, Zach returned. Selena was in a surly mood daring Zach to yell at her. He defused the situation. "I'm sorry. I do support you in realizing your dream. I wished you had talked to me about the inheritance money, but that was your money. The use of the savings money, however, should have been a joint decision even if you did have a plan to pay it back. I believe however, I would have agreed to using the money as you did. I know how much that cello means to you. Although I apologize, next time, I will insist you talk to me first. Okay?"

Selena wanted to fight although she wasn't quite sure why. All she said was, "Okay." Inwardly, however, the seed was planted: that Zach had been really jealous of her success and popularity all these years. The seed was resentment and it grew.

The next few years were a high for Selena. When she played the Galiano cello for the first time, it was so sensual to her that she compared it to the first time she made love. Soon she made an audition tape and sent it to the New York Philharmonic. That resulted in a face-to-face audition.

A couple of weeks later, Selena casually mentioned at dinner, "Zach, is your vita up-to-date?"

"That's a strange thing to ask all of a sudden. Why do you ask that?"

With a twinkle in her eye, she shouted, "Because you're looking at the new second chair cellist for the New York Philharmonic!"

Zach sprung from his chair and picked up his wife twirling her around. He kissed her as hard as he dared and said, "You've done it, Selena. You've reached your goal. I am so proud of you."

"Not so fast; I'm just the second chair cellist for now. My goal is first chair."

"And you'll get it, I'm sure."

Selena couldn't, or chose not to, resist a dig at Zach. "I told you that the cello was worth it."

Zach deflected the zinger. This was her time to celebrate. In his opinion, it was the new confidence the cello had given her, not the cello itself. Both were right.

Zach did not question what he needed to do. Once again, copies of his vita were sent, and the search for an apartment was started. Even though Zach found a job that paid more than his current salary and Selena was making more too, the cost of living in New York pretty much evened the net value to make the financial situation the same as before. And that was not bad.

In the next few years, Zach was able to get their daughter, Sophia, a job as an accountant in the engineering firm where he worked. Since he had no supervisory role over her, it was not seen as nepotism. Her husband was a fireman and quickly found work. As with her parents, Sophia found that they were making more but came off about the same financially. Probably the biggest benefit was the day care center in the building where she and her dad worked, because Sophia became pregnant soon after the move.

During the same time period, Selena eventually took over the first chair cello position. Before long she was selected for a spotlight solo in a performance. Zach cried at her performance from a combination of pride and her playing the best he had ever heard.

The height of her achievement, however, signaled the decline of her marriage. There was a celebration for Selena's accomplishment. Zach noticed that most of her celebration was spent with her colleagues from the symphony. She even stayed after Zach had to leave. Selena didn't even consider going home with Zach when he said he was going home. This was HER night.

The good times did not stop for Selena as she and three other members of the string section formed a string quartet. The Philharmonic was often asked to send groups to play for weddings and other special occasions. It gave the musicians a little extra money, and it gave the Philharmonic extra publicity for its donor campaigns. In Selena's case, it came to mean a lot more. The string quartet became very popular and soon had released an album. It was not Rolling Stones popular, but in classical music circles, it was a hit.

The success of the string quartet resulted in a lot more travel and practice time for Selena. All of that time was deducted from time with Zach and the rest of the family. If the changes bothered Selena, no one ever knew it from how she acted. Zach noted that it just about wiped out their love life. He could not count on doing anything with his wife without her having to call the secretary at the Philharmonic who kept her schedule. Zach became sick of trying to talk to Selena about what was happening just to hear her respond, "You just wouldn't understand."

Throughout it all, however, Selena's being unfaithful was not a conceivable concern to Zach, until the incident with the phone, the stupid phone. Despite Selena's increase in status, her interactions with technology did not approve. One evening while getting ready to go out, Zach received a text message on his cell phone. He read it from the screen saver. It plunged his life down the toilet.

His wife had sent a message to him by mistake: "Bring extra lube next time. Ready to give up my ass to the boys." Zach uncharacteristically threw his cell phone against the wall and it fell to the floor. He sat on the bed in misery.

Selena came bursting in the room, almost screaming, "Where is your phone?"

Zach pointed to the floor. Selena picked it up and asked for his passcode. He told her, and she punched it in. Because Zach had not opened the text, it still showed as a new, unread message. She sighed in relief as she deleted it. Selena knew she had to explain her actions. "I was sending a personal message to Marge. Something she made me promise not to tell anyone. I sent it to you by mistake. You didn't see it, did you?"

For the first time in his marriage, Zach lied to his wife. "No, I heard it buzz, but I was in the middle of getting ready."

"Okay, hurry up. We don't want to be late."

Despite having absolutely no motivation to go anywhere or do anything, Zach got dressed. He spent the whole evening in his own personal zone, ignoring Selena and all the people that made over her. Selena did not even notice the change in Zach. He was there as one of her accessories.