Tal to the Hand

Hello, this short story presents a (my) conclusion to the two stories - "Something We Have to Talk About" by nici - which is the original story line. And the companion story - "Nothing To Talk About" by poorrichard. I was intrigued by nici's concept of the story, but it left me hanging in "mid-mind". Then poorrichard added his version of how the principle character would react to the ultimatum given by his wife. I was happy to see that poorrichard did not paint the main character as a wimp. Still there was no conclusion to the story. To that end, I have penned this short version of how I think the story should find its conclusion.

This short story would be better understood if the reader had first read nici's story and then the follow up story by poorrichard. This story takes up where "Nothing to Talk About" ended. It is written in the first person, Jonathan Freemont's point of view.

Additional Comments:

Okay...sorry about this "late submission" but I really wasn't going to submit my story after sending it to nici for review. But, now there has been a conclusion submitted by nici (no comment), a second submission by poorrichard and finally a submission by the celt. So I thought: "What the hell...I might as well throw my story into this already confused mix."

Have fun dear readers.......

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This version takes place immediately after poorrichard's first submission. "Nothing to talk about."

I sat there for a few minutes with what must have been a brain cramp. My mind had locked up and I was having trouble formulating coherent thoughts. Then suddenly, as if someone had turned on a light bulb in my head, my mind grasped the seriousness of the situation and I knew immediately what I had to do.

Nancy was lying across her bed as I walked into her room. I sat down on the bed as she moved over to me and hugged me tightly. As softly as I could, I began to talk to her. I wanted to find out more about what she saw in the living room.

"You surprised me with your comment about seeing your mother and another man in the living room doing something on the couch. Could you explain a little more to me please, Nancy?"

"Oh Daddy, it was so bad and naughty that I have headaches whenever I think about it." Nancy said in a hoarse voice. "And Mommy told me she would punish me if I ever told you about it." Nancy started to cry again. I rocked her gently in my arms trying to comfort her.

"No one is going to punish my precious daughter. Your Dad is here to protect you from any one who would ever think of hurting or punishing you, my sweet Nancy." There was silence for several minutes before Nancy spoke up again.

"Mommy also said that if I told you what I saw, I would be responsible for you divorcing her and ending our happy family." Nancy was trying to control her emotions as she held on to me.

"You are not responsible for your mother's actions, Nancy. She is the only one who is to blame for her actions and any harm which may happen to our family. I am here to see to it that you and Joey are safe and protected. That's my job and I will do everything in my power to make that happen." I could feel Nancy let out a deep sigh. Then I asked her to tell me exactly what she had seen.

"It was awful, Daddy. That night, I had a stomach ache so I got out of bed to see Mommy to get something to stop the stomach pain. I looked in your bedroom and Mommy wasn't in bed. I then heard some noises coming from the living room. I walked down the hall and saw Mommy and a strange man sitting on the couch. Mommy had her blouse and bra off. The man was leaning over and had his mouth around Mommy breast. I could see his hand up Mommy's dress moving back and forth." There was a shiver which shook Nancy's body as she slowly narrated what she saw in the living room. "Mommy sounded like she was in pain as she kept moaning and moving her head from side to side. I couldn't hear what she was saying exactly, but I did hear her say several dirty words before she saw me standing there watching them. All Mommy did was to tell me to go back to my room and she would talk to me in the morning. She didn't stop the man from doing those things to her."

There was a long pause as Nancy tried to think of the next things to tell me. "In the morning, the man was gone when Joey and I came in the kitchen. Mommy had started our breakfast and had our school bags waiting on the counter. She came over to me and put her hand on my head and told me I was never to tell you what I saw the night before with her and that man. She told me she would punish me and make me sorry that I told you. Then she said it would probably be my fault you would divorce her."

My mind had a hard time trying to understand how a young girl could carry all those ugly secrets and those threats in her young mind without it effecting her psychologically. My young precious daughter had been suffering under the threat of punishment while her mother had open sex with a strange man in our house. I wanted to beat the shit out of Susan for the damage she had caused our young daughter.

