The Troublemaker

This is my Holiday entry into the contest. Hope you enjoy it. As always, thank you to my editors, LadyCibelle and Techsan, for making my story a much better read.

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I remember years back when I was a kid. We had all our traditions and the Holidays meant so much. Family and friends were there to enjoy the good times with us. As teenagers they were still fun but a little different. Other than the actual holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas we wanted to spend more time with our friends.

Eventually we all grow up and meet our mates and start our own traditions. Of course that's the way it's supposed to be. It's still nice to get with family and recount all the good times we had.

Here I am a twenty-six year old man sitting at my old hang out, the local McDonald's, eating my usual Big Mac and fries. Here's how I ended up here today eating dinner.

I come from a large family of three brothers and three sisters. I was in the middle of the pack. In my younger years life was great. I remember all the holidays and the fun we had as a family. We weren't the richest family around but we enjoyed what we had. We lived in a big house on a small farm. We all had chores to do, but we shared just about everything.

As all siblings do, we fought a lot. Just part of growing up. It did make me a pretty tough kid. Even though we fought with each other we protected each other as well. If you messed with one of us, you might find yourself in a world of shit. My brothers usually were able to take care of themselves but I had a tendency to watch out for my sisters. I had one older sister and two younger.

At school I guess I was known as the trouble maker, sort of a hot head. Once you get the title, you never get rid of it. I'd get in a fight at school and then get grounded when I got home. I wasn't a bully but I was a hot head. If someone said anything about my family, they had to pay the price. I still enjoyed my teenage years. I went out with a girl named Beth during my junior and senior year. Her parents didn't much care for me because of what they heard about me being a trouble maker.

I asked her to the prom and she said she couldn't go with me. We weren't in love or anything like that. I just didn't want to be one of those guys who went by himself. I did end up going stag. When I got there I saw Beth with another guy. When she saw me, she nearly freaked out. I went up to her date and cold-cocked him. I hit him a few times till the chaperones pulled me off of him. I looked over at Beth and just gave her a dirty look.

I know what I did was totally wrong but hot headed teenagers do that sort of thing. I paid the price big time. Beth never talked to me again and I got expelled in my senior year. The worst was how much it hurt my mom and dad. They were much too nice people to have a son like me.

I went down to the service enlistment office and asked to join the marines. They accepted me and I left within a month for basic training. I signed up and got my GED which the marines required of me. I then went into learning electrical work. I was sent to Iraq six months later.

I don't give a shit about politics but let me tell you that these people needed help. I bear witness to the killing of women and children. Why would anyone blow up churches and schools full of innocent people?

You may not see it on the news but over the few years I was there in Iraq, we made it a much safer country. I personally helped rebuild schools. The kids were awesome. Living in total poverty, they made a life for themselves and they thanked us daily for helping them. I often wondered why a God would let this happen. Of course I wasn't a religious person but I prayed to God many times to help these people.

One day a woman came up to me and said, "God does answer prayers. He sent you to help us." It brought tears to my eyes.

When my term of enlistment was over I headed back to the states. I went to Michigan and took further electrical training to get a good job. One of my brothers had worked at one of the auto plants and got me a job there. I was now an official electrician working on his journeyman card.

I was from Ohio and I sure missed it. I did go home at Christmas and see my folks and other relatives. I missed my family. I remember that song 'Detroit City'.

"Home folks think I'm big in Detroit City.

By the letters that I write they think I'm fine.

By days I make the cars, and by night I make the bars.

Oh if only they just read between the lines

They'd know I want to go home

I want to go home

Oh how I want to go home"

It's the way I felt. I was just kind of a lonely guy. I spent my nights at the bars. That's how I met Shelly. Of course I've met a number of women, but Shelly and me kind of hit it off. She was a bit flirty but I loved it. I guess the women from my generation were a bit more sexual and outgoing.

After dating Shelly a short time we got hitched. I was just tired of being alone. Shelly worked at an office for a lawyer near the plant. She was married once before and didn't have any kids. She had a miscarriage and was divorced shortly thereafter. According to Shelly the father of the unborn child was only marrying her because of the baby.

