When Is Revenge Too Much?

Author's note: This is a sequel to "When is Revenge too Much?" That story needs to be read to understand this one. If you were one of those who did not want me to write a sequel, don't read this. My last attempt at a sequel to another story was poorly written. I hope this is a better attempt. If not, let me know.

*****

Oscar had heard that the best revenge was a life well lived. He intended to test that theory. He was on a plane headed for Costa Rica. Why Costa Rica? Beautiful country, year-round nice climate, relatively safe crime-wise, drinkable water, great food, cheap utilities, and plenty of ex-patriots if he needed an American fix every now and then. He had read the tour books and selected Grecia in the middle of the country as his city to live in, at least for now.

Chris Shoo from Grecia Real Estate found him a nice house on the bus route. It even had banana, papaya, and mango trees in his yard. He decided against getting a car, at least for the time being, since cars in Costa Rica were very expensive and the bus and cab systems were reliable and cheap. He was ready to live life well.

His daily routine started with "Coffee with the Gringos" at the Café Delicias near the central park by the metallic church. Americans were not the only ex-pats there but constituted the majority. Political leanings varied between left and right. Several patrons would not get into political discussions at all. They were living in Costa Rica partly to escape the harshness and divisiveness of political dialogue in the U.S.

He had no trouble speaking Spanish with the locals. Well, he did have to adjust to not cussing so much and using Tex-Mex slang. Then there was the getting used to Costa Rican

ticismos

like saying "mucho gusto" instead of "de nada" or "por nada," and "ciao" instead of "adios." Of course, there was the Costa Rican phrase that can be used in any situation, "Pura vida."

Oscar was more than ready for intimate contact with a woman. Another reason for choosing Costa Rica was that prostitution was legal and well regulated. Price varied by youth and looks. Oscar did not keep one girl long. Some women he got rid of once they started saying about how poor their families were, or about the need to help some elderly and/or disabled relative. Marriage and access to his bank account was their intent. Some were scared off when he had one of his nightmares from being tortured in prison, especially if he struck out at his phantom abusers and hit the girl by mistake. The last time that happened it made a difference in his life.

His tormentors had him tied to his prison bed. Oscar was naked. Members of each gang were among his torturers. Someone had an icicle. Slowly it was inserted in his anus. The cold object actually made it feel like it was burning his insides. He was in extreme pain. He was able to get one arm free and he struck out. Someone was hit. Unfortunately, it was the prostitute in bed with him.

She yelled, "Why you hit me for? You crazy?"

"I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I was having a nightmare."

"You no can hit me. You call taxi. I go now." She started getting dressed.

Oscar made the call and then put on his clothes. He went over to the girl. "Here, take this extra money." She grabbed the money.

"You got nice dick, but you too crazy for me. You need go see doctor. Get you head fixed. I no come back."

It seemed strange to him to accept the advice of a prostitute, but he did. Oscar would try sedatives and drink in hopes of keeping the nightmares away. Nothing was working. He had already found out from his gringo friends that medical care in Costa Rica was first rate and cheap. No one, however, had experience with any of the local therapists. He received a referral from the dentist he had gone to for a crown replacement.

Dr. Rebecca Perez was the therapist recommended. She was beautiful even in her very professional pants suit. Oscar and she made the basic information exchange. She noticed how he was looking at her. Dr. Perez spoke, "Is there a problem with the way I am dressed?"

"Just the opposite. You are very pretty. I would love to take you to dinner sometime."

Dr. Perez put down the notebook she had in her hands. "You need to decide right now if you want to waste your money and time thinking about an inappropriate relationship with your therapist or if you want to work to solve your problem. You need to decide now."

Oscar was ashamed. Prostitutes and waitresses were about the only local women Oscar had really been acquainted with. He apologized and said he was here to get help. Then he apologized again.

"Okay, now tell me about your problem."

Oscar took a big sigh and began to explain the whole incident, imprisonment, and subsequent events. About half way through, he noticed they were going past the scheduled time. Dr. Perez asked him to continue. She wanted the whole story. During his description of the prison tortures, she began to cry silently, and he had even left out the worst parts.