"When we were on the school bus, Joey whispered to me that he had awakened one night and saw Mommy and the strange man in the big bed doing some nasty things. Mommy had also threatened him with punishment if he told anyone about what he had seen in the bedroom. There were several other times after I saw Mommy and the strange man in the living room, that they were together in the house. I saw him come out of the bedroom in the morning before Joey and I were supposed to get up for school." I could tell Nancy was totally exhausted after reveling her secret to me. I told her to wait in her room till I went to get Joey from his bedroom.

With Joey sitting next to his sister on the bed, he began to tell me a similar story about the things he saw in the evenings with Susan and a strange man in our house. Joey even talked about the threats Susan had made to him about not telling anyone about the things he witnessed in the house. Joey was definitely shaken over the fact he now thought his mother would punish him since he had told me the secret. I assured him and his sister they would be safe with me and no harm would come to them.

I knew exactly what I had to do. Even though it was late, I called Ben Lawson and briefly told him what Nancy and Joey had told me about Susan and her lover in our house. Ben told me to come to his office immediately and bring the kids with me. He told me to pack enough clothing for myself and the kids to stay in a motel for several nights. He said he would meet us at his office with several other people.

In less than an hour; Nancy, Joey and I were sitting in the large conference room at Ben's office. In the room with us was Ben, his secretary and a lady I had not seen before. Ben introduce Alice Farrow as a long time friend. She was a supervisor in the Department of Children Services. Ben went on to say that there was a serious crime involved what the kids saw and then the threats of punishment from their mother. He told me Alice and his secretary would take sworn depositions from both the children which would be used in a court of law to prosecute Susan and her lover.

Alice nodded her head, smiled at me and the kids. She then turned on a tape recorder and then spoke up. "This is Alice Farrow, the date is September 20th 2006, the time is 6:32 pm, the location is the offices of Benjamin Lawson, Attorney at Law. In the room is Jonathan Freemont, father. Nancy Freemont age 12, daughter. Joseph 'Joey' Freemont age 10, son. Ben Lawson, attorney. Betty Matson, paralegal and secretary in the law office of Ben Lawson. The purpose of this meeting is to take sworn depositions from Nancy Freemont and Joseph Freemont as to the events they witnessed in their house between their mother, Susan Freemont and a man who was not her husband."

Alice asked if it would be alright if Ben took Joey out of the room while Nancy gave her deposition. I told Joey it would be okay for him to go with Ben because he would just be in the next room. I gave him a hug then he and Ben left the room. Alice then prompted Nancy to tell her everything she had seen and heard in the house when the strange man came over. I held Nancy's hand as she began to recount all of the events she had witnessed and all of the sounds she heard when the strange man was in our house. Nancy's deposition took almost an hour. I could see Alice was disturbed by the things which Nancy told her.

Alice told us to take a break before Joey was to come into the room and give his deposition. I gave Nancy a big hug and told her she did very well. I reinforced the fact that she would not be punished or be responsible for any of the actions caused by her mother. During the break, Ben came over to Alice and me and whispered that he had gotten a call from the private investigator he hired to get more information on Susan and her lover. "His name is Franklin Nelson. I know him by reputation, which is not very good. He's a divorce attorney who has had several complaints lodged against him for unethical conduct in divorce cases he handled. This time I think Franklin has stepped way across the line. We should be able to nail his ass to the wall for the things which happened in your house."

Alice nodded her head in agreement. Then she said it was time for Joey to give his deposition. Nancy stayed with Ben as the four of us were seated in the conference room. It took Joey about the same amount of time to recount all the events and actions he witnessed inside our house. After Joey gave his statement, Ben, Nancy, Joey and I went out to get a late night snack at the Denny's across the street. Alice and Betty stayed behind to formally type up the deposition and to begin the legal paperwork which Alice would need to serve Susan.