Shelly was a bit wild. We got into a number of arguments over her flirting. Of course she told me that men just hit on her and that it wasn't her fault.

We went to see my parents the first Christmas after we were married. My parents tried to act pleasant to her but I could tell they weren't fond of her. No one told me straight out that they didn't like her but my sisters did tell me that I should keep my eye on her. I knew what they meant. I just hoped things would get better. They didn't.

Shelly wanted to get back home for her company's New Year's party. The firm she worked for always threw a big New Years bash. It would be the first time that I had been to it since we just got married earlier that year. We said our goodbyes to my family and headed home.

At the New Years party, Shelly was flirting with every guy she came in contact with. I was really getting pissed. The old me would have knocked a few heads but I was trying to keep calm. I really didn't fit in with this group of people. I did farm work, then a serviceman and now an electrician in a factory.

After midnight I told Shelly that I thought it was time to leave. She got pissed and told me that she wasn't going anywhere. She put up with my family for three days so I could put up with her friends for a few more hours. We argued back and forth until I finally said, "I'm leaving now! With you or without you."

She turned her back on me and I headed out the door. I waited for fifteen minutes hoping she would come out but she never did. I drove home and took out my booze and sat there and got drunk. I hadn't drunk all that much at the party but I was just plain mad.

At four in the morning someone dropped Shelly off at the house. She came in and I was surprised that she wasn't drunker than she was. She started yelling and screaming at me for leaving her. I told her I gave her a choice and she chose her friends over me.

I staggered into the guest bedroom and fell on the bed and went to sleep. The next morning - or should I say - early afternoon, both Shelly and I got up. I didn't tell her anything that I was thinking but I was waiting to hear what she had to say.

"I'm your wife. You should have stayed with me. It was a nice party."

"It was a bunch of men seeing how far they could get with you. How far did you let them go after I left? They sure the hell got pretty far while I was there. I didn't see you stopping any advances."

"For Pete's sake. There was mistletoe and people kiss when they go under it. I was just having a good time," replied Shelly. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Kissing under the mistletoe is one thing, but when you wear it in your hair so you can kiss every guy there is a bit too much. I saw you let enough of them grab your ass during the dances and kissing too. I should have knocked a couple of them on their asses but you were just as much as fault as them."

"I didn't do anything wrong but have a little fun. You could have tried harder but no, my friends aren't good enough for you."

We stopped talking. I was glad when the football game came on so I wouldn't have to listen to her anymore. She ended up leaving and going to her friends. It wasn't exactly the way I wanted to start the new year. I thought we would come home and make love and do the dirty deed over and over again but she had to stay with her so called friends.

The following week I hardly spoke to her. I went to work and even worked extra hours. When I came home she always had some plan to go out with her friends. We slept together but whenever she wanted to cuddle, I turned my back to her. I told her I was there for her on New Years but she preferred to be with her friends.

For the next month life got a little better. We finally made up and went out for Valentine's Day and when we got back I jumped her bones. It'd been a month and a half since we made love. I did it all to her that night. I ate her out, did it doggie style and let her ride me like a bronco buster. I have to admit it was the best sex we had since we got married.

We did it just about every night after that. Finally things seemed to turn around. She stopped going out with her girlfriends and stayed at home with me. We did go out on Saturday nights and saw a few of our joint friends.

Two weeks went by and she came home and looked nervous. We ate dinner and sat down and were watching TV. Something just wasn't right.

"Shelly, what's the matter with you. You're walking around like a nervous wreck. What's your problem?" I asked.

She looked me in the eye and said, "I'm pregnant."

It didn't take a wizard to figure that we've only started having sex for a couple of weeks. "How far along are you?" I asked.

"The doctor said around two months. I'm so sorry, Randy." She started crying.

I was pissed. "So, who's the proud papa? That would be around the time of the New Years party. I guess you got your New Years fucking anyway. It just wasn't me."

"Randy, it was an accident."

