Silver Anniversary

Becky had decided that a light snack could be provided along with a big cake. There would also be beer and liquor for those who wanted some. It was a celebration after all.

Marcy had started the day with a few drinks while still at the house. She was in a real celebratory mode. By the time the open house began she was feeling no pain and was circulating around the room greeting people. Her boss and his current wife were there along with Billy Chase and his wife who was in a wheelchair.

A lot of Chuck's coworkers were there as well as Marcy's and a lot of people from their church. It was gratifying to see so many people who thought highly of the couple.

Becky had brought old photo albums and spread out pictures of the happy couple for all to see. There were pictures of her also from infancy to adulthood. There were also a few pictures of John. Most everyone knew about their loss, it had never been kept any secret so few questions were asked about the baby pictures.

There was an open microphone for people to come up and relate to all some of the humorous and sometimes embarrassing times in the happy couples life. No one mentioned Chuck's senior prom though. Even Becky had never heard about her mother's major misstep.

As Chuck walked, rather stumbled along, a poorly maintained sidewalk he didn't notice that there were no buildings in this area. It was dark and that comforted him. He fell a couple of times but got up. The alcohol was starting to mess with his mind. What day was it? Is it now Sunday? Is his hell over? Chuck kept walking and remembering.

At the end of the gab fest both Marcy and Chuck were invited up to talk. Chuck only had a few words. He thanked everyone for coming. He then thanked Becky for organizing the event. Then he turned to Marcy. "Marcy, you are the one and only love of my life. Without you I am not a complete man. In fact I would be just a shell of a man without you and Becky in my life." He then toasted everyone and took his last drink of Champagne.

Marcy then stood up. She was unsteady on her feet but her words were easily picked up by the microphone. She stuttered a little before whispering her comment. "What a lot of shit. Saying a lot of shit about a man who couldn't find my clit with a goddamned map. A man who thinks he is a great lover when all he does is climb on and fuck for a minute before falling asleep. He wouldn't know a woman's climax if it slapped him in the face. Instead of him up here it should be Andy up here. He knows how to fuck and make me cum like a rocket."

She slowly sank down into a chair again. The whole room was quiet as a graveyard. Everyone who knew him looked at the man seated at the back of the room. Andy, actually Andrew, Cornings tried to look as inconspicuous as he could. One of the women seated near him stood up and slapped him. "You bastard," she said as she then walked out.

Becky was headed toward her mother when she heard the damning words come from her mother's mouth. She stopped at the edge of the stage and started to cry.

Chuck was caught flat-footed. He, at first, completely disregarded what he had heard. There was no clue that Marcy had any thought, let alone a physical relationship, with someone other than him.

Chuck sat down at a table a ways from his wife. People were red-faced as they suddenly remembered there was somewhere else they needed to be. Marcy's boss shook his head at his PA. There would be hell to pay come Monday. He looked at the retreating back of Mr. Cornings. Yes, there would be hell to pay come Monday.

Billy Chase came over to Chuck. He said something but it didn't register with Chuck. He was still trying to figure out what had happened in his life. A few minutes ago he was happy. Now he didn't know when he would be happy again.

Billy gave up and pushed his wife out to their car. He would talk with Chuck on Monday.

Becky finally shook her head, blew her nose and went to her mother who was now in la-la land. Marcy seldom drank and would pay the price for today in many ways. Becky shot a look at her dad. He was sitting in a fog but appeared okay physically.

She motioned for a couple of her male cousins for help and they came and picked up their aunt and carried her to the car. The look on their faces made Becky think they would like to stuff her under the car instead of inside it. All of the in laws thought Chuck was a great guy and certainly didn't deserve this humiliation.

The rest of the relatives helped clean up the mess left over and tried to give Chuck some space. They noticed when he got up and headed to the bathroom but didn't see him leave by the fire exit next to the bathroom. Chuck had then gotten into his car and drove off to find the nearest dive.

Chuck had tears streaming down his face as he continued to stumble along the unfamiliar sidewalk. He kept playing Marcy's confession and her preference for her boyfriend over her husband over and over again as he walked.

Chuck had always thought himself as a good man, a good father, a good husband and maybe an adequate lover. With no education in sex how could he feel otherwise? With no feedback from his only lover, his wife, how could he improve or change?

Was he that bad? If so, what about being a regular Joe or a father or a loving husband? Hell, what was his purpose in life then?

He fell again and didn't get up for a long while. He had no idea where he was and quite frankly didn't care. Finally he sat up just as headlights illuminated him. It was a patrolling city cop. He stopped and asked Chuck if he needed some help. Chuck didn't answer.

