Escalating

"On the plus side, that video does show that you said 'no' to Rocky at least three times. You reminded him four times that you were married. You said, 'I can't,' six times. In addition, you said 'please don't, please stop, don't cum in me,' and much more.

"Having said that, they can argue that the video shows you were only making feeble attempts to stop him. They might imply that other things you said and did prove that you were actually wanting what you got.

"Here's the problem. The law states that if the victim says 'no' or anything equivalent to that and the perp doesn't stop, it's rape. In reality, however, often the defense can cast doubt on that and convince the court that it was consensual.

"They just need to convince the court that other actions or words prove that the 'no' wasn't genuine and would not have been seen as realistic by the perp.

"In our case, anyone watching the whole video might be persuaded that your resistance wasn't forceful enough to justify a rape charge. Plus, you uttered many words that could be interpreted as words of consent.

"At any rate, we need to be prepared to deal with that video in court. For that reason, I want to show you folks the complete video now. First, I'm going to bring in Doctor Bill Reynolds. He's a psychiatrist with extensive experience in drug-related infidelity. We use him to help our clients through things like you folks are facing. He can help with areas that may prove to be difficult to handle."

She introduced Bill to us as she said, "I want you to watch every minute of the video. No leaving the room or even closing your eyes. We'll pause the video if you need or want a break. Just give it your undivided attention. After seeing the video, we'll discuss it and strategize."

She showed the video. When it ended, Jim was thinking, "That was the most painful 96 minutes of my life. I'm in shock."

Bill turned to Jim and asked him for his thoughts.

Jim responded, "I think Betty's right about not using it. It sure looks like Adele was a willing participant. Her face showed nothing but euphoria. Some of the things she did with him and said to him just devastate me.

"Yes, she did say 'no' several times and told him to stop. Yes, she told him she was married, but it's the way she said those things that bothers me. She didn't yell at him in anger. She just whined in what I can only describe as a 'submissive' voice.

"But even worse, she also made numerous statements of encouragement to him. She asked for much of what she got. It's plain to see that her resistance waned as time passed. By the end, it looked every inch of consensual to me.

"She made very little effort to stop him or to leave the room. From the looks of it, she would have stayed all night. He was the one that finally brought it to an end and sent her home. I'm very disappointed in her. She obviously gave no thought to me or our daughters. That breaks my heart."

Bill then asked Adele for her comments. When she was able to get herself under control, she said, "I can't believe I said those things. I can't believe I did those things. That's not who I am. That was a slut that I don't even know. If there was no video, I'd swear that I'd never do and say those things. Oh, my God," she sobbed.

Adele turned to Jim and cried, "Honey, please believe that I abhor everything that I did and those awful words that I said. I've been tipsy before, but I've never experienced anything like that where I lost all control. I swear, I'll never drink again. It's plain that I can't handle alcohol. Can we get past this? Is our marriage over?"

Bill broke in, "Hold on, you two. That's exactly the reaction that the defense would hope to get and why Betty doesn't want to use that video. If it must be used, what we must do is bring in expert witnesses that will confirm that a person with the morals of Mother Teresa would act exactly that way under the influence of that much Ecstasy. That drug not only overcomes inhibitions, it can enhance sexual arousal beyond belief at the dosage the lab says you had.

"Ecstasy doesn't change a person's convictions. That's why we heard Adele saying 'no' and mentioning that she was married and the rest of it. The problem was, even though she knew that what she was doing was against everything she stood for and was wrong in every way possible, she was powerless to resist. At that moment in time, she wanted him to take her. That's what Ecstasy's all about.

"Her ability to follow her convictions is what was gone. That's why her statements didn't seem convincing. At that instant, her desire overrode her morals. Her mind objected and battled with the drug, but the drug won. It always does.

"Both of you need to realize and accept that one very important thing. Put the blame where it belongs. It belongs on the drugs and the person that administered them."

