Ambushed

"Yes, I remember. You called me at work to tell me about it. We went to the drive in movies with my folks and your mom instead," I replied.

"That's the one," she confirmed. "Anyway, I used the phone on Morgana's desk to call you. She was in the back somewhere doing something, I don't remember what. She arrived back at her desk and sat down while I finished my call with you. When I hung up, she gave me a really condescending look. Then she asked me if I always had to get your permission to do anything. I told her that I wasn't asking for permission. We discussed our plans ahead of time because we do things together and I want you to come with me. Unfortunately, we had already made other plans before the parties were announced. Since that day, I've noticed the other tellers whispering with each other and even occasionally giggling."

"It sounds a little like some junior high kids acting up," I ventured. "Is that all they are doing? Are you being ostracized or blatantly excluded from anything?"

"Well, no, it doesn't happen all that often. You should know that Steve is hosting another party tonight. Steve asked me if I were going since I hadn't been there for the last one. Morgana was really snide and said that I hadn't yet asked my husband for permission to pee. Then they stood there in the lobby, almost laughing at me. I told them we were going to be busy with my mother that evening and I didn't need to call and let you know. I went back to work and when they closed the office, I went outside and waited for you. They all managed to honk their horns at me as they left," she finished.

Then she looked at me with a severe look and said, "I was really hurt when they did that. It might be junior high, but peer pressure is still alive and well. No, I'm not being ostracized per se, but their chicken Charlie hi jinks are taking their toll."

I was frowning by the time she finished. "I'm sorry Claire," I said. "I didn't know they were treating you like that at work. Since you told me previously that Steve and the other two guys are best pals, I don't think you could turn in a complaint of work force harassment or hostile work environment that would do any good."

I paused a moment, "On a more immediate note, if you want to go, let's change clothes and go to the party. I don't think they would be very far ahead of us. We would be the ones fashionably late for once."

I smiled at her and waited to see what she would decide. Finally she smiled back at me and said, "Nah, not tonight. It would look like I was trying to ingratiate myself with a bunch of jerks. But I think that I would like us to go to the next one. I think we should send a message that we do what we decide to do. I'm just not so sure about calling you at work anymore. That act seems to give them more fodder for their kiddy games, so I think we need a better plan."

I sat pensively for a moment then made the biggest mistake of my life to that point. "Look Claire, if you really want to go to these parties straight from work, go ahead. No, I'm not giving you permission because it isn't mine to give. I trust you and believe that you trust me. I was trying to be your protector and I don't like putting you into a bad light at work.

You are an adult married woman and are quite capable of making your own decisions. It is just that we almost got hurt when they pulled that rumor bullshit, remember?" I said. "I am still at a loss as to what is going on here and why these people are acting this way. If nothing else, can you call home and leave a message on the machine? This way I can still find you. Does that sound feasible?"

Claire sat until I finished speaking. I could tell she was thinking it over and then she said, "Ok. That works for me. I'll leave a message here. That also cuts down on personal calls to your job. At least I know that you will know and have all the details. I'd like you to come to where we are and keep me company. Besides, Morgana's husband sometimes shows up as do some of the other spouses. But, I would like to point out that this plan puts me in the position of making all the decisions regarding the Friday parties. If I decide not to go, I will be waiting for you to arrive. I wouldn't want to not attend a party if you wanted to be there. The other side is I am committing you to a function you don't want to attend."

"Ok, I can see your quandary here, so you decide whether to go or not and I will decide when we leave," I answered. I didn't like it, but this arrangement would be better than doing nothing and should ease some of the crap she was dealing with at work.

Claire looked like a weight had been lifted as she got up to go change clothes. I started dinner. It was a quiet weekend except when she got really loud. That happened quite a bit, and neither of us minded.

The next party was three weeks later. I saw the message light on the answering machine. I looked there first since she wasn't waiting for me at work. I quickly changed and drove to the party. Interestingly, this night it was held at Morgana's house. Silly me. I thought Steve hosted all of these affairs. I made myself and Claire a couple of drinks which were more mixer than alcohol. I had to drive home. It was a relatively quiet party. Claire was next to me most of the night and smiled her appreciation at the weak drinks.