A call went out and a couple of additional officers responded. The first officer had started to check our hero over. He smelled like stale alcohol. His clothing was good quality but scuffed up and torn from falling. There were abrasions on his face and hands from falling and trying to get back up.

The additional officers secured the scene and looked for a reason for the appearance of the victim.

Chuck wasn't answering questions very well. He was confused and his head seemed to be full of cotton. He couldn't focus on the cops and they all kept asking questions and wouldn't allow him time to formulate an answer.

There wasn't a city ordinance against being publicly drunk and there was no drunk tank at the jail any longer so the cops had limited options. They found Chuck's driver's license after a short struggle to get to his pocket with his wallet. He was at least a couple of miles from his home address, if that was correct.

They had the dispatcher call his residence but there was no answer. What they and, then later, Chuck didn't know was that Becky got her mother home and into bed and then had left to try and find Chuck. Marcy was too drunk to pay attention to the phone so it went unanswered.

Since there was no answer at the residence the cops had no other recourse but to call for an ambulance. The fire department ambulance was on scene five minutes later. The sleepy paramedics were not impressed with another drunk on their shift. It was now three am and they had only gotten an hour's sleep between calls.

They quickly got Chuck up and into the back of the rig. Chuck kept repeating that his wife didn't love him. When asked about pain he just muttered about his broken heart. When asked about his abrasions he looked at his hands like he had never actually seen them before and then shrugged. Later they might hurt but his depression was the bigger problem.

They took off for the hospital where 50 years before Chuck had been born. On the way the paramedic in back asked Chuck again what had happened to cause him to be so far from his house. When he identified the bar he had been in the paramedic was amazed as Chuck had been found almost another mile from the bar and nowhere near his home.

On the way to the hospital Chuck asked the young paramedic if he was married. The paramedic said yes. Chuck asked if his wife loved him. The paramedic said yes, since they had a couple of small children. He was surprised when Chuck started laughing. "That doesn't mean she loves you. I have a couple of kids and my wife doesn't love me enough to have a climax with me."

The paramedic looked shocked at the statement. He obviously misunderstood. "I think that having simultaneous orgasms is a little too much to ask. If she has an orgasm and I have an orgasm then that is great."

Chuck kept trying to explain that his wife had never loved him enough to have an orgasm. He repeated himself all the way to the hospital.

At the hospital the paramedics guided Chuck into the ER and got him to a bed. He laid down and closed his eyes because of the bright lights. He wanted the darkness again. He could hear the one paramedic trying to explain what had happened. It was close enough to the truth that Chuck didn't feel the need to explain again. He tried to go to sleep but soon the nurse was taking his pulse and blood pressure and then talking to the doctor.

The doctor asked him about the events and he repeated himself but this time found himself crying again. He didn't know if he was sobering up but he couldn't explain himself any better but to keep trying to get someone to understand that Marcy didn't love him.

The nurse cleaned his scrapes and dressed them. She then told him that they had tried to contact his family but there was no answer. Chuck just nodded dumbly. Just more evidence that Marcy didn't love him. She was probably fucking that asshole Andy what's his name. He couldn't remember the shit head's last name. She was probably sucking his cock too. Something else she wouldn't do for Chuck.

They then turned the lights down and left the room. Chuck fell asleep for a little while.

He woke when he sensed movement in the room. It was still darkened but he could see the silhouette of the nurse as she came and checked on him. His head was a little clearer but it was hurting.

After she left the room he sat up. He needed to go. If Becky was concerned she would check the hospital at some time. He didn't want to see anyone he knew for a while. He was too humiliated to even look his own daughter in the eye. He certainly didn't want to see Marcy.

All of the feelings he had when she dumped him before prom came back. She wanted someone else but didn't want to let him go. Well she could have her little boy toy. He couldn't be over 30 years old. He would have been a better match with Becky as far as age went.

He had looked like a gigolo. Maybe he was. He was young and tanned. His hair was bleached blonde like he was a surfer or something even though they were hundreds of miles from any ocean.

Chuck looked out of the door. There was no one in the hall so he quickly headed for the exit sign and was soon outside. It was still dark but he could see some light in the east. The sun would soon be up and the darkness he craved would be banished for hours. He wanted to find darkness and curl up and die a little.

Chuck walked down the sidewalk to the street and luckily a taxi was cruising by and he hailed it. He didn't know the address of the bar where his car was but he remembered the name and the taxi driver knew it well.

Fifteen minutes later he was standing next to his car in the parking lot of the closed bar. As he went to get inside he saw a familiar car pass by on the street. Since the