Temper Tantrum

A Killer Wound

There is one thing I know for certain as the licensed owner of a hand gun. Once you pull that trigger and the firing pin hits the primer, that bullet is going to leave the barrel at approximately 1200 feet per second. There is no 'ooops moment', that projectile is heading towards its target.

If you're proficient and your aim is true it is going to hit that target whether it is a paper bullseye or flesh and bone.

I guess my only consolation is that the trigger I pulled that Friday night when I intended to do serious harm to my husband, was a figurative one. The result didn't physically injure him but it tore a hole through his soul and killed our marriage.

My name is Catherine Mastrioni, and have been married to Salvatore Mastrioni for just under ten years. We will probably not celebrate our tenth anniversary on the 15th of next month. We will still be married since divorce is a long tedious affair but we will certainly not be 'celebrating'.

Even sadder is the fact that we had long ago decided that on that day I would go off the pill and we would start our family, Sal has always been goal oriented. He never did anything haphazardly or impulsively. He plans everything far in advance. When we bought our house, he knew exactly what we wanted, where we wanted it and we spent a year working with a realtor until we got exactly what we wanted at the price we were willing to pay. When we purchased our last car he knew what make, model and color we wanted and that's what we got. Sal resisted the high- pressure sales practiced by the salesmen and after visiting several dealerships he negotiated the price he knew the car should sell for. When we bought furniture or lawn equipment Sal did the same extensive research. I guess it's true what they say: 'opposites attract' because I am an impulse buyer. If I see a dress, handbag or shoes that I like, I buy them. I don't look for them cheaper somewhere else. Of course, I often suffer from buyer's remorse. Recently I saw an ad for a case of wine for $69 so I got out my trusty credit card and ordered it. Why not"? I thought, how can you go wrong. Actually, when it arrived the wine was pretty good. However, the next month another case was delivered and on investigation I found that I hadn't read the fine print and basically had signed up for a "wine of the month" club. Four months and forty-eight bottles of wine later I was able to disentangle myself from that fiasco. Amazingly, in my professional life I am meticulous, I make sure every I is dotted and every T is crossed but in my personal life, not so much.

Sal is an attorney at a medium size law firm, specializing in mergers and acquisitions and I am an attorney at a large firm specializing in corporate tax law. At thirtyfive, he was just made a junior partner and at thirty two I have no ambition to rise the corporate ladder and am just another cog in their legal machinery. Our goal has been to remain relatively debt free, except for our mortgage, and for us to raise a family with me being a stay at home mom.

The plan was right on track until last Thursday evening. Sal had a long, stressful day at the office and arrived home a little later than usual. We had decided to make it an easy night and I had just ordered pizza when my sister, Mo, called in a panic.

**********************

One thing that Sal and I were adamant about was fidelity. We had both experienced the devastating effects of betrayal. For me it was with Teddy, my college boyfriend. We weren't engaged but we were exclusive. We thought we were in love, or at least I did, and we had even discussed eventual marriage after graduation. Although we didn't live together we had been intimate for almost a year when Teddy decided to betray me. I say decided because infidelity is always a choice.

We were both seniors at the time and had been invited to his wealthy roommates' home for a party hosted by his parents at their estate. His roommate's father was a well-known neurosurgeon and his wife a VP of a financial investment firm. I expected them to be elitist snobs but in fact they were both very cordial and friendly during the brief time that we spoke.

There was a chill in the air that spring evening so most of the fifty or so attendees were scattered about inside of the house and although most of the people were friends and associates of the hosts there were a fair amount of younger people from the university that I knew, some just by sight and others that I had attended classes with.

The event was catered and there was a bar set up near the buffet table and although liquor and wine was available the crowd was lively but well behaved. The music was just loud enough to encourage some dancing but subdued enough not to interfere with conversation. Teddy and I had been together for the first hour or so but had drifted into different conversational groups. As a pre-law student, I and several other law students were having a conversation with an attorney who worked with the hostesses' company. We were discussing the merits of various graduate schools, their costs, the possible difficulty of admission and so on.

