Karma Ch. 01

The weather bureau had promised fine and fantastic weather for the week-end. They'd got it right, so for a change on Saturday we walked the couple miles to the cricket fields. We sat with the same two parents like we did every game and the four of us watched our kids and their teammates as they all played really well; in fact, exceptionally well.

We were enjoying ourselves as we watched a great game and it was made better still by the great conversation and the harmless teasing with our two best friends. Our close bond had led to countless great evenings and barbecues with them and even an unforgettable holiday away together the previous year when we'd rented a large house at the beach.

At Julie's insistence we'd invited them along after we realized how big the holiday house was. It had been such an amazing week. Life couldn't have been more perfect.

I smiled to myself as George kept our wives wine glasses filled. I knew I'd get very lucky that evening so I didn't complain. Over the past twelve months or so, Julie had become far more adventurous in bed when she'd had too much to drink. She'd want to do things she'd never dream of doing any other time; she'd always refused to try them before.

Don't get me wrong; Julie wouldn't be anywhere near falling over drunk, just really happy and amorous with less inhibitions; but that would be hours away. Best of all, the kids were going out to a party at a friend's place. They'd told us it was an all-nighter so we'd have the house to ourselves until late Sunday morning.

In the meantime, the night ahead was something for me to daydream about. Even I was taking advantage of the fact I didn't have to drive and was drinking when I usually wouldn't have. George had brought enough beer and wine for all of us after I'd told him earlier in the week we'd be walking to the game if the weather was going to be as good as they'd forecast. Luckily for me the beer was my one of my favourites and I'd share the cost with him later so he wouldn't be out of pocket.

Our team's manager was doing the rounds talking to all the supporters. As she stopped to talk she reminded us all that the cafe was closed and we all needed to have brought our lunch as there weren't any open shops nearby for some reason. It was obvious we hadn't been given a message and her advice was a bit late for us; George must've forgotten to pass it on.

It had been his turn to pick up the kids from training during the week and he would've been given any messages while he waited for them. Like most parents who have to drive their kids everywhere I was looking forward to one or even both of them finally getting their car licence so they wouldn't be so dependent on us.

We all looked at George and he shrugged his shoulders saying, "I'm sorry. What's done is done. It just completely slipped my mind when we started to talk after I dropped the twins home."

He was right and maybe I was partly to blame as well. I did stop him and we talked for quite a while about how he was finding work now that he was contracted full-time.

Shit happens, so rather than start any finger pointing that could ruin a good friendship I stood up, smiled and gave a half-hearted wave then started to walk home to make lunches. In hindsight I should've just asked George to drive me but it didn't even occur to me at the time.

I'd only taken a few paces before Julie called me back saying, "James, don't be silly; you love watching the twins bowling so much. I'll go; I want to do it. Besides you always leave the kitchen in such a mess."

She did it again! Why do wives always do that in public? All the women nearby had turned their heads and were smiling and quietly laughing as they looked for the husband who'd just been outed by one of their "sisters" for "always leaving a mess". Even Karen was laughing at me. I'd done nothing to deserve that!

Was there some hidden code there for the other wives nearby to hear or is it just to let them all know you have some bad habits like the one that everyone around us just heard, 'you always leave the kitchen in such a mess' or that other great favourite they sometimes use, 'you never put the toilet seat down' to stop them thinking you're perfect and want you?

Julie got up to walk home and I wondered if she'd had too much wine at the time but she seemed remarkably sober otherwise I would've stopped her. No matter how much I loved to watch the twins bowling I grabbed her hand and went to walk with her.

Then George spoke up, "Hang on you two! Wait up a minute! James, Julie's right about you watching the twins. It's my fault, so how about I drive Julie home so that I can help make our lunches with her. Your place is closer so it's the obvious choice. Karen can't take her as she's had too many wines to drive now and I've only had one beer all morning.

James, I'd give you my keys so you could drive our SUV but you've been drinking a lot more than me and you're probably just over the limit. Anyway, we've forgotten our lunches as well. So I'll take her and once the lunches are made we can get back here quickly to watch the rest of the game.

It's pointless Karen coming with us; besides you two can keep each other company. Anyway, someone from each family should stay here just in case. Like you, I hate missing any part of the game but it's the least I can do for forgetting to pass on the message.

If things change dramatically and we go into bat early, one of you can phone us so we can hurry back. There'll a ten minute change over and you only live minutes away by car so we won't miss anything. Todd's opening the batting today but by the looks of it we'll be back in plenty of time if we drive unless your kids get them all out quickly of course."

Karen had been watching and listening closely then agreed, "George is right. I've had too much to drink so I can't drive. James, let them do it; let em go! It won't take them long. Besides, my shoulders need a massage. Stay here and talk to me while you watch your kids. You'll always regret it if you go and miss watching it all. It's turned out to be such a great game. Julie, please tell him he has to stay and look after me!"

Julie laughed and responded, "James, you heard Karen; she needs a massage. Your magic hands will turn her into a quivering mess again. George and I can make the lunches while you look after the needs of my very special friend here. I'll expect her to be thoroughly relaxed by the time we get back, so do as you're told and put your amazing hands to work on her. Pleassssse honey?"