In describing the nightmares, Oscar was the one crying. He was afraid that they would be with him the rest of his life. He wanted to keep them from ever coming back again. Dr. Perez said that was probably not going to happen. Oscar asked what to do. She suggested a technique that had worked with some of her former patients suffering from trauma and recurring nightmares.

"First of all, it is important for you to know that you have a legitimate reason for your nightmares. By that I mean you are not having these dreams because you have some mental illness that causes them. Your mind is trying to deal with all the injustices and torture that you suffered. Your mind needs to produce some number of nightmares to help you heal. The problem is that you do not know how many of them you will have.

"What I want you to try is this; whenever you have another nightmare, and you will, I want you to thank God that you now have one less nightmare to deal with on the way to getting well. Be grateful. Learn to be glad in your progress."

Oscar was skeptical about that approach but promised to try. Over the next few weeks, he did as instructed and was surprised by how much quicker he seemed to recover from each nightmare. Then the nightmares became fewer and fewer. Oscar was able to invite prostitutes to bed again, but he didn't use them as much as before because he enjoyed getting a full night's sleep. He thanked Rebecca as he was now allowed to call her.

Future sessions with Rebecca dealt with his family and the feeling of the need for revenge. Dr. Perez tried to get him to look at things from Jean's and Carol's perspectives. Despite her efforts, he could not see how they could have betrayed him. Oscar was positive that if the roles had been reversed, he would have believed his wife and daughter over someone like Bryan. He did, however, admit the hate he had for Bryan far exceeded what he felt for his wife and daughter. Dr. Perez tried a different approach.

"You mentioned you did not want to meet your grandson. By agreeing that he was your grandson, you would have to agree that his mother was still your daughter. Oscar, I think that is just a sematic game you are playing. He is your grandson, your flesh and blood. He did nothing for you to punish him."

"I haven't punished him. I've just never been around him."

"So, if I was deliberately keeping someone's grandfather from his grandson, I would not be doing anything wrong?"

Oscar saw her point. He had been deliberately keeping his grandson from himself. "How can I have a relationship with him and not his mother and grandmother?"

"You don't think your wife and daughter would let you see him without their direct participation?"

"I don't know."

"And what do you need to do to find out?"

"You're treating me like a little child."

"You're acting like a little child."

"Ouch. I see what you're getting at. I could ask them if they were willing to do that." He didn't tell her that he doubted it would be anytime soon.

The session ended with an agreement not to meet until and if Oscar requested.

After the last session, Oscar began to wonder what was happening back at home. His attorney was the only person who had his mailing address. Even then, it was just a post office box at the Grecia post office. His lawyer told him that the story of his life was going to be made into a movie. The movie personnel's biggest fear was that people might see his true story as being too harsh to be real. They wanted to make sure Oscar would come back for promotions for the film. As Oscar thought about it, it seemed like that might be a good time to return.

Oscar told his breakfast coffee friends about his possibly building a relationship with his grandson. He thought it might even be a step towards forgiving his wife and daughter. "I have told myself I would NEVER forgive them."

Roger, a Canadian, responded, "Well, friend, I have found that NEVER doesn't last as long as it used to." Both chuckled.

The next letter from his lawyer let him know about Harvey. He was doing well. Oscar was able to buy the house Harvey and he had lived in so Harvey never had to worry about paying rent. Harvey had a job at the local Southern States Coop, mostly tossing around or stacking 50 pound sacks of feed, grain, or fertilizer. He liked the job. The biggest news was that Harvey had a girlfriend, Sally. Jean and Carol had checked the girl out to make sure she was not being nice to Harvey to take advantage of him. The word from Jean was that the girl truly cared for Harvey. There may have been some taking advantage of him by the girl. Sally had told them, "He has the biggest penis I have ever seen." It would not surprise them if Harvey and the girl got married.

Oscar smiled at the news. He had invited Harvey to come to Costa Rica. Harvey declined because of fear of flying. Now there was a girlfriend, Oscar knew Harvey would never be talked into coming. He was glad Jean and Carol had honored his wish that Harvey be looked after. Thinking good thoughts of them was still alien to him, so it didn't last long.