I noticed that Teddy had been to the bar several times accompanied by an older attractive blonde that I didn't recognize. I had seen them dance a few times but nothing unseemly occurred. Actually, they seemed to be talking and laughing more than dancing so I was not concerned.

As the conversation of our little group started to wane, the attorney, an attractive guy in his early thirties asked me to dance. His name was Malcom and he was as good a dancer as he was a conversationalist. After several dances, including a slow number, he lead me to the bar for another wine. He kept the conversation light and it was mostly about law along with a few stories about some of his more colorful clients.

I had noticed his wedding ring and casually asked if his wife was at the party. With a dismissive wave of his hand he exclaimed:

"She's here somewhere, he laughed. She's a bit of a flirt and likes to socialize". Then more seriously, he added: "We have a somewhat of an open relationship. We don't subscribe to the societal boundaries that are imposed by most marriages".

Malcom seemed a little miffed when the hostess just then approached and took him by the arm to introduce him to someone. However, being a little shocked and not having a reply to his last comment, I was quite relieved and moved off to find Teddy. After checking all of the rooms where guests were congregated I moved on to the patio to join a few hearty souls that didn't seem to mind the chill. One of my fellow law students, Liz, was out there finishing a cigarette so I asked if she had seen Teddy.

"Teddy"? she replied inquisitively. "Oh right, the guy you came with. I saw him a few minutes ago walking towards the gazebo."

With that she headed back inside and I moved toward the gazebo which was on the far side of the pool, nestled in among some trees. As I peered in Teddy was standing in the dim ambient light with his back to me and as I was about to call to him I saw movement in front of him. I took a few steps to the side and saw the slim blonde woman that he had been dancing with moving her head rhythmically on his cock.

She seemed unperturbed at my outburst and as my ex-boyfriend was trying to stuff his erection back into his pants she slowly got up and slinked her way back into the house. But not before looking at me with a smirk on her face. Teddy stuttered a dozen excuses and apologies but all I could say through my tears was:

"I'm getting my purse and jacket then you can take me home". The blonde was at the bar with her arm around her husband, Malcom, and when she saw me walk in she whispered something in his ear and they both turned away chuckling. That was the end of my relationship with Teddy and I didn't have another serious one until I met Sal, a year after graduating from law school.

On the other hand, Sal's experience with betrayal wasn't with a girlfriend it was his mother that proved to be unfaithful to his father and it was Sal who caught her.

The Mastrioni's weren't wealthy but they were comfortable and could afford for Sal's mother to just work part time and be there for Sal and his younger sister, Theresa, after school.

Sal was sixteen when one cold rainy day his school was evacuated because of a bomb scare. Normally his mother picked him up after school and then picked up Terry from middle school on the way home. This particular day the school was dismissed at 11:30 as the police and bomb sniffing dogs had to search the building. Luckily his friend's dad happened to be passing the school and stopped upon seeing the commotion. It was in the days before every kid over the age of six had their own cell phone and the dad offered to drive Sal home.

Upon entering the house Sal heard screams coming from upstairs and, fearing the worst, mistook his mother's screams of pleasure as screams of distress. He ran up the stairs and barging into her room he found her in bed on her hands and knees getting pounded from behind by a man he did not recognize. He left the house in shock and walked two miles to his Aunt Mary's and waited for his dad to arrive. Of course, the story came out and the ugly process of divorce began.

His dad got custody of both kids and to this day his relationship with his mother is cool and perfunctory. She eventually remarried, although not to the young coworker she had been fucking that fateful day, but to a seemingly nice widower with a young daughter. Despite her having apparently reformed, Sal refused to invite her to our wedding and possibly embarrass his dad in front of their family.