"Fuck you! You chose to stay at the party when I asked you to come home knowing we were going to make love.. How did you accidently take off your panties and spread your legs and by some strange phenomenon, a man pulls out his cock and accidently pushes it in your pussy. Would you mind explaining that to me?"

"I had to much to drink and..."

"Bullshit! I was here when you got home. You were able to yell at me but you couldn't tell some asshole, 'Please don't fuck me'? Who the hell was it or was there more than one?" I asked.

"Please, Randy, I'm not a slut. It was Brett, the older man that came to the party alone. His wife was away at her parents in Idaho. He came on to me and offered to take me home. I was mad at you so I let him fuck me. I don't love him, I hardly like him. I did it because you left me at the party."

"So, this is all my fault? You got pregnant because I came home and you chose to stay and fuck some old lawyer. God, you're something else."

"What are we going to do now, Randy?" asked Shelly.

I laughed. "There is no we. I'm going to a lawyer and get a divorce and get rid of your sorry ass. You can ask your friend Brett what he wants to do about his kid."

"Randy, we can work this out. We're good together. Everyone makes mistakes," said Shelly.

"Fucking another man and getting pregnant with his kid goes way beyond mistake. I'm going to spend the night at a motel and see a lawyer in the morning. I suggest you contact your lover Brett and see what his and your plans are. I'm sure his wife would be interested in your little affair. If I stay here, I'm afraid of what I will do to you. I'm doing everything in my power to not knock you up against the wall."

I walk out and got in my truck. I didn't even grab a suitcase. I was just too damn mad. I went to a local motel and got a room for the night. Across the street was a bar, so I went there and got drunk thinking about my situation.

I staggered over to the jukebox and played 'Detroit City'. I decided that I would divorce Shelly and move back to Ohio. This town just wasn't for me. Somehow or another I made it back to my motel room and slept it off. When I woke up the next morning I was still seeing red.

I was so glad I left the night before. If I would have stayed, I know I would have hurt Shelly and I have never hit a woman. I got in my truck and instead of going to see the lawyer, I headed to Shelly's office. I had to face this Brett character. I remembered him feeling Shelly's ass on New Years eve.

I walked into the office and asked the receptionist where Brett Wilson's office was. She knew who I was and asked if I wanted to see Shelly.

"No," I said. "I just need a moment with Brett."

I know I looked bad. I had the same clothes on from the night before and I probably reeked of alcohol. I saw the receptionist look over her shoulder at what I believed to be Brett's office. She paged him to come into the lobby.

I headed down the hallway and met him coming out of his door. I pushed him back into his office and over his desk. I quickly turned the key and locked his door. I then proceeded to beat the living shit out of him. I didn't stop. I hit him over and over again. I was totally out of control.

The door was opened and I was grabbed and pinned to the floor. A bloody mess of a man laid on the other side of the desk. I found out later that the receptionist had duplicate keys to the offices. I guess I should be glad security stopped me when they did or I would have killed the bastard.

Shelly was in the hallway crying as I was taken out in a patrol car. I was covered in blood but none of it was mine except for scraped knuckles. I guess I just didn't care anymore. Once a trouble maker, always a trouble maker.

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I was taken to jail and they assigned me a lawyer. I got hold of my brother and told him what I had done. He told me he was willing to post my bail, but I told him not to waste his money. I embarrassed him enough. Of course I lost my job after not showing up for work.

My lawyer told me that I was charged with attempted murder. After a lot of plea bargaining it was lowered to assault and battery. I didn't have any weapons except my fists. I guess a few men on the jury must have sided with me. I still got sentenced to a year in prison.

Shelly never came to see me while I was waiting for trial. Her law firm got all my assets for her, what little we had. Shelly applied for a divorce and of course I wasn't going to fight it. Hell, I was going to prison and would have divorced her anyway. What the hell did I need?

Brett Wilson wanted to sue me but all my assets went to Shelly. I honestly had nothing. The clothes on my back and the underwear I wore belonged to the state of Michigan.

