Flames

The only wrinkle came in the form of the judge adding one extra day onto my incarceration period. It didn't sound like much but my attorney objected and was promptly overruled. It meant that I had to serve the entire 12 months and one day locked up with no early release. Otherwise I might have been released on good behavior after serving 244 days.

Linda wouldn't look at me but I saw the tears on her cheek. No explanation, no telling me she was sorry, no nothing but her god damn tears. Well, so much for it was how I remember feeling. Jake told me he would have the house looked after while I did my time. It was already paid for and I had enough in savings to take care of taxes and insurance and anything else that came up.

I surrendered the following Monday morning and started my time with the pea soup green walls and 28 other miscreants watched over by 6 jailbird attendants. There were two other inmates with me in a common cell that holds 6 so we had plenty of room for spreading out. One of the fellows was in for a 30 day DUI and the other one was doing 60 days for pot possession. I think the worse offense in the place was me.

Three months into my stay I received the divorce decree. I could have fought it but between my attorney and me, we both figured it would be a complete waste of time with my being in jail. The only good thing about it was Linda still left with just the cash she took on the day she left the papers on the kitchen table. I still had my house and savings and anything else we had accumulated over our ten years together.

I had visitors three or four times a week, mostly folks from out at the plant and a couple of my neighbors stopped in a few times. It broke the monotony and helped make the stay bearable and reinforced the knowledge that I had friends who cared.

About halfway through my stay I was reading the newspaper and discovered that Linda and the prick had married with a ceremony and reception at the McCullough farm with half the town somebodies in attendance. There was a big picture of the bride and groom, she being dressed in a flowing white bridal gown with a train at least 15 feet long. McCullough must have had some new teeth put in because he was smiling.

The worse came later and I came to understand how much pull McCullough had with people in places of power and influence. It was around 11:30PM on a Saturday night just after the night crew came on duty. The jail keepers were mostly patronage jobs appointed by the County Commissioners, most of who were in Daniel McCullough's pocket.

I heard the whooping and hollering out in the general area and rose up from my bunk to take a look. Several of the inmates were gathered around the big wall mounted television in the corner and were engrossed in the movie playing and had the sound turned up. It was a fuck video and about as graphic as it gets.

The guys were getting really rowdy as the video became raunchier. The woman was sucking the guys cock and licking his balls, at least the sack. It didn't look like he had much there but she worked his skinny five inch dick very well. Eventually, he laid her down and opened her wide and before entering her, he turned back to the camera which was probably sitting on a dresser or some such and said the words I had already heard.

"This desirable piece of ass is mine now."

Daniel McCullough just grinned and turned back to fuck my ex-wife.

The men in the area continued with their hollering and I walked back to my bunk. My two roommates were already long discharged and I had the place to myself. It was a good thing because that was a dark night. For the first time in several months I had tears in my eyes and a restless sleep.

The sneers from a couple jailers the next morning almost pushed me over the edge but somehow I let it go and stayed focused on the hand dealt to me. I had four months left and with a clean nose I would walk out into the sunshine again.

One thing the video did make clear to me was that my unfaithful whore of a wife didn't leave me for any sexual thrills Even without the busted up testicles, Daniel McCullough didn't offer much to leave women panting for more, at least from what I could see. What Linda Harris Donaldson McCullough gained was wealth and that apparently was worth more than ten years of a devoted husband.

'Fuck her' is all I remember thinking of for the last four months I was there and not a single thought of it was sexual.

The County turned me loose with my old clothes and a smile from the girl at the desk; her husband worked with me at the plant. My attorney met me in the lobby and we went to lunch; a double cheeseburger and two pints of beer. With the restraining order now lifted since the divorce was final and I was free, I could come and go as I pleased now. The rest of my sentence beyond the 1 year and a day was suspended meaning I didn't have to report to a probation officer or make reports to the court. I was completely unhindered.