***************************************

My sister Mo (Maureen), is my polar opposite, she was the wild child, did poorly in high school and was always in trouble. Mo is four years younger than me and we could not look, or be less alike. She is 5'7", 145 lbs with blonde hair. I am 5'2" 105 lbs with chestnut colored hair like my mom. I loved school and was an 'A' student throughout. I graduated manga cum laude from Penn State and was in the top ten of my law school class. Mo hated school and got caught playing hooky several times along with smoking weed in the girls room but eventually graduated by the skin of her teeth.

She was just eighteen when her 'bad boy' boyfriend Joey Campor knocked her up. To his credit Joey did the right thing by marrying her and eight months later she she gave birth to twin boys, Joseph and Anthony. Surprisingly Joey seemed to adjust to married life and fatherhood fairly well. He got a job in his uncle's body shop and within a couple of years he was the lead man. When Joey was twenty three his uncle bought out another shop on the far end of town and gave Joey an opportunity to buy into the business. He and Mo were doing pretty well and were even able to buy a small three bedroom ranch not far from where Sal and I had settled.

When the twins were five Joey's bad boy persona started to leech to the surface. He joined a motorcycle club that had a less than savory reputation and spent less and less time at home with his family. One night the biker's club house got raided by the police and the three guys and three girls, including Joey and his 'old lady' got busted for possession of marijuana and illegal firearms. None of those arrested were actually carrying weapons or had drugs on their person but being in close proximity and with their proprietary relationship to the club it was enough to charge them criminally. Fortunately, for Joey, it was his first offense and his uncle hired a good lawyer who got the charges against him dismissed.

However, Uncle Tony was pissed and threatened to kick him out of the business. Mo was furious and threatened to divorce him but with two young kids, she eventually relented with his promise that he would clean up his act.

For about a year Joey kept his nose clean and just when we thought he had grown up and learned his lesson he got busted with enough illegal prescription pills in his possession to get him and the girl that was with him, three to five years.

**********************

Joey was only eight months into his sentence when Mo called, somewhat hysterical, that Thursday night to say that her kitchen floor was flooded and she didn't know what to do. I gave the phone to Sal who, after asking her some questions, advised her where the shut off valve was and how to turn the water off. After a few minutes, she got back on the phone and told Sal that she couldn't find any valve but it seemed like the water had stopped flowing on to the floor for the time being. She begged him to come over to help her out.

Sal let out an exasperated sigh and after relenting, moaned: "Shit! I really don't need this tonight. Your sister should divorce that stupid ass and find somebody who can deal with her problems."

The only other thing he said as he headed for the garage was: "I hate cold pizza"

Sal had been gone about thirty minutes when the pizza arrived so I decided to make the five minute drive to my sister's house, since the pizza would still be hot and there was enough for all of us. I grabbed a cold six pack of beer from the frig and headed to Mo's

When I arrived at the house Sal's car was parked behind Mo's old van in the overgrown circular driveway and since the house didn't have a garage and there was a driveway going to the rear of the house where the kitchen was, that's where I parked. I assumed they would be in the kitchen since that is where the flood was but when I entered through the back door balancing a still hot pizza box and the beer, there was no one there. I set the food on the counter and assuming that they were in the basement looking for or working on the source of the leak, I headed toward the hallway where the cellar entrance was.

The only light coming from the living room was the glare from the flat screened TV which was tuned to MTV from which soft rock music was emanating. What I saw in the flickering light took my breath away and my knees buckled, forcing me to support my weight against a door jamb.

My sister was lying on top of my husband on the sofa, her naked ass exposed from under a negligee and her large tits hanging slightly above his chest as she pumped her pussy on his cock. Because of the music I couldn't hear their voices, but I didn't need to hear them in order to know what was happening, my husband was fucking my sister.

Neither of them heard my sobs as I ran from the house leaving the back-door wide open and got into my car. It was hard to see the road as I drove I had to keep wiping the tears from my eyes but when I finally pulled into my garage my tears had stopped and my rage had surfaced.

It was after eleven when Sal silently slipped into bed as I feigned sleep. I lay awake trying to stifle my tears as I recalled him tearfully telling me of his mother's betrayal all those years ago. How devastated he was and how he valued faithfulness above all else. His hypocrisy disgusted me, but a plan for revenge was formulating in my brain.