I caught a few stray questioning looks which Claire's co-workers shot my way, but I pretended I didn't notice. I did notice Steve and Terry, one of his buddies, watching me and Claire a few times. They did nothing untoward, but I was curious why they didn't approach us the entire evening. I told myself to ask Claire about it later. I also noticed that Steve's other buddy, Ken, wasn't around.

Finally, we put our glasses down as Morgana approached. We took our leave and thanked her. Strangely, as we were leaving, I saw Ken come into the room from down the hallway. I presumed the bathroom was that way, but then he and Steve high fived each other. What, did he manage to go potty all by himself? I didn't think enough of it to tell Claire on the way home. Damn it. I was really messing up.

The next month I didn't see Claire after work, so I hurried home and checked the answering machine. The party was at Ken's house this time. She left directions and the address. I changed clothes and sped to the address. When I arrived, something seemed amiss. I knocked on the door and waited. And waited. I pushed the doorbell and could hear it ring inside. Shit. All the lights were on, but apparently nobody was home. What is this crap? I was getting fed up. As I started walking back to my truck, one of the neighbors stepped out on the porch and yelled, "Hey you."

I started walking his way when he yelled again, "Are you looking for the party?"

"Yes I am," I yelled back.

"I heard them as they left saying they were going to Phil's Bar. If you hurry you can catch up."

"Thanks a lot," I yelled as I headed for the truck. Son of a bitch. She let me know where they were, so they decided to try a switch. Mother fuckers are going to be surprised tonight. I would really like to get the real story here. I found a space at Phil's Bar and pulled in next to a black Beemer. Hmmm. I should have held onto the door a little tighter. Oops, that's why you buy insurance.

I went inside the bar and looked the place over. The music was thumping through the walls outside, but from the din in here you'd think it all stayed put. Damn, it was loud! I saw Claire out on the floor fast dancing with Steve. Changing my focus, I finally spotted the rest of the group in a back corner around a couple of pushed together tables. No one else from the group seemed to be dancing. Or conversing either. Not that you could have a conversation with all of this noise, but they were sipping at drinks while watching Steve and Claire. 'Are they that good at dancing?' I thought, 'or are these people really that bored?'

Ken or Terry, one of them anyway, was standing next to a seated woman I hadn't seen before. 'Must be his wife,' I thought. 'I guess they had to let her come along since they changed plans in the middle. Be interesting to see if anyone tries any hanky panky.' I also noted no other empty seats around their tables.

I stepped to the bar and ordered a draft, then turned to watch the action on the floor. Steve had pulled Claire into a rather tight clinch for the slow dance. I noticed him pushing his crotch at her leg. The song ended and she started to leave the floor, but Steve grabbed her hand as another song started and pulled her back. From her movements, I was pretty sure that she'd been drinking. Steve and his antics were rubbing me raw, so I decided to change the floor show.

First though, I made my way to the group in the corner and announced myself with a big smile, "Hi guys. Moved the party, huh? Good thing, that last one was rather dead, wasn't it? Sorry, Morgana, I just call them as I see them. Then again it looks like the same dead party with twice the music. Oh excuse me, I see Claire dancing. See you all in a few." I set my beer down on the table and moved towards the floor leaving a couple of stunned looks behind.

I had to look for a moment before I found them on the edge of the dance floor towards the bathrooms. I pushed my way through the dancers until I was behind Steve and tapped him on the shoulder. He started and looked to see who tapped him.

His jaw dropped open as I said, "My turn to dance with my wife. Excuse us please. Thank you."

I pushed my way into her arms and took her away from him while he stood there looking both shocked and pissed off. Claire was looking at me as though she had never seen me before. I needed to calm down, so I just kept dancing. Under the music, I heard someone yelling. I glanced towards the group once to see Steve gesturing rather violently at his friends and co-workers.