Brett's wife asked for a divorce after the story came out. Brett did end up marrying Shelly after his divorce was finalized. They did have a baby boy. For a lawyer this Brett fellow must have been pretty stupid. I found out that he and Shelly were secret lovers on and off for a couple of years. What would make him think that if she would cheat on me that she wouldn't cheat on him.

He already lost half his assets to his ex-wife and alienated his teenage kids. I'll admit that Shelly was a good lay but she wasn't marriage material, which I found out too late; nor was she worth going to jail over. I guess I went to prison over my stupid pride.

After eight months in prison I got an early release. Being a good prisoner and over crowding got me an early release. I asked the judge if I could move back home to Ohio and was granted the privilege.

When I got home I was greeted by my parents who were always there for me. My oldest sister, Judy's husband Bob owned a construction business. I didn't know him that well but he said he would give me a chance and hired me. He said he could use a good electrician. I started work the following Monday.

I kept my nose clean and stayed away from the bars. I worked all the hours I could and put money away so I could get a place to live. I wasn't going to live off my parents forever. I did buy a used pickup truck to get back and forth to work. I had to see a parole officer once a month which I always did. I was told I would have to take random drug tests which wasn't a problem. I never did drugs. In my younger days I smoked a little weed but stopped that when I went in the service.

Life was getting better. I finally got a small apartment and was visiting the family more often. I was still kind of a lonely guy. I did go out with a few women once in awhile but I didn't need to get serious about any woman. My luck with women wasn't that good.

Here I was one evening sitting at my old watering hole, the local McDonald's restaurant. I was thinking about my past and all the shit I had been through. The service, a broken marriage and prison, but I was still a survivor. I was eating my Big Mac when I looked over and saw this cute girl staring at me. Actually she was a good looking woman and had a little girl with her.

I couldn't place her. I figured maybe she knew me from the past. I smiled at her and she kind of smiled back. The little girl with her was a little baby doll. It made me think of the child I could have had if I wasn't married to a slut.

She was close enough that I could talk to her so I asked her, "Excuse me, but do I know you?"

"You're Randy Webb, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes, I am and may I ask who you are?"

"Sandy, Sandy Holdsworth. You used to date my older sister Beth Holdsworth. She's Beth Benton now."

"Nice to see you again, Sandy. Last time I saw you, you had pigtails and braces. You sure have changed," I smiled. "Who's the little sweetheart?"

"Oh, this is my daughter Samantha. I call her Sam or Sammy unless I get mad, then it's Samantha," she laughed.

I wondered about a husband. Was she married and just gave me her maiden name? Maybe she kept her maiden name. I heard a lot of women did that nowadays. Either way I didn't mention it.

"Your daughter is one beautiful little girl," I said. I wanted to say just like her mother but I thought I might be out of place.

"Thank you. She is my pride and joy," smiled Sandy.

"So how is Beth doing?" I thought I should change the subject.

"Well, to be honest, she's got three kids and is on her second marriage. Hopefully, she'll get it right this time."

"If you see her tell her I said hello," I replied.

"She lives in Kentucky now but when I write her or talk to her I'll tell her I talked to you. I know she will be surprised. I better get Sam home. It was nice talking to you, Randy. Maybe we can talk again sometime?"

"I'd like that; I really would. I don't get out much," I replied.

She smiled and took Sammy out of her highchair and left. She waved at me when she walked out the door. She sure turned into one sweet woman. I headed over to visit my parents. I tried to see them as least every couple of days.

"Mom, you'll never believe who I saw today," I remarked.

"Sandy Holdsworth and her daughter Sam," replied mom.

"What? How did you know that. It was only about an hour ago," I replied.

Mom laughed. "Rachel called and told me that Sandy said she saw you at McDonalds. She mentioned that you didn't even recognize her," laughed mom.

Rachel was my youngest sister. I didn't even know she knew Sandy. Thinking back, I guess they were in the same grade. I hadn't seen much of Rachel since I'd been back home. She was attending a local college and wasn't home much.

"You haven't been around for quite a few years. Rachel and Sandy are best friends. They have been for years. Rachel told me to tell you to stay here if you came over. She wants to talk to you."