The news Oscar wanted to hear was about what had happened to Bryan in prison. As far as the lawyer knew, Bryan had been in isolation a lot. There had been some minor altercations but nothing substantive. Oscar was not happy.

Months passed without much change of routine in Grecia or news from home. One day, the mail had a letter from his attorney saying that the movie had been completed and they had a tentative date for the opening. As all producers and directors will claim, "It will be a big hit." Oscar began to look forward to returning.

The premiere showing was to be in his hometown. Oscar was welcomed back by many of those who condemned him as a child molester. After a few parties and picture-taking events and media interviews, Oscar headed to see Harvey and meet the new girlfriend.

It was a happy reunion and Oscar was positively impressed by the girlfriend, Sally, who was pretty and not even half the size as Harvey. She was less mentally challenged than Harvey. They seemed to be much in love. Harvey told Oscar, "I really like my job. I can get as dirty as I want. Sally makes me take off my clothes as soon as I get in the door. Then I go to the shower." Harvey grinned, "She likes to see me naked." Sally giggled. They had a nice visit. Oscar had not felt this good in a long time. The good feeling did not last long.

Oscar next made his way to prison to visit Bryan. His purpose was to gloat. He got a surprise. Bryan sat across from him and was grinning. "Hey old buddy. I didn't know what a candy ass you really were when you made such a big deal of your treatment in prison. It's not so bad. Couple of scuffles and verbal threats. No big deal."

Oscar was steaming. Bryan took advantage. "How does it feel to know I tapped that great pussy of your ex-wife for seven years while you were in prison? I probably had more sex with her in those seven years than you two had in 15 years. She just couldn't get enough of my big dick. I loved sucking on those nice big titties. She said she was mad at herself for giving me up all those years ago. I could fuck so much better than you, that is, according to her. I liked to have never talked her into trying anal, but now she loves it. Guess who's dick she is missing now that I'm gone? Not yours." He laughed.

Oscar wanted to break through the glass and wring his neck. Bryan continued, "And that daughter of yours, Carol. Now that's a fine piece of ass. Her body is even better than Jean's. Her tits don't sag at all. I popped her cherry long ago. Jean had to be talked into swallowing, but Carol was ready the first time. My-oh-my what a cock-sucker."

"You lying son-of-a-bitch, piece of shit!" Oscar stood up so fast that he upset his chair.

Bryan just stared at him and said, "But you don't know if I'm lying or not, do you?" He broke out in laughter again.

Oscar just got up and left. He busted a knuckle hitting the nearest wall outside the visiting area. He asked to speak to Tyrone next. After waiting an hour, Oscar didn't even let Tyrone get seated before yelling, "What's the hell is going on?"

"Calm down, dude. Don't excite the guards." Tyrone thought Oscar should know better since the guards listened in. "Now tell me about the family."

Oscar simmered down. "Well, I told you before about my cousin that had to go to the hospital. It seems there was nothing really wrong with him after all. What do you think about that?"

"Things aren't always like they appear. Maybe he had guardian angels protecting him. You know, the ones in white robes. They do a good job of protecting believers who contribute to their church."

"A lot of people contribute to the different churches. I wonder how much one has to contribute before Heaven hears your prayers?"

"I would think that it would take a lot for God to hear my prayers."

"Tyrone, I have a lot of faith in you. I bet that whatever it would take to answer your prayers, it will be done."

"Thank you, Oscar. That makes me feel better. By the way, what problem was your cousin having?"

"He had a urinary problem. Said he was not able to pee, much less have sex."

"Oh, that's too bad. Don't worry, though. I think the doctors can take care of it now."

Oscar left in a better mood. He thought about how Tyrone had implied that Bryan had gotten the Aryan Brotherhood to protect him. He speculated it was probably Bryan's dad who owned the department store Bryan managed that provided the money. Although Oscar was upset Bryan's father had probably bribed the AB, Oscar was happy that the father had given up his claim to half of Jean's house. There was very little mortgage left for Jean to pay. Oscar then went to his lawyer to see that any bill from Tyrone for services rendered was to be paid. No matter the amount.