None of them looked happy. One of the women said something that seemed to stop his tirade. After a moment he turned away from them and looked as though he was trying to locate us on the dance floor. I looked down at Claire who had laid her head on my chest while we were dancing. I found that I had started singing to her along with the song. It was a private little something I had always done while dancing with her. She lifted her head and her face lit up with a huge smile.

"Hi, honey," she slurred. "Where did you come from? How come it took so long for you to get here?"

"Hi baby," I said back to her. "I think it is time for us to go home now. Where is your purse?"

"Oh," she said, "I left it on the table over there with the others. Hey, I missed the first dance with you," she finished grumpily. We always danced the first and last dances together.

"I'm sorry I missed it too, but I'm here now," I smiled back. "Let's go get your purse and go home. I'm getting a little tired and this is the last dance. I didn't miss this one, all right?"

"Good," she slurred back. "I'm really tired, too."

I turned her sideways and keeping my arm around her shoulders, I escorted her across the dance floor. Steve met us a few paces away from the table.

"Hey, now it's my turn," he yelled as he reached for her.

Putting my hand in the center of his chest, I pushed him backwards. He was still solid from his football days, but I got lucky as he was a little off balance. I guess he didn't think I would come at him.

"Get your hands off my wife, asshole," I fired back at him, "and go dance with your own. We're leaving now and thanks for a nice party."

Still holding Claire, I shouldered past him to the table. Six faces with different versions of amazed looks stared at me as we approached.

"Who's watching Claire's purse?" I asked. "We decided to take this party home. Sorry to drink and run, but there's always next month."

Amazing thing, with all that noise they heard me just fine. A woman sitting next to Morgana stood up enough to hand it to me across the table. That act earned her a blistering stare from Morgana. Good thing Morgana didn't see the smile she gave along with the purse. I'd have to find out her name.

"Thank you and good night all," I said as we turned and headed towards the exit. I had noticed my beer wasn't there anymore. Yeah, like I'm going to finish a drink I haven't had in my hand the whole time in a place like this.

Steve just watched us leave. He was still standing on the dance floor with people bouncing into him. I ignored him. I muscled Claire into the truck and drove home. I put her to bed. I'd learned my lesson the last time. I stripped and crawled into the bed next to Claire and fell asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, she had wrapped herself around me and her head was on my shoulder. I saw that her eyes were open and she was watching me.

"What happened?" she finally asked.

"You were dancing with Steve when I arrived. From your movements, I surmised you had overindulged," I replied. "but as a matter of fact, I found that you were out on your feet. I'm surprised you could even move."

It took a moment for her to catch up, but then she retorted, "Wait just a moment here. I had one drink at Ken's house, then I heard someone say that we were moving the party over to Phil's Bar. I looked for the phone to call you, but everyone was quickly moving out the door and took me along with them. The next thing I knew, you were singing to me. Don't tell me I've been drinking too much if I only had one drink."

I lay there with her head resting on my shoulder for a moment. Then I said, "I'm sorry I thought that. I need the bathroom." I got out of bed and as I was finishing, she came into the bathroom and sat down. Good thing she was naked or she wouldn't have made it.

I reached past her and started the shower. She finished and stood up, then pushed her arms around my neck. I helped her into the shower where we washed each other, slowly and lovingly. We dried each other with the towels, then moved together back into the bedroom. I was still turning things over in my mind.

"Remember that first party?" I started. "You were just like that last night. I never asked before, but I was wondering if you remember how many drinks you had at that first party?"

Claire arranged herself on my lap, leaning into me and was quiet for a moment. "Two. I think it was two. One or two at the most," she said, then looked into my face. "Oh, shit. I don't remember how many I had at that party. I just know that I drank some and danced a whole lot more. I walked through the front door and saw you. Then I got up and took a shower. That's all I remember. You know the rest."

"I don't know," I said as I kissed her forehead. "I am really worried about you. I know you love your job, but maybe we need to think about a change of employers for you.