"Liam, I'm telling you this just so you know and don't hear it wrong." Jake said to me later that evening over a beer.

"That arrogant bastard put a couple shiners on your ex-wife a couple weeks ago; claimed she fell down the stairs. She went along with the story but nobody believes it."

"That grass sure is greener on that side of the fence isn't it" I replied to him.

He just looked at me funny.

"Well, son, I know she's not your favorite person right about now but when I heard about it I just tried to keep in mind the girl I met when you two first came to town. I wouldn't wish that son of a foul bitch on anybody."

Jake was right of course. I hated the bitch for what she did but I loved her for a long time and still loved her. It's one hell of a dichotomy to go through life like that. My parents went through something like that when I was little. My mom had an affair and they separated for a while over it. After my mom died we had a long talk about life and expectations. He told me he hated her for what she did yet still loved her. The only way through it all from his perspective was to either find another woman to love or find a way to live with the woman he already loved.

It devastated my mother as much as my dad but eventually they found a way to make a real peace in their lives. He had to choose one or the other. He couldn't just pine away. I chose to find peace with a good piece.

Sherri had been flirting with me since I returned to my old job. Jake was true to his word; they kept my position open until I could return to it and I was forever thankful. Sherri was a couple years older than me and managed the Logistics group at the plant. We had the same work schedules so we ran into each other frequently and one Friday afternoon I worked up the challenge to ask her out.

I picked her up early that evening and we went to dinner at a new steakhouse just outside of town. She was dressed to impress and to be brutally honest I was as nervous as a kid in high school on his first date with a girl. I hadn't been with any woman except Linda for the past 11 years and I certainly hadn't been intimate over the past 12 months.

Sherri didn't make it any easier with the killer cleavage she had on display and the sheer femininity of her personality. I was smitten and if she had any inclination of how bad, she could have manipulated me any way she wanted. We enjoyed the dinner and a couple of drinks before heading over to one of the two dance saloons in town.

This one had a two- step band with big hats and a checkered dance floor along with a good repertoire of 'Asleep at the Wheel' songs. That girl danced my socks off and if I had allowed her she would have drank me under the table. I was damn thankful she didn't do it because later that night, I got laid in a big way.

'The first piece of pussy a jailbird gets when set free is the best pussy of his life'. A great big giant of a man serving 30 days for tearing up the lawn of his ex-wife told me that and he was as sincere as he could be. He should know having been jailed half a dozen times and had the experience just as many; a couple of times with the damn ex herself.

Sherri and I jumped bones together several times over the next couple of months and a lot of folks began seeing us as a regular couple. After about six months, she agreed to move in with me. At first it was a bit odd to have another woman living in the house with me. In comparison to Linda, Sherri was nearly the opposite.

Physically, she was rather petite, bubbly, blond, blue-eyed and very outgoing and she loved to cook. As a local native she loved everything about Setterville and the community so much so she was involved with just about everything going on in the community in one fashion or another. That led to some uncomfortable situations for me.

Once Linda Harris Donaldson McCullough became the wife of the bastard she found easy entry into every social and community gathering and club in the area. When she was just my mundane and boring middle class wife she never expressed interest in the local happenings. Now she was everywhere and unavoidable, including being among some of the same social gatherings as Sherri.

I should have avoided the commitment when asked but I wasn't thinking at the time. Sherri had just pulled my softening prick out of her pretty little mouth and at that moment I would have done anything she asked.

"You need to rent a tux." She said.

"Why?"

"Because we are going to the Setterville Garden Ball and it is a black tie affair, that's why." She replied to me as she licked the last little drop of cum off her finger.

How could I argue with that so that's what I did? I got fitted for a black tie tux and bought Sherri a fantastic dress for the affair and we went to the Ball a couple weeks later.

This was one of those half-way exclusive events open to the public as long as you bought the expensive fund raising tickets and could afford to go black tie and dinner gown. Since Sherri was a long time member of the Garden Club it was expected she would attend with her gentleman escort (me). A lot of the movers and shakers in town were there and on a return trip from the restroom I ran into one of them.

