Ginger Snaps

On my last day of work in Lee, Ms. Garrett called me and told me that Shawna was claiming to be pregnant and was trying to stop the divorce. She told me that it wouldn't slow the process at all, but a child support amendment would have to be entered in case I was proven to be the father.

As soon as I left work that day I went to a medical clinic to give them blood and DNA samples. They would run the results and save them to test against Shawna's baby when it was born. I then hit the road heading north to Nebraska.

Months passed and I got the papers from the courts in Lee, signed by a judge claiming that my marriage was dissolved. Since Shawna's baby had been proven to not be mine the adultery charge stuck and I didn't have to give her a red cent.

Over the years I dated a few women, but no real relationship ever developed. I did learn more sex techniques through books and my dates seemed to enjoy what I did. No matter how much they seemed to like what I did, I couldn't shut out the voice in the back of my head, which constantly reminded me that Shawna had acted like she enjoyed me too and still wanted another man. So I never stayed in a relationship long enough to ever get too serious.

I did break down and call Shawna once. When she started begging me to come back, I told her I'd consider it if she told me why she cuckolded me. She threw me the lame excuse that she was bored, and was jealous of Heather's life. She told me she loved me and asked when I was coming back. My reply was "The fifth of never." I heard her wail as I hung up the phone.

Then I found Jasmine. Jasmine let me know early on that she was mine and I was hers, and no one could come between us. Jasmine is the constant in my life that I need.

Life in North Platte wasn't all that different from Lee. I found restaurants and bars I liked and I always took Jasmine to her favorite spots. Work was really nice too.

I quickly found out that in my position a lot of people answered to me. I answered to Dale and to his boss. I was allowed to rearrange the safety department as I saw fit. I immediately got rid of practices that had proven to be useless or detrimental. I also purged people who didn't want to change our safety outlook. I ended up making my old trainer George the head man in Chicago. Within a month the incident rates at all of the switch yards dropped. Even the reports of minor cuts and bruises slowed. The first eight years after I took over we had no deaths. Then a little over a year ago, a switch operator was killed in Lee.

The investigation team from Chicago found deviations from our procedures and issued corrective orders. OSHA and the NTSB agreed with the orders and wet along their merry ways. After I read all of the reports I was satisfied the issue had been fixed.

Three months later, another Lee employee was severely injured. This time I sent some of my people to investigate. Once again corrective issues were ordered and I called Lee's head safety man for a face to face in my office.

Two days later I sent him back to Lee knowing his job was on the line. Dale had also met with him so that he knew how precarious his position was. OSHA sent people to meet with me as well as fining the railroad.

Needless to say I was none too happy to receive another injury report from Lee last week. This time a worker had lost an arm. I ordered the team from Chicago to go down there. They would get there on Monday. I then told Dale I was going down there as well.

Since I had no idea how long I'd be there I decided to drive. The drive into town on Tuesday morning brought back a flood of memories. I found a motel near the rail yard and got a room for the week.

I caught a nap and then went to the yard. I met with the Chicago guys and got their notes from the previous day's investigation. The Lee safety head came in an hour later looking like he'd tied one on the night before.

As wan as he looked when he came into the office, he managed to go a few shades whiter when he saw me standing in his office. I told him to call his whole safety team in for a noon meeting.

At noon, I fired the entire Lee safety team. By one my Chicago team and I had replaced them all by raiding other yards. The guys coming in would be temporary until we could hire a whole new team for Lee. Until they got there, the Chicago guys and I would handle the job.

The Chicago team did a lot more than I did because I had to also still do my own job as best as I could from outside of my own office.

On Wednesday we got the word that the temporary team would be here Thursday afternoon and would take over on Friday. Dale was getting antsy not having me in Nebraska to deal with the OSHA guys.

On Thursday morning the temporary safety team showed up to begin work. I told the Chicago guys to go ahead and go home. I planned to spend Thursday helping the team get things rolling again. Dale had told me that I would be spending most of Monday in meetings with the legal team, so I figured to leave the next morning and enjoy my drive back home.

Thursday after I left the yard I went to Aunt Tori's grave and placed fresh flowers on it. I paid the cemetery crew monthly to see that she always had fresh flowers and that my grand parents' graves were neat as well.

I was enjoying a bar be que dinner that night before I left. I was at a hotel a few blocks from the one I was staying in because the food there was a step above dog food. I wasn't paying much attention to the sparse Thursday dinner crowd and was surprised when a voice beside me said "Ginger?"

I looked up to see Heather standing there. "Heather? Long time no see huh?" I said without much emotion. She had put on at least a hundred pounds since I had last seen her and looked as if she had aged fifty years. To say that she was no longer an attractive woman would be an understatement.

She sat in the chair across from me. "I heard you were back in town, well kinda."

"How do you "kinda" hear someone is in town?"

"My cousin Jimmy told everyone who'd listen at the bar the other night how this Baker guy flew in from Nebraska and fired everyone in sight. You are the only b=Baker I know that works for the railroad so I figured it had to be you. Tonight I saw the Nebraska plates on the Suburban out there I just had to see if it was you."