At that point, Betty reiterated that she would prefer not to use or reveal the video of the private room activities. She would, however, probably need to use the video from the table since it showed Jenny spiking Adele's drinks. "When that video is revealed, there's a good chance that the defense might ask about the existence of other videos. That's why we need to be ready."

It would be nice to say that everything returned to normal once they left Betty's office, but that's not the way it was. Jim just couldn't get that video out of his head. He couldn't forget the look on his loving wife's face or the needy things that she said. They kept echoing through his mind.

As for Adele, she was overcome with guilt. She couldn't look at Jim. She was suffering, and he couldn't bring himself to comfort her. Things were not good. She only talked to him if he asked her a question. She never initiated a conversation. Even their daughters noticed that Mom was a different person.

Many were the times that he caught her crying. She started sleeping in the guest bedroom every night.

Finally, he'd had enough. He picked her up and carried her to their bedroom. He kissed her. She didn't resist, but she didn't kiss him back either. When he began a little foreplay, she jumped out of bed and ran from the room crying.

After breakfast the next morning, he told her, "Our marriage is dissolving right before our eyes. We need to fix it, or give it up. We can't go on like this.

"I'm going to make an appointment today. I'll either make an appointment with Doctor Reynolds to help us work out our problems, or with a divorce attorney. Which appointment shall I make, Adele? Which one?"

"Please, don't even mention a divorce, Jim. Think of Linda and Mindy. You're right, Honey, we need to fix this. I'm the problem, but I can't seem to handle it. Let's get help from Doctor Reynolds. That's my choice. It's the only choice that makes sense."

When Jim called the doctor, he got them in immediately. Bill began the appointment by asking Jim to explain their current problem.

Jim explained that they hadn't slept together since Adele got out of the hospital. She chose to sleep in the guest bedroom. He didn't object since he couldn't get the images of her and Rocky out of his mind.

"Bill, I decided to make an effort to nudge our love life back on track. I carried Adele to our bedroom. I was very unsure of myself. My biggest worry was that I would keep seeing the images of her with him and that would render me unable to perform. I didn't get the chance to see about that. She allowed me to kiss her, but she didn't kiss me back. As soon as I started foreplay, she jumped out of the bed and ran to the guest bedroom.

"I began to think about what Rocky had told me on the phone. He said that she would never be happy with me sexually after she'd experienced him. I recalled how big he was and how skillfully he used his equipment to give her experiences that I know she never had with me. I remember the ecstatic look on her face. I lost count of the number of orgasms she had. I was happy when I was able to give her two. I can't begin to compete with what he gave her. I can only believe that he was right, after all.

"That's why she ran away. Her expectations had changed and she no longer wanted what I had to offer. He had it right. My 'pencil prick' would never be enough for her after experiencing him. Just like he said, she wants her sex from him. She wants to relegate me to the role of provider and father. I won't put up with that. I won't be a cuckold. So, where do we go from here? Divorce?"

Adele jumped up from her chair. "No, no, no. You've got it all wrong. I see the images from that video in my mind too, but they don't excite me or arouse me. They produce only regret, guilt and self-loathing.

"I ran from the room because I don't deserve your love. I'm not fit to be your wife or the mother of your children. When you started touching me, I realized that my filthy body would only serve to contaminate you. I've hurt you enough already. I'm at my wit's end. I can't function anymore. Not at home and not at work. I'm a mess.

"As for Rocky, I hate him. Hate, hate, hate. I don't want him as a memory, let alone as a lover. There isn't a chance in hell of him ever replacing you. What can I say to convince you other than that I hate him and I hate what he made me become. I'm nothing but a quivering mess. I really can't function like this."

Bill ended up going through all of the points that he'd strived to explain before. He once again stressed the part that the drugs played in their dilemma. He stressed that neither one of them should blame the other. They needed to work together to assure that the fallout from the drugs wouldn't end up ruining a good marriage.

He prescribed some anti-depressants for Adele. He also gave them a stack of patient case files to read. All of them were about drug-involved cases similar to theirs. Of course, the names were blacked out.