She wasn't paying attention while smiling at the nonsense her companion was spouting and ran right into me. Our eyes met and I detected both fear and remorse before they darted away and then returned.

"Linda." I simply stated with little emotion.

It was the first word I had spoken to her since the night before I found the papers on the kitchen table. In fact it was the first time I had seen her since I stood in that courtroom to receive my sentence for pummeling the arrogant prick who stole her from me.

She struggled to form the words she needed to say and could only whisper.

"Liam ...I -"

As I walked away I heard her say it in just a barely audible murmur.

"I ... am sorry."

I think I paused for a moment but I know I continued down the hall and back to the Ballroom. Sherri was engrossed in conversation with a trio of men and she waved at me as I stood at the bar to freshen my drink. If there was one thing I knew I would never have to worry about it was seeing her swept away by another man.

She had been burned in her first marriage by her philandering husband and made no bones about what she thought of my ex-wife. He tried to wipe her out financially and almost succeeded until one of the husbands of the women he ran around with made a convincing argument to him to simply leave town and not look back. He took the advice and left Sherri with everything and hasn't been heard from since.

When I got back to her, she introduced me to her charmers who turned out to be old friends of her family, one of whom lead her off to the dance floor leaving me to entertain my new found acquaintances. She at least winked when she did it.

Later on the dance floor she whispered in my ear.

"Are you OK seeing her here tonight?"

I knew what she was talking about. We had talked about each other's travails at length in the past. Hers was a closed book. Mine was still an open ended tragedy that had never had closure.

"Yeah, I'm OK. I ran into her in the hallway but we didn't talk. I think she wanted to but couldn't and I didn't want to hear anything she had to say."

We danced silently for a while and then she hugged me closely.

Returning to the table was another matter. We ended up walking past Mr. and Mrs. McCullough and the arrogant prick tried to make that puckered sucking sound but a piece of ice or maybe the false teeth I bestowed upon him interfered. Nonetheless I turned and as I did I heard Sherri say 'four years, Liam, it's not worth four years'. She was right. I turned back to my date but not before I saw the shame on Linda's face.

That night I didn't fuck Sherri. We made love instead and for most of the rest of the night and I think it was around 3AM before we finally drifted off to sleep. I've always wanted the eastern sky in my bedroom window and around 8AM Sherri pulled the drapes open and the brilliant sunshine of a clear Sunday morning flooded the bedroom.

She stood there naked and beautiful before sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I want to get out of the house today and take a drive up into the mountains but I have to tell you something first." She said.

The first thing that popped into my mind was she was having a baby.

"I love you, Liam. I want you to know that, I love you. I wanted to say it on the dance floor last night and I wanted to say it last night when we made love but I didn't so I'm saying it now."

I just pulled her onto me, entered her gently and when I was fully inside her, kissed her softly and told her.

"Sherri, I love you and I was afraid it wasn't mutual but now I know better."

We had a quick breakfast and packed a basket to take up onto the parkway before heading out on our day journey. We set up our lunch time spread in a small meadow overlooking the expanse of a green valley and enjoyed the company of each other for a couple hours in that spot.

"Liam, do you think the two of you will ever have a proper closure on your marriage?"

"We did. She closed it solid with the final divorce decree and left me with almost everything we had in favor of running off with the gilded son of a bitch."

There was a bit of anger in my voice and it told both of us that there never really was finality to it. I needed it and we both knew it but I didn't know how to go about it.

The next few months went by and life on the home front continued on a good even keel. Sherri and I had developed a great relationship and work was going well. Jake had recommended me again for a promotion and the odds looked pretty favorable. The only downside to everything was that every time I turned around it was Mr. and Mrs. McCullough this and that. They were into everything and every time that Sherri and I would attend any event I had to endure the sneer of Daniel McCullough and what eventually became indifference from Linda.