While the kids were sitting in a booth eating a hamburger and coke, Ben told me to get a motel room outside of town and keep the kids safe and away from their mother for the next couple of days while he and Alice processed all the legal documents necessary to protect the kids. He would also file the divorce papers. Ben told me there would be criminal charges filed against Susan and Franklin for lewd sexual acts performed in front of minor children. He was sure that with the kids depositions and my testimony the divorce would go in my favor and Susan would probably end up doing some jail time for her actions. Franklin would probably be disbarred and might also spend some time in an 8x10 cell. Ben warned me not to talk to Susan or anyone else over the next couple of days. The kids and I were supposed to vanish until Ben called and gave us our next instructions. Ben said he would call my boss and tell him about the situation and that I would not be in to work for the next week.

After Ben left, I drove about 50 miles north of town and stopped at a Quality Inn. The kids were really tired by the time we got into the room. It didn't take us long to get to sleep and stay asleep till almost 9:00 the next morning. I had turned off my cell phone last night. During breakfast at IHOP, I turned on the phone and found there had been 8 calls from Susan during the night. Again, I turned off the phone and finished our breakfast. We checked out of the Quality Inn and drove another 50 miles east this time. We stayed at a "no-name" motel where I was able to pay cash for the room and not leave a credit card trail.

In the afternoon, the kids and I went to see a movie and then had a great supper at the Red Lobster, one of their favorite restaurants. I called Ben at his office to see how things were progressing with all the legal paperwork. He told me the divorce paperwork was complete and would be filed with the court in the morning. He said Alice had already gotten a restraining order against Susan to prohibit her from coming in contact with the kids or with me. Ben said that Alice had also filed a criminal complaint on behalf of the children against Susan and Franklin. A warrant for their arrest would be served when I got back the next day.

Ben told me to keep the kids in hiding for another night, then in the morning we were to drive to his office. From there we would go to my house and hopefully find Susan and her lover. It would be a final confrontation between Susan and me before the legal authorities took over. Last night, before the kids and I left town, Ben asked me if I had a preference as to how I wanted Susan served with the papers. Did I want to be present or just let the processor server hand over the papers?

I told Ben that I definitely wanted to be present. I wanted to witness first hand the total destruction of the world which Susan had so masterfully crafted in her mind. I wanted to be there when she realized that her cuckold husband was not a wimp. I may have been clueless over the past year when she conducted her affair behind my back, but now it was pay-back time.

For the second night in a row, the kids and I had a good night's sleep. In the morning after eating breakfast, we drove back to Ben's office. It was almost 11:00 when we arrived at the office building. Betty was waiting for us in the lobby with a big smile on her face. She gave the kids a big hug and then lead us to Ben's office.

Ben asked me if Susan had tried to contact me during the past two days. I told him there was a total of 18 messages left on my cell phone voice mail. I had not listened to Susan's messages nor had I deleted them. Since it was close to lunch time, Ben had Betty take the kids out to Pizza Hut for lunch while Ben and I listened to all of Susan's messages.

The first several messages from Susan were bold and harsh as she demanded to know where I was with the children. She demanded that I come home immediately or else she would cause me a world of grief. Slowly, the next messages moved from the demanding shrew voice to one of real concern. She told me to call her and let her know that the children were okay and that I was going to bring them home. Her final 2 messages had turned into pleading with me to call her. She was worried about me and the kids and pleaded with me not to do anything rash. I now got the impression she might have thought I would kill myself and the kids rather than let her have them. Ben recorder all of the messages on a tape recorder. He told me it would be good to have these phone calls to use against her in divorce court if that became necessary.

Before we went to my house, I stopped at my in-laws' house. I told Mary and Bert the whole story about their adulterous daughter and her year long affair with her lover. I also told them about the episodes which the kids had witnessed in our house. Mary was furious, I could tell she would have trashed her daughter severely if Susan had been there at that moment. I told them I had the divorce papers to serve Susan and she was also going to be arrested on criminal charges filed by Children Services. Bert said he was glad his daughter would have to suffer for her infidelity and her wanton behavior in front of her children. I left the kids with them and drove to my house.