I really didn't want to talk to her but it seemed a bit rude to just blow her off so I indulged the conversation a bit longer. "So how is everyone?"

"By everyone do you mean Shawna?"

"If you want to tell me about her that's fine. But I meant you and Jason more than her."

"Jason's been gone for about seven years. He hung himself three years after you left. He had lost his job and I had to take a second job to support us. He stayed home and cared for our kids; Sammy and Jessica. The note said he felt emasculated and worthless. He claimed he didn't like what he saw in the mirror anymore and hung himself in the garage. Kevin found him and was investigated for murdering Jason."

"Even though I knew in my heart that Kevin hadn't harmed Jason, I couldn't continue in a relationship with him. Last I knew he was in Tulsa selling insurance."

"I got re married to an abuser. That only lasted a year, but now I am not seeing anyone," her words dripped with invitation. I shuddered to think of her naked and asked about Shawna and Cory.

"Cory moved in with Shawna. It seems she couldn't make the rent without your income and since he was on the lease she made him move in and do his part. They had three kids together. Two years ago she walked in on him fucking the lady that lived next door to you two."

I shuddered again. The woman next door was haggardly enough to scare the hard on off of a Viagra tester. The mental picture of his pasty ass fucking her huge wart covered carcass was almost enough to make me lose my dinner.

"She has had a few guys for different periods of time and two more kids. She still works at the County Assessor's office with me, and she waits tables at a Mexican place in Pearl. Her mom moved down here and keeps the kids while she works. They barely make it on her income and momma's pension." She paused as if I was supposed to offer charity at this point. Instead I took my last bite of cole-slaw.

"You look like life is being pretty good to you Ginger. How have you been?"

I didn't care for the way she seemed to be sizing me up, but I stayed with the conversation. I told her some about my life in Nebraska. I told her about how I was the head of safety for the entire railroad. Then I told her that I was looking forward to going home because I was missing Jasmine. I took a little pleasure in the look of disappointment that crossed her face.

Finally I had to ask the one question that had bugged me for over a decade. I wanted to ask her why Shawna had made me a cuckold, but I chickened out at the last second, "So why didn't I ever get arrested for assault?"

She laughed. "Honey, there was no way Cory and Shawna were going to call the police. They knew how it would look when you got arrested and explained why you kicked his ass. He had a hard enough time explaining his injuries to the ER staff that night."

"You might like to know that he cursed your name every time he had an issue with his dentures. He lost most of his front teeth and broke several others when he "tripped" and fell into the door jamb." It ended up being cheaper to pull the remaining teeth and doing dentures."

The waiter brought my check and Heather looked him over like a hungry walrus. I picked a company credit card out of my wallet and handed it to him.

"Would you like to see Shawna before you leave?" she asked me.

"Nope. I just want to get a good night's sleep so I can drive home to my Jasmine tomorrow."

The waiter returned with my receipt. I signed his copy and added the tip. Heather walked outside with me. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to get a drink and catch up a bit?" she asked.

"Quite sure," I told her. "I really don't care to walk down a memory lane filled with pain and humiliation. I have a good life. I have a nice home waiting for my return and I have Jasmine. Reliving the past and possibly opening old wounds isn't on my "to do" list. Feel free to tell Shawna that I am happy and healthy if you wish to, or you can tell her I am fat and miserable. I don't care either way. I have absolutely no urge to see or speak to her."

I turned and walked to my Suburban as I unlocked it I looked back to see Heather getting into the same Nissan Sentra that she had driven when we all hung out. I got into my Suburban and went to my motel.

As I lay in bed waiting for sleep, I pondered the fact that my life had tuned out so much better after leaving Shawna. It irritated me a bit that Heather seemed to imply that I should take pity on her. I didn't ask her to treat me like a cast off. I did take some solace in knowing that her life had gone to shit.

The next morning I drove out of Lee, hopefully for the last time ever. The route out of town lead me past the new county office building. I saw Heather in the parking lot walking with an old woman who looked like she might have been a crack whore. They entered the building as I waited for the traffic light to turn green. Just as the geriatric crack fiend opened the door and waited for Heather to enter I recognized my ex-wife.

It was dark when I pulled into my garage. As I pulled my bag from the back I saw my neighbor Alison looking out her kitchen window. She waved to me, and as I pushed the button to close the garage door I waved back.

Alison is a few years older than I am and quite attractive. She is also one of the nicest people I have known. She lost her husband Tim two years ago when he rolled his truck over on a mountain pass in Idaho. I had never dated her, but I always got the idea she wouldn't reject any gesture from me.

I opened the door that lead into the kitchen from the garage and was met full force by a hyper active Jasmine. Nothing lets you know how badly you've been missed like being jumped by a fifty pound golden retriever.

Since I didn't know how long it had been since Alison had let her out to do her business. She ran and quickly peed and then came bounding back to me. I looked toward Alison's house in time to see her bedroom light go out.

"I guess I'll go thank her for watching you I the morning," I said to the dog. She laid her head in my lap and chuffed at me as if admonishing me. "Ok, maybe I'll ask her out while I'm there."

Fin