I took a few moments and watched William bowling while I decided whether to go home with Julie or do what everyone else wanted and stay. As I watched, William took another wicket; that made three. He was on a roll and I didn't want to miss any further success with the ball so I decided to do as Julie asked me and stay to massage Karen's shoulders while I continued to watch the game and talk.

They immediately left for our home nearby. As soon as I started Karen seemed to melt like she did every time I worked on her shoulders; I knew she always enjoyed it. She must have loved it more than usual or maybe she was daydreaming about having sex with George as I heard her quietly sigh and moan quite a few times.

William finished his spell bowling with his fourth wicket on the last ball of his last over then Amy took the ball and did just as well. At the time I was sure I'd made the right decision and was glad I stayed.

Perhaps I should've gone to make the lunches but I especially loved watching the faces on the young batsmen when a very pretty girl with long blond hair took their wickets. A few players from the opposing team had given her shit all morning as they heckled and sledged her trying to get her flustered or maybe mistakenly thinking it would get her attention so they could ask her out later.....they'd certainly got her attention.

I often wondered if the batsmen were watching her when she bowled and not the hard red leather ball racing towards their wickets. She could be a devastatingly accurate swing bowler as they all soon found out.

There was nothing more humiliating to the four teenage boys who were given out with very few runs to show that their time at the crease had been worthwhile. A couple had even copped hard hits on their bodies from the ball depending on what they'd said to her. They'd been hit accidently of course.

It felt like Julie and George had been gone quite a while and I'd expected them back much sooner. I wasn't worried but I mentioned it to Karen and she told me, "Don't fret James. Please just keep massaging me. They really haven't been gone all that long."

If it had been anyone else who'd told me not to fret, I might've taken offence. Sometime late in the morning I needed to check on the progress of some software testing at work and before our spouses arrived back was as good a time as any, so I stopped working on Karen's shoulders much to her displeasure.

I dug my IPhone from my pocket and contacted my staff and watched them as we spoke. During the conversation I could see Karen looking at me questioningly; god she was hot and so nice to be around.

I'd never admit it to anyone; not even Julie or Karen herself but I always enjoyed touching her now as well as having her near to me and that really scared me because I loved Julie so much; I'd never hurt or betray her. I justified it to myself thinking we were all just really close friends and enjoyed being with each other; besides, Julie constantly asked me to do it.

I had thought it strange to start with but Julie was continually asking me to massage Karen after I did a massage course at her request following our holidays last year. Although the requests were frequently for full body massages I'd only ever agree to work on her shoulders and neck. I saved my full body massages for my loving wife.

Julie had even asked me to show George how to massage properly so he could do her shoulders while I did Karen's. Both women ganged up against me and said it was only fair. I did it to make Julie happy and to a lesser degree Karen. I loved Julie so much I'd do most anything for her.

Whenever I did massage Karen I'd look over and see Julie watching and grinning like she enjoyed seeing me with my hands on her friend. Even with Julie's encouragement it took me a long time before I was comfortable touching Karen's shoulders. I couldn't even begin to contemplate giving Karen a full body massage and I certainly wouldn't tolerate George giving Julie one.

I was pleased that everything was going well at work and they expected the software they were testing to perform.

When I finished the call, Karen asked, "That's a cell phone isn't it? I couldn't help notice you could see them. How can you do that James?"

When we'd first met Karen and George at our kid's cricket games nine years earlier, George had described his beautiful wife as a bit of a technophobe but I thought that it had more to do with Karen's lack of contact with modern technology. She'd been a stay-at-home mum for so long and couldn't even use a modern computer.

The last one she'd used ages ago was an early model Commodore 64 with duel floppy drives and tapes. Karen hadn't changed and she still didn't use a computer and her cell phone was so old it didn't have a built-in camera. Not wanting to confuse her I kept it simple and described some of the advances in cell phone technology so that I could talk with and see my staff at the same time.

Once I finished I couldn't help myself and I started telling her about my pride and joy; the latest App I had written for my IPhone that could access and control my video security system at home. I touched the App to show her what Julie and George were doing if they were still at the house after all this time; god I wished I hadn't.

It felt like my chest suddenly imploded as my heart was instantly ripped out from what I heard and saw. There was a dreadful pain in my chest like I'd never felt before. What I saw George doing was bad enough but it was what Julie had said that did the real damage.

It seemed like time stood still as my life as I knew it crashed around me but it was only seconds and by the time I recovered and looked back at the screen they were gone. I ripped my earphones out and just showed Karen the video image of an empty kitchen. The only evidence that they'd been there was the knives and cutting boards on the kitchen bench.

I didn't say anything to Karen about what I seen; I was completely crushed. It was only a few more minutes but by the time Julie and George returned with the lunches, my mind was in complete turmoil at what had just shattered my perfect life. I said nothing to either of them as my mind tried to grapple with the dilemma they'd caused.

My background had taught me not to rush into problems without first knowing what really happened. Deep down I desperately wanted to kick that shithead's face in straight away for what I believed he'd done but I had to find out what had actually happened before I did or said anything I might regret later.