Oscar had agreed to meet with Jean and Carol. They immediately apologized and begged him to come home. Nothing new. He did ask to see his grandson if they could arrange a meeting without them around. Carol was speechless at first but agreed to bring Jeremy to the park where Carol and Jean could watch from afar. Jeremy was very social and had fun with his grandfather. Carol noticed tears in her father's eyes when he brought Jeremy back. Was this a breakthrough? Was he finally thawing?

Oscar did surprise them with a gift for looking after Harvey. After noticing the shape their vehicles were in, he bought each of them a new vehicle. His friend and neighbor, Terry at the Toyota dealership had been one of the few who took Oscar's side in the child molester charges. He paid sticker price even though Terry offered a much better deal.

Oscar left for Costa Rica again. He wanted to be out of the country when, hopefully, something bad happened to Bryan. Several weeks later he got the news. His lawyer sent a quote from a note smuggled out by Tyrone. "Aryan Brotherhood got bigger bribe. The only dick Bryan will be able to use now is the one he will find in his mouth or up his ass." The lawyer concluded with a short note that Tyrone's bill had been paid, and he didn't want to know what for.

Oscar was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. After buying a few rounds of Imperial beer for his friends, Oscar announced, "Anyone who says revenge is not worth it, hasn't done the revenge right." Although they didn't know what he meant, they all cheered and had another beer.

After returning home, Oscar noticed that his desire for continued revenge against his wife and daughter was lessened by the news of Bryan's 'medical issue.' "May he rot in Hell."

The movie was a hit - to everyone except those in Oscar's hometown. They did not like how they had been portrayed as back stabbers who jumped at the chance to convict an innocent man and send him to years of torture. The DA was seen as trying to launch his political career off Oscar's conviction. Jean, Carol, and Bryan's characters were cast as horrible villains. Jean and Bryan were supposedly lovers before the trial. Carol was a Lindsay Lohan clone who liked rebelling against her doting father.

The next news from the lawyer about the movie had a request attached. Also enclosed was a letter from Carol. His attorney explained. "I know you told me not to send letters from your former family, but when I read what she wrote, I decided to recommend you read it. What you have done seems to have had unintended consequences. Of course, it is up to you to read it or not."

Oscar was torn. The message about Bryan had Oscar feeling good. He decided to take a chance. The letter from Carol read:

"Dad"

"Mom and I have spent almost every day feeling guilty about how we treated you years ago. I want you to know now we're not feeling so guilty anymore. That's not to say we don't greatly regret what we did, because we still do. But the movie has ruined what part of our lives the guilt from our treatment of you didn't destroy. We have been shunned, threatened, insulted and refused service. Jeremy, the grandson you once disowned, got verbally attacked at pre-school because of how I was portrayed in the movie. Joe has left me. He couldn't take the stress. He fought for every penny in the divorce. The prick was supposed to pay me $350 a month in child support. You know how he pays me? He pays me $10.50 a day, by check or, sometimes, pennies, just for spite.

"Mom and I and Jeremy are living together now in a different town. She has had to go back to using her maiden name. We are facing bankruptcy. I'm sure that somewhere in your vengeful mind you are happy about the situation we've been put in. At least someone is happy.

"We don't go out much these days. We don't have money to go out and we don't want to take the chance of being recognized. For fun, we sit around and imagine what will be the next dose of Hell you have in store for us.

"I know we deserved some pain for what we did, but, well, just screw you, Dad."

"Carol"

Oscar was mad. Not so much at what Carol had said to him. It was one thing for him to get revenge on his family. That was his right, maybe even his duty. But for non-family to attack his family, that was a declaration of war.

Oscar booked a flight as soon as he could and headed back to his hometown and found out from his lawyer where his ex-family had moved to. He went there immediately.

The door opened and Oscar saw a Jean he had never seen before. She had lost weight and added wrinkles. She showed no emotions. Turning towards the kitchen, she yelled, "Carol, your father is here to gloat."

When she turned back to Oscar, she could see the tears in his eyes. Her disposition warmed, a little. "Oh, my goodness, he may have a heart after all. Well, you might as well come in."

It was then he saw Jeremy who said, "Oh, it's my asshole grandfather." Evidently those two words had been used together several times in his hearing lately.