The last thing that he suggested was that they begin sleeping together again. They needed to let nature take its course. Start with talking and cuddling. Step by step, they should be able to solve the problem. He told them there was no hurry. He advised them to take their time and do it right. He took his own advice because he certainly took his time with them. It turned out to be a very long appointment.

When they got home, they set aside some time to read the patient case files that he gave them. They read them together. It turned out that the patients that did well were the ones that shifted the blame away from themselves.

They blamed the attacker or the actions of someone else that enabled the attacker. Underneath everything was the drugs. They blamed the drugs. That was the secret to success: shift the blame.

Adele found it hard to do since she didn't remember the attack. Doctor Reynolds had suggested that she should shift the blame to Jenny, since it was all her doing. She spiked the drinks!

Adele warmed to that idea and made some progress, but she still felt overwhelming guilt and largely blamed herself.

They both worried about the upcoming court battle. They feared the consequences of having that video go public.

Surprise:

It was one dreadful evening that started all of the problems for Adele and Jim. Now, it was one beautiful Monday morning that swung things in a different direction.

They both received an early call at work from Betty. She asked them how determined they were to punish Rocky for what he did.

She stated that he'd offered to give the DA's office some important information in exchange for a reduced charge and no civil lawsuit. She said that Rocky's lawyer hinted that his client had been paid to seduce Adele!

Betty pointed out that if they agreed to his conditions, the videos probably wouldn't be needed at all. His testimony might prove to be all that was needed. That would definitely be to their benefit. The price, of course, was that Rocky wouldn't be tried for rape and they wouldn't be able to open a civil suit against him.

Adele said that she never wanted any contact with "that bastard" again.

Then she just let it all hang out. She told Betty, "He knew I was drunk. Maybe he knew that I was drugged. He knew I was married, for sure, but that didn't even slow him down. He gave me the full-court press. For what? As far as I'm concerned, I would like to see him get the death penalty. Lacking that, I'd like a restraining order to keep him away from me and my family.

"To avoid the embarrassment of having that video shown in court, however, I'd be inclined to agree to his terms. I'll be content to see Jenny reap the whirlwind from that crop of poison that she sowed. She was the witch in charge of the mind-numbing brew that I drank. The final decision should be made by my husband. I don't deserve to make that choice."

When Jim heard what Adele said to Betty about Rocky, Jenny and the drugs, he rejoiced! Adele was finally shifting the blame! God bless her, she was shifting the blame.

Jim said, "Betty, I just want to get this thing over with. I'll do whatever you think is best. I do, however, agree with Adele's request for a restraining order."

A few days later, the cat was out of the bag. Rocky ratted-out Jenny. She'd paid him $500 to seduce Adele. There would be an additional $500 if he could get Jim to file for a divorce. In addition, Jenny told Rocky that she was going to sneak some drugs into Adele's drinks. Those spiked drinks would prepare Adele for his advances and make his job easy. She'd also rented some audio/visual equipment to record just what a slut Adele really was.

That explained a lot. Even that phone call to Jim in the middle of the night made sense now. Rocky was trying to earn an additional $500.

Jenny did all of those crazy things to enhance her chances for a promotion! Does that even compute? Was a promotion worth that amount of evil and that amount of risk?

Fallout and Future:

Rocky lost his internship and Jenny was fired on the same day. The boss had been interviewed by the SVU team and the whole story and been revealed.

Jenny paid a huge price for her actions. Adele and Jim got some big bucks from her with their civil suit based on Rocky's testimony. Then, to get a reduced charge from the DA, Jenny identified the dealer that had sold her the drugs.

She avoided prison in exchange for her cooperation. However, the protection that they promised her must not have been adequate. She became the "random" target of a drive by shooter one morning while she was out for a jog. She'll never be able to jog again.

Of course, there was no civil suit against Rocky, per the agreement. He got off pretty light. He was sentenced to "perform" some public service.

At least he was still a "performer," but of a different type. He didn't get any credit for his internship. In fact, the report from the boss was very negative. We heard that the SVU team advised Rocky to leave town after he completed his court-ordered duties.