That got a rise out of her. "Bull shit," she screamed at me. "I'm not quitting my job because you think I'm some drunk."

Then she pulled herself back a little and continued, "I happen to like my job and the customers who bank there. And yes, I mostly like my coworkers, even if they sometimes act like kids. I've worked my way to number one on the seniority list, and I'm not going to quit without a damn good reason."

That pretty much ended that discussion. It was her job and she had the right to keep it, even though I had serious reservations concerning her coworkers. Just one more agonizing event to rip me apart all these years later.

Curiously, the Friday night parties stopped after that night at Phil's Bar. I didn't bring it up with Claire. I just noticed that she was waiting for me after work as usual.

Later during that year, Mr. Short suffered a mild heart attack. He was all right, but he needed to cut back on his work at the bank. When the official invitations arrived in the mail for the Christmas party, no one was surprised to see that Steve was hosting it at his house. Ellen's family was rather wealthy, so they were able to afford a big house in the town's newest sub-division. It was two stories, full basement, bedrooms and bathrooms on each floors, etc., etc., etc.

Steve's house was a lot larger than Mr. Short's house, so people weren't as crowded together in one room. We arrived on time and mingled with the others, staying by each other's side. Things felt a bit tense between us that evening, but I didn't know why. It could have been because it was the first time we'd 'partied' with her coworkers since that night and she was still sensitive. I worked hard at enjoying the night and she slowly relaxed.

Steve and Ellen were standing near the kitchen, casually greeting people. At the moment, they were talking with the woman from the bar and her husband. Claire told me the lady's name was Tracy. People started moving towards the recreation room in the basement for the dancing as we heard the music start. I was impressed with the size of the room and started to say something to Claire, then stopped. She had been here before.

The room boasted a bar along one wall with a copper spittoon on the floor at one end. A very impressive entertainment system filled another wall. The first song was a slow dance and some people were already dancing, so I guided Claire out with them. We were floating around the roomy floor together when I bumped into somebody. We stopped dancing and looked to see Steve standing there with that hundred watt smile. He was breaking into our dance.

I guess he thought he was paying me back for the bar, but I wasn't going to allow it. I started to ignore him and move Claire to resume our dance, but instead, Claire stepped in closer to me and whispered in my ear, "It's all right, honey. Let him break in, please. His wife can't dance and he is the host."

I had noticed Ellen sitting and visiting with some people along one wall when they came into the room. She obviously wasn't going to dance with anyone that night. I stopped and looked into Claire's eyes for a moment, then stepped back and surrendered her to Steve. God help me, but I didn't realize at the time I had totally given her away to him.

I was quite upset, but managed to keep my mouth shut. I didn't want Claire thinking I would throw a tantrum. I moved off the floor towards the bar and got a drink while watching them. They danced well and Steve kept his hands in view. That song ended and Claire broke away from him and started towards me. Just then a fast dance came on and Steve tapped her shoulder from behind. I don't know who she was expecting to see, but when Steve started dancing fast she followed.

It should have been me. Would, should, and could are three little words with the singular purpose of inflicting guilt on someone. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. That one instant was the one time I needed to be there for her. At the end of that dance, I finally moved towards her. Another couple stopped next to them and, after a brief word, they switched partners. He started dancing with Claire while Steve danced with the other woman. I felt a little better that he was moving away from Claire.

I went back to the bar. I had another drink while watching my wife dance with other men, just like the previous parties.

Tracy stepped in front of me and took my hand. She pulled me out onto the floor with her. I hadn't realized that she and her husband were standing next to me. My entire focus had been on Claire. I tried to keep an eye on Claire, watching to see that nothing happened. I didn't really think Steve would try anything here with his wife in the room, but then I couldn't be sure of that either, could I?

"You really love your wife, don't you?" I heard in my ear.

Startled I looked at Tracy and said, "Excuse me?"

She smiled at me and repeated, "You really love your wife, don't you?"

I smiled back and nodded, "Yes, I really do love her. We've been together since grade school."