Thanks to all of the readers that wrote me about my first Lit story, All My Children. I appreciated the many ideas and suggestions. I could tell from the feedback activity that my story had generated many comments. Readers either loved it or hated it.
As you could tell from that first endeavor, my stories tend to have no winner. As with real life, everyone looses. You might find maybe one character in each of my stories to have any redeeming social values. Chances are all of the characters are unlikable to most readers.
I hope you find this one to be as controversial! Or at least surprising!
Some people provided feedback on my second story, The Water Drop, indicating I failed to develop the characters enough. So, I have tried to give more background on the characters and provide more on their traits.
Some people asked for more sex scenes. Well, this one is loaded with all kinds of sex-related scenes.
Some people said No " to be continued" stories. So, sorry about the length of this story, but I'm just too lazy to break this up into smaller sections. As it is, there are two story segments to be published in order to give the reader a logical break point.
So readers, here is my next effort. I've tried to address everyone's constructive feedback as best I can with this story. There is something for darned near every taste in this work.
Many thanks, Lydia for your professional editing, and suggestions. I couldn't publish without your assistance! I hope I made all of the changes you requested.
And now... on with the story.
Chapter 1 - Celebration
I had just wrapped up a new book deal for a lot of money and was very pleased. Time to celebrate! I spotted a lounge across the street from my hotel and decided to have a victory cocktail.
I entered from the bright sun light into the dimly lit lounge. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the relatively dark watering hole. Only three customers were to be seen.
A man and woman sat at a table and one man was seated at the bar.
The man and woman looked up when I entered and then went back to their private conversation.
The man at the bar sat quietly nursing what looked like bourbon on the rocks. A small pile of stir sticks attested that this was not his first of the day. His clothes looked like he had worn them for a month straight. He looked up as I pulled out a bar stool and made myself comfortable. He nodded at me and then returned to looking intently at the amber fluid in his glass.
The bartender, an attractive woman in her late thirties, rested her elbows on the counter and asked, "What's your pleasure, Mister?"
"Well, good lookin', I'm celebrating. Give me what he is having." I pointed at the man at the bar's drink. "And set up a round for the house."
The bartender laughed and looked around the room at the three other customers. "Hey, big spender, a round for the whole house. Think you can afford it?"
We both laughed. This drew the attention of the man at the bar. He looked at me with the eyes of a dead man. There was no life in them. Just two dull orbs of blue pupil set in the crimson eyeballs of a habitual drinker.
The bartender sat another glass in front of him. He focused on me and said, "Thanks." Then he dropped his head and returned to inspecting the contents of his glass.
I was in high spirits. I hated to see someone so depressed sitting not three seats away from me. I walked down to the man and stuck out my hand.
"Hi. My nickname is Doc. I'm celebrating closing a great business deal. Celebrate with me!"
Slowly, he looked up and after several seconds gripped my hand and said with a sad smile, "Hello, the name is Terrence Sudcliffe. Terry to my friends and family." Then he sobbed, took a drink, and continued, - "My friends and family - that is a laugh. My 'friends and family' who knew what she was doing. My 'friends and family' who cuckolded me. My 'friends and family ' who lied to me. My 'friends and family' who stole everything I valued and left me with nothing."
He dropped his head and said no more.
I was intrigued by what could possibly have broken this man's spirits so completely. Thinking there might be material for a future book idea here, I decided to attempt to strike up a conversation and pull out what events had led to this poor man's current condition.
It took me another hour and two more drinks to get him talking. But once he began, it was like a dam bursting. For the next three hours, he poured out his story to me. I tried to remember as much as I could and wrote it down immediately after he left. His story follows:
Chapter 2 - July 4th, Three Years Ago
"Up until three years ago, I was a happily married man with a beautiful wife and one wonderful daughter. I had a large home in one of the more prestigious areas of Atlanta and belonged the best Country Club that only the best people joined."
"But on July 4th, three years ago, all of that began to fall apart."
"I got up early that July 4th. I would normally sleep in until 9 or 10 on a holiday, but I wanted to spend some extra time with my older brother, Bob, who had flown in a few days earlier to spend the holiday with my family."
"Bob and I had both led miserable childhoods. Bob had suffered from a rare form of leukemia and I was regularly used as an organ warehouse for my brother."
"I had provided a kidney, multiple bone marrow donations, and almost constant weekly whole blood transfusions. I had been sick at my stomach for months on end due to the medications I was given to increase my blood production. The bone marrow transplant procedures had been blindingly painful experiences for me. I still have to be careful about liquid intake due to having only one kidney."
"Bob had eventually gone into remission in his mid-teens, but had severe mental scars from the health problems and invasive medical procedures he had experienced. He had become extremely antisocial and had, over a six-month period, robbed, at gun point, several retail businesses "just for the fun of it" he had boasted. For these offenses he had spent a year in a juvenile detention facility. The mental health professionals assigned to his case at the facility had noticed his tremendous need to control others."