Ben, Alice and several police officers were sitting in a car two houses down from mine. I pulled into the drive way next to a car I had never seen before. Maybe I would get lucky and Franklin would be in the house with Susan. I walked into the house, leaving the others standing on the porch. Susan heard the front door open and came rushing into the foyer. I could see Franklin standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Where are my children, you fucking bastard?!?!?" Susan screamed at me. Her face was flush red with anger as she raised her fist to strike me. I grabbed her wrist and forced her to stop in her tracks. She continued to scream obscenities at me and tried to break free of my grasp. Franklin started moving forward. "I'd think twice about that, asshole. I would like nothing better than to break a dozen bones in your body. You know I use my hands and muscles in my work, I don't sit on my ass behind a desk. So, if you think you're man enough, then come ahead and let's see who the real man is around here."

Holding Susan's arm tightly to keep her at bay, I pulled the divorce documents out of my pocket and handed them to her. "You have been served, my adulterous ex-wife!" I shoved her backwards and she began to fall, Franklin had to grab her from behind to keep her from landing on the floor.

"You fucking bastard, now you will see who the boss is in this house. Franklin will take your ass to the cleaners and have you living in a homeless shelter for the rest of your life!" Susan spit her words at me like poisonous venom. There was pure hatred in her eyes as she looked at me full of contempt.

At that moment, the rest of the group entered the house. Alice was the first to speak. "Susan Freemont you are being served with a restraining order baring you from seeing or talking to your children until a judge has the opportunity to review the case against you. It is possible your children will be permanently removed from your custody and future contact with them will be prohibited. In addition, I have an arrest warrant against you for lewd sexual conduct in the presence of minors." Alice nodded to one of the policemen who moved around behind Susan. "Put your hands behind your back, ma'am." He told her as her placed the handcuffs on her wrist. Susan stood there in utter shock. She finally cried out for Franklin to do something to stop all this nonsense.

Alice turned to Franklin. "Not so fast mister. I have an arrest warrant for you also. The same charges of lewd sexual behavior in the presence of minors." The second officer stepped up to Franklin and cuffed him. There was a astonished look on Franklin's face as he realized that the plans he and Susan had made together were falling apart.

Ben stepped up to Franklin and got in his face as he said. "Just to add to your grief, asshole, I am filing formal charges with the Bar Association's ethical committee against you. I'm sure your disbarment will follow in short order." I could see that Ben was very angry as he snarled at Franklin. "I am also filing several civil suits on behalf of Jonathan Freemont suing you for willful destruction of his marriage and for exposing his children to sexual acts you performed inside this house!" Ben quickly turned away from Franklin. I'm sure he would have punched him in the face if the police officer had not been standing next to him.

"Take them both away, officer. And don't forget to read them their rights before they get in the cruiser." Alice had stepped in to try and calm the situation. I had somehow contained my anger during the entire episode. My focus was on Susan's face as her whole world came crashing down around her. For a brief moment there was plea in her eyes for me to bring this nightmare to an end for her. Then she realized there would be not relief coming from me after all of her actions. Tears began to pour down her face as the police officer lead her and Franklin out the front door. I could hear the officers Marandize them as they walked to the police cruiser. The door closed, I looked at Ben and Alice as silence filled the house.

"I think you should spend the day with your children, Jonathan. They will need all the comfort and support you can give them over the next several weeks. I also think it would be a good idea if the three of you would seek professional counseling to help heal to wounds from this tragedy." Alice had placed her hand on my arm. I could tell she was upset with the whole chain of events which had taken place over the past several days. She was especially concerned for the welfare of the kids.

That evening, Nancy, Joey and I sat around the living room to discuss our future. I told the kids there would be a lot of changes for us. I would cut back drastically in my work schedule. The reduced income would mean that we would have to sell the big house and find something smaller for the three of us. It was my intention to become both parents for my kids no matter what sacrifices I had to make in my lifestyle. The evening ended with me feeling much more positive about the future. The kids seemed to understand the situation and they told me everything would be alright for us. I knew I had great kids.