Sure as hell I suspected something was potentially and dreadfully wrong. How could I say or do something in case I was mistaken and I'd misinterpreted what I'd seen and heard in just a few short seconds? I was positive I knew what I'd stumbled on to though; enough to make my chest ache so badly. My mind was racked by confusion and anguish.

I just couldn't accept or believe that my loving wife and my best friend would betray me like that; after all, they could have just been joking again around hoping I might have been watching. I knew the two of them were prone to pulling practical jokes but it didn't look like they were acting to me. From what I could see now it didn't appear they'd been playing a joke on me at all. They weren't leading me on like they did the last time.

After they all ate lunch I sensed both Julie and Karen noticed my change in mood and they must have just thought I was very unhappy about something at work. I don't think anyone noticed I hadn't eaten anything; I just wasn't hungry. My anger grew as I wondered what could have happened. What made it so much worse was that he wouldn't stop smiling.

I was sure if he'd fucked Julie then he would've thought I was totally clueless and I didn't suspect he'd just cuckolded me. Thinking the worst, it was easy to see why that shithead was on such a high. I wanted to smash his face in to wipe the smile off that back-stabbing bastard.

I mightn't have said anything then but I certainly wasn't clueless anymore or even a willing cuckold. At least I knew that I needed to establish the facts before I acted; I wanted blood. Karen was now interested in the home security and video surveillance systems I'd installed and kept asking questions.

I knew George was too involved in the game to listen as Todd was batting really well so I made a point of watching Julie's face in between watching the game as I answered Karen's questions. I knew I'd start Julie worrying if she thought that I'd found out they'd fucked; that is, if they actually had. If they hadn't, it shouldn't worry her but I'd still have to worry about what I'd heard her say and George touching her inappropriately.

I told Karen, "My systems are a bit different. I'm the only who can turn the cameras off once they've been switched on. Once the motion sensors have been tripped the cameras record everything but then they stop if there's no movement after five minutes.

Turning off the security system only turns off the alarms and doesn't inactivate the cameras; everyone including the twins thinks it does. The two systems are interlinked but separate; they were deliberately installed that way."

My chest was still hurting and I wanted to return home to run the downloads early so I'd know for sure one way or the other. Without even realizing it I was rubbing my chest trying to ease the pain I was feeling when Julie saw me and gave a worried look as she asked, "James, are you okay? You're not having a heart attack are you?"

How the fuck would I know what a heart attack felt like? All I knew was that I was angry and terribly frustrated now not knowing what had really occurred. I felt like saying, "Why would you give a shit about me after what you just did!"

Maybe I should've but in the end I was lucky I didn't. I just shook my head a little as I stood up and walked away slowly before I said something I'd regret. I stayed stooped over as I walked to try to ease that unimaginable pain.

Both Julie and Karen looked worried and whispered very quietly to each other as they continued to observe me closely while I leaned against a tree and kept watching the game. Nothing would help that awful aching go away so after a while I returned to my seat. Karen must have tried to ease the situation and wanted to know more about my security system.

So that she could understand, I continued to describe it in layman's terms. I hadn't missed the fact that Julie seemed more than a little nervous since they'd arrived back and heard us talking about the security system at home and even more so when she heard she hadn't turned it off.

I watched her cover her mouth when I said, "Because the cameras are top quality and so well placed if I go home now and download the files, I can tell you what Julie made us all for lunch and I can see what George was up to and if he actually helped or just hung around talking. Each room has multiple cameras so every angle is covered; nothing is missed.

If I want I can even zoom in for close-ups to see anything in graphic detail if I need to. Five minutes after Julie and George left the house to come back here the cameras would have turned themselves off ready to be activated again. I can only see in real time on my phone like before when we had a look to see where they were."

Julie's eyes opened wide when she heard we'd looked in on them at the house.

"When we're home I keep the cameras turned off and I control the whole system through my PC or the App on my IPhone I showed you before. I can even turn them off and on or see what is happening in real time at our house from anywhere in the world that has a cellular network or internet access."

I didn't expect it but if something had happened, for some strange reason I was hoping Julie would drag me aside now and tell me, but she didn't. If they really were just joking about to fool me I wasn't sure how to approach it without seeming jealous and spoil our great friendship.

I could see Karen was still very interested but Julie was quiet and had gone as white as a ghost. Based on Julie's reactions and what I'd seen and heard my heart sank as I guessed something must have actually happened and she realized whatever they'd done had been recorded.

No one else knew and I didn't mention that I was also logging and recording every telephone conversation at home as well. I thought that it would make me seem a bit anal but I'd been warned that a few of our kids' acquaintances were into dope and worse. I was hoping to stop it very quickly if they got involved with them.

Now I'd have to check the phone logs and maybe the calls as well to see if George had been speaking to Julie and if they'd planned what I was worried they did or if they'd done it before.

My chest was killing me as I began to worry more and more about what I'd seen and heard. Different scenarios of what could have happened were swirling endlessly in my head. Unless Julie told me what went on, I knew I had to get home to find out. To tell the truth I was confused and unsure so I didn't want to go and leave Julie with George in case Karen was involved as well and had helped arrange it.