When all is said and done, there were many mistakes made, but two of them stand out.

First, Adele shouldn't have gone to that party. As soon as she found out that its purpose was to sell sex toys, she should've declined. It appears that she let her desire to see Rocky dance overpower her reasoning. That's her bad. But who'd have dreamed that it would end the way it did?

No one could have predicted that Jenny would do what she did. Adele was a straight-laced gal with perfect morals, until now. She'd been a dedicated wife and mother. None of that could compete with those drugs. That's scary.

Second, Jim should've never watched that video. But who could've known that it would bother him so much?

That damn video. He still hears her asking Rocky repeatedly to fuck her and telling him it was the best sex she'd ever experienced. Better than her wildest dreams. Saying that his cum tasted divine. "It's salty like a pretzel but as sweet as honey." Praising his big cock almost to the point of worship!

What hurt Jim the worst was when Rocky asked Adele if she'd ever enjoyed having sex this much before, and she answered, "not even close, Babe, not even close!"

"Not even with your husband, the father of your children?" he asked.

"Like I said, Babe, not even close."

Those words are imprinted on Jim's

brain.

But Jim also admitted to his mom, "Adele has been devastated by the video too. For the longest time, her guilt was palpable. At first, when I came into the room, she would cower like an abused puppy. She just knew in her heart that I hated her.

"There are still times that she just cries spontaneously. I'm able to comfort her now, but at first, I was unable to sympathize, even though all the evidence about the drugs indicated that she was innocent. That damn video!"

The investigators said that they had analyzed the timing of the drink spiking and there was no doubt that the Ecstasy was already influencing Adele's behavior before she left the table. Jim has been slow to accept that, but he's working on it.

He remembers that he was afraid of going into the water after seeing Jaws, even though there had never been a shark incident in his area. It was something burned into his brain by a movie.

He told his brother, "It reminds me of when Dad got Alzheimer's. Sometimes the things he said really bothered me. For instance, one time he accused me of trying to kill him. Some of his rhetoric and actions made me very angry. I had to keep reminding myself that it was the disease that was talking, not Dad.

"It's been even harder for me to blame those drugs for what I saw and heard on that video. Those things really happened. It wasn't a fictional movie. It was my real wife doing real things! Having said that, I've done a lot of research about those drugs lately and talked to various doctors. With each fact that I uncover, I become more confused.

"Bro, what I've discovered isn't quite what Dr. Reynolds told us. Ecstasy isn't a ticket straight to sex and infidelity. I've found that while Ecstasy may contribute to arousal, it mainly makes the user desire more intimate contact with others. It, like alcohol, tends to override inhibitions. It's not, however, a magic bullet that always leads to sex.

"Many people can take it and still resist temptation. It doesn't automatically lead to an orgy! It's probably more powerful than alcohol, but it's not a sure thing. When you get a combination like Adele got, it's uncharted territory.

"There's a legitimate disagreement among the experts about Ecstasy. Some, like Doctor Reynolds, believe that it alters a person's normal behavior. Other experts say that the drug only lets the true person shine through. They're only doing what they have always wanted to do. They were only prevented from doing those things by the veneer that they constructed to hide their true selves.

"One thing is certain. Rohypnol and GHB will definitely cause the memory loss that Adele experienced. It's also claimed that they make it impossible for the victim to resist. What I read indicated that they're pretty much unresponsive.

"That wasn't the case with Adele. She participated in those sex acts. Even the kinky ones. She talked to him like she knew what she was saying and meant every word. That troubles me, Bro. That troubles me big time. And while I'm at it, there's another thing that bothers me as much or more. When Jenny came to see Adele at the hospital, Adele blamed her for what had happened. It was what Jenny said in answer to Adele that is rooted in my memory."

She said, "Adele, you chose to go with Rocky. You'd been eyeing him all night. You've always had the hots for him. You wanted to be with him, Adele. I'm sorry that it went bad. I teamed you up with him because I knew you had been fantasizing about him ever since you met him."