I think the indifference was a front for her own guilt but we had been divorced a couple years by then and I had moved on with a new woman and what I felt was a better life. Yet, the old burn was still there; we hadn't brought proper closure to it.

Then, things changed. Sherri and I were returning from a charity event one evening when the blue lights lit up my rearview mirror.

"Please step out of the vehicle."

I did what the deputy asked and stood near the tailgate of my truck as he went around to the passenger side and asked Sherri for her identification which she provided. The other officer just stood watch over me. I couldn't see what he was doing but when he turned back toward his partner he spoke.

"Yes indeed, this is one fine piece of pink pussy you got here. I think we ought to have a taste of that."

I started to bolt toward the deputy but the other one restrained me and drew his weapon. I froze that that instant and knew it was going to take reason and common sense to defuse this situation.

"You will have to kill us in cold blood if you think you are going to proceed and I don't think you are going to do that." I said to the deputy restraining me.

He just laughed and waved his partner back over to the back of the truck.

"Do you know how fast you were going? You were doing 30 miles over the limit. You just stand here for a while until we get your ticket written up."

When the prick returned he handed me a speeding ticket and said in a low voice.

"Mr. McCullough gives you his regards and the next time you race through this county I might just give that little pussy girl of yours a good workout. You understand?"

I just took the ticket and walked back to the cab. When I got in, Sherri was weeping and trembling from the experience.

"Come here." I said and she scooted over to me.

"Did that son of a bitch put a finger on you?"

"He touched my breasts but that was all"

I was fuming with anger at that point and I put the truck in gear and left the scene. Later that evening I sat with Sherri and told her flat out I wasn't going to put up with it even if I did have that suspended sentence out there.

"Liam, listen to me. I'm a big girl and I know how to take care of myself. I don't want you in jail or prison this time for doing anything. Please, don't do anything stupid. We both know who is behind it and we'll find a way to deal with it.

Jake sat me down after work on Monday and made it clear.

"Young fellow, there are a lot of people around here who don't like those sons of bitches and I guarantee you that little deputy dog and his side kick are going to pay a price for what they did. Until then, you do your job, keep your nose clean and keep loving that little girl, you hear?"

When there's a bead of froth on Jake's mustache it's hard to keep from laughing but I did. I also took his advice and kept my nose clean. A couple weeks later as I was coming out of the pub after work, a County deputy went flying by followed by another patrol car and an EMS unit in a hurry.

The next morning at work I found out what had happened. Two particular deputies found themselves covered in burlap sack and taken out to a gravel pit where they were convinced in no uncertain terms to resign their positions and leave the county immediately. They had apparently found a new respect for a lady named Sherri who was very well liked by several large amiable men from the plant. Their departure would have to wait until they were discharged from the hospital.

Again, life continued as before until the hounds of hell made their appearance in the form of Daniel McCullough. He and Linda came into the pub while Sherri, Jake and I along with a few other folks from the plant were enjoying a few pints after a successful shut down and startup earlier in the week.

As usual they were dressed like they were on the way to a country club event rather than stopping off at a pub for a beer. Linda used to come with me to this same place when we were married but I never saw a McCullough, Sperry or a Ladson ever darken the door a single time until now.

They took a table off to the side of where we were sitting and were joined by the County Sheriff in his civvies and another couple I had never seen before. As I noted them out the corner of my eye, Jake nudged my knee.

"Sonny, keep your mind on things over here at this table. There's nothing but stinking turds over there."

Sherri just took my hand and we turned back to our banter and discussions at hand. A few minutes later McCullough got up and left for the restroom along with the two other men. Whether that was an opportunity or a coincidence, a moment later, Linda was standing at the edge of our booth.

"Liam, can we talk for a few minutes sometime soon when you are able?"

I looked up at her and just asked "Why?" That earned me a hard nudge in my ribs from my better half.