Surprise Wife: The Return
The following is a sequel to comanchee's 2016 story,"
Surprise Wife
," about a wife who was drugged and had sex with another man on her anniversary. The entire eight-part story is worth reading if you want to fully understand what takes place here. The story ends tragically, with the husband getting shot as he fights the man who drugged both him and his wife.
I've read the entire eight-part story more than a couple times and while I enjoyed it, I felt that it needed just one more chapter to provide some closure and a measure of justice. That's not a criticism by any means, just an observation.
There is one part of this story that is a recollection from Chapter 7 of comanchee's original tale. That part is presented here in italics, with the author's permission.
I would like to thank comanchee for graciously giving me permission to write this sequel, and I would like to thank all those who have offered comments and constructive criticism on my previous stories. For those who want to say this or that would never happen, remember this is my universe, a place where nearly anything can, and often does, happen. At least on paper...
Please refer to my profile for more on my personal policy regarding comments, feedback, follows, etc. (Yes, I DO moderate comments) And please remember, this is a work of fiction, not a docu-drama...
* * * * *
"Death is only the beginning."
For some reason that old movie quote went through my head as I took in the scene below me. Just minutes ago, I had been shot by Jason Kravits, a man I once thought was a friend. I had just come home and found him screwing my wife in our bed. We fought, and he ended up shooting me with my own pistol.
The paramedics were preparing to take my body and several police officers were already talking to my hysterical, sobbing wife. I felt bad for her and would've cried, but I couldn't.
I suddenly felt like I was being sucked into some kind of giant cosmic vacuum cleaner. The next thing I knew, I found myself standing in the middle of a dusty road. The sun shone bright over my head in a deep blue sky devoid of clouds. I looked around and saw a few buildings on either side of the street.
The place looked like something out of an old Clint Eastwood western movie. This wasn't exactly what I had expected to encounter. Where was the giant pearly gates I had heard about? Or the lines of angels picking on their harps?
Across from me stood an old western-style saloon. The double doors swung out and I saw a tall man standing there, wearing a red shirt and a beat-up Stetson. He wore a pair of old pistols on his hips and I could hear spurs jingle as he stepped onto the boardwalk.
"Well if it ain't James Earl Smith. Yer a bit early," he said. He got my name right, but how? And what did he mean I was early? Early for what?
"Early?" I asked.
"You weren't s'posed to be here for quite a while yet," he told me. Then I remembered what I heard the paramedic say.
"Is this... heaven?" I asked, looking around. He laughed and shook his head.
"Not by a long shot, pardner," he said. "And no, it ain't the other place, neither." I felt relief at that. "This here's a little slice of reality I call Hard Rock, Texas, circa 1855. Used to live here back before the war. Actually, I lived about seven miles or so out that way," he added, pointing a finger. "They actually made the place a historic landmark. Can you believe that? You ever get a chance, you oughta go see it. They did a pretty good job on it." He looked up at the hot sun, one hand shading his eyes, then looked back at me.
"War?" I asked. "What war?"
"Why, the war between the States, of course," he said. I looked at him, shocked. That was well over 150 years ago. Then it hit me. I had heard stories about people who had "near-death experiences." Maybe that's what was going on with me.
"Why don't you get out of this hot sun, come inside and wet yer whistle," he said, motioning for me to join him. What the hell, I thought before asking myself if it was okay to think that here. I walked across the street and up the stairs. He waited for me patiently and let me walk inside first. I noticed that it was considerably cooler in here than outside. He led me to the bar where we both took a seat.
"Name's Peace," he said, extending a hand. "Justice O. Peace. Mah friends call me Eli."
"Can I call you Eli?" I asked. He smiled and looked me over before answering.
"Reckon so," he said. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and took one in his mouth. "Mind if I... smoke?" I shook my head.
"Not at all," I said. He pulled out a match and scraped it across his jeans. He lit his cigarette and offered me one.
"I don't smoke," I said. "Not anymore."
"Go ahead," he chided. "What's the worst that can happen?" What the heck, I said to myself, taking one of the cigarettes. He pulled out the same match he lit his with and scraped it against his jeans, holding it as I inhaled. I had expected to choke on it and was surprised when I didn't.
"That's a lot smoother that I thought it would be," I said. He laughed.