**************************

SALVATORE

The lingering aroma of marijuana was still in the air when I entered Maureen's house with my tool bag. She had greeted me at the door dressed in a white terry cloth robe and I could detect the smell of wine on her breath as she kissed my check and thanked me for coming. The bit of cleavage that her large breasts provided did not escape my notice but Mo always dressed to accentuate the positive.

She apologized for wearing the 'house coat', as she described it, explaining that she had got her clothes wet when she was sopping up the water with a towel. After determining that the leaking water had been coming through the cabinet doors directly under the sink, I got down on my knees to investigate. As I was pulling the various cleaning supplies out in order to expose the piping I asked if she had been running the dishwasher when the leak occurred and when she confirmed that she had, that became my focus.

It took all of a minute to find the culprit which was the dishwasher drain hose that had been dislodged and had been spewing water on to the cabinet floor during its drain cycle. It took another ten minutes rummaging around her basement to find the right clamp to fix the problem. During the time that my head was under the sink I had asked Mo where the twins were since I had not seen or heard them since I had arrived.

"They're at my Mom's. I have to go pick them up in a little while."

I was thinking of ways to discourage that since she had been smoking pot and drinking wine. Her speech was a little slurred and her gait a bit unsteady so I had to find a polite way to talk her into not getting behind the wheel. The negative possibilities were endless. She could get stopped for DUI on the way to her mom's; she could get into an accident and hurt or kill herself and others; or, God forbid, encounter the same circumstances on the way back with the children in the car.

Having completed my task, I stood and faced my sister-in-law who had shed her robe and was standing there holding out an open bottle of beer for me and a fresh glass of white wine for herself. The gown was not one of those 'come fuck me' teddies that barely covered her charms but a long white satin one that, although not see through, certainly displayed a lot more cleavage than her robe had. She asked in a slightly pleading voice:

"Can we sit for a minute or two? I need some legal advice'"

She led me into the small living room and my intention was to sit in the one chair across from the love seat. Unfortunately, it was piled high with folded clothes from the laundry so I positioned myself on the far end of the love seat, if you can believe that there is a "far end' on a love seat.

Holding her wine, she sat, one leg folded under herself, facing me. Her satin night gown rose higher exposing a portion of her thighs and her upper body leaned forward revealing even more of her large breasts.

Out of the blue, she asked:

"Sal, do you think I'm attractive?"

Before I could muster an appropriate response, she continued"

"I'm thinking of divorcing Joey. He's cheated on me, probably more than once and the only reason I stayed married was because of the boys. Now he's going to be away, for 'God knows how long, and I'm supposed to sit here waiting, hoping that when he gets out he'll change into a faithful, loving husband. I don't think so!"

She gulped the last of her wine and when she leaned over to put the glass on the coffee table one of her breasts fell out of her nightgown.

Looking down she giggled, "oops". But Instead of putting it back in she pulled down the other side of her nightgown exposing both of her beautiful tits. I have to admit that my natural male instinct was put my hands on them and fondle them. I could feel my cock getting erect but fortunately my 'cooler head' prevailed and I started to stand. As I did so Mo pushed me onto my back and in an instant had her tongue in my mouth and her naked breasts pushing into my chest. My one arm was trapped between my body and the back of the seat but she grabbed my other hand and put it on her naked ass as she ground her pelvis into my groin.

I knew there might be a chance that I might succumb to my growing lust so I freed my other arm and with both hands on her shoulders I gently moved her up into a sitting position. She leaned forward trying to kiss me again but I was able to hold her at arm's length. There was a look of surprise and disappointment on her face and she just stared at me waiting for an explanation. With both hands, I carefully pulled up her gown to cover her breasts, saying as I did:

"Listen, Mo, right now I would like nothing better than to take you to bed and fuck ourselves crazy but even if you weren't my sister-in-law, I'm married. I love Cathy and I would never do anything to jeopardize our relationship."