"Of course," he said. "Mah own special blend." He turned to the bartender. "Jake, a couple shots here if you would, please. Give us the good stuff, not the rotgut you give everyone else." The bartender chuckled and pulled out two shot glasses and poured a bit of whiskey into them. He drank his with one swallow and set the glass down, motioning for Jake to fill it back up. "Leave the bottle," he said.
I picked up my glass and took a tentative sip. I halfway expected it to burn like, well, hell, going down, but it didn't. It was almost like drinking sweet flavored tea. It had an aftertaste, but I couldn't quite place it. I took a gamble and drank it all down, the way I saw Eli do. He smiled and nodded his head before refilling my glass.
"So, am I... dead?" I asked. He looked at me and shook his head.
"Not quite, pardner," he said. "Close, but not quite. If you were, we wouldn't be here right now."
"But I heard the paramedic say I was gone," I said.
"They always get it wrong," he said. "They're just now figuring out you still have a pulse. Pretty soon, they'll be taking you in to get that hunk o' lead outta yer chest. You're actually pretty lucky. If that bullet had gone just a fraction of an inch to the left, you'd be a goner fer sure."
"What about Jason?" I asked.
"The feller who shot ya? There's a manhunt on for him right now. Kinda hard ta miss a fella running around covered in another man's blood. Don't worry, pardner, they'll get him."
"You don't really believe that, though, do ya?" I asked.
"I have faith in the law," he said. "Besides, you have bigger things to worry about. Like livin', for one thing. You do want to live, don't ya?" he asked.
"Yeah, I guess so," I told him. "But I don't know what I have left to live for." Eli sat back on the bar stool, took a drag off his cigarette and looked at me closely. Then he pointed at a spot behind the bar, where a large thin monitor appeared out of thin air. On it, I could see my wife, Margret, sobbing as she was surrounded by police officers. It looked to me like she was at the local hospital.
"What about her? Don't ya want to get back to her?" Eli asked.
"Why?" I asked. "It looks to me like she already found someone else. Even if she doesn't hook up with him for good, she won't be alone for long." Eli shook his head.
"Son, that woman won't last three months without you," he said. "And you know it. She's got some things to answer for and yes, she screwed up by listening to someone who's a bad influence. She ain't perfect, but neither are you. I can tell ya this -- she ain't got a mean or vindictive bone in her body. And she was telling the truth about the two of you being drugged on yer anniversary."
"How do you know that?" I asked. He pointed at the monitor. I looked and saw the inside of the downtown club Margo and I had gone to that night. I watched as the two of us did that goofy arm-linking thing as we drank a toast to our marriage. Then I watched as we danced.
"Baby, I know that you are normally a beer man, but I also know how much you like good scotch, so I got you some," Margo said after I returned from the men's room.
"Thanks Margo! You are right and this is an unexpected surprise," I said in response. After I drank that glass, we danced a bit more, but I found myself needing to sit down. Just then, the video paused.
"Take a look at the feller there," Eli said, pointing to a man at the bar. It was Jason, and the video clearly showed him putting something in the glass. The video started back up and the man handed the glasses to Margo. She set one down in front of me. Holy crap, I thought to myself. She was telling the truth.
As I watched, we danced a bit more, but it was obvious that I was fuzzy and unable to continue dancing. After I sat back down, Jason took off to the dance floor with Margo. I later watched Margo feed me another scotch, which Jason had also spiked behind her back.
As I watched, people moved around me as my head hit the table. They were laughing and jeering. Margo joined in on the fun, and it was clear to me she wasn't in much better shape. Then her and Jason picked me up and half-carried my near-limp form out of the club and into the limo. The video stopped at that point.
"I don't think you really want to see the rest," Eli said. "They took you home, Jason took advantage of your wife, and the two of them took liberty with you. Remember, your wife was drugged at the time and just went along with what Jason said."
"But she lied to me," I said.
"Yes, she did," Eli said. "And the guilt of those lies ate her up. But she finally broke down and told you the truth."
"And that's when I lost it," I said. "After I promised her that I wouldn't hate her and would love her no matter what. Damn. If I hadn't left the house when I did, Jason probably wouldn't have come over. Or if he had, I could've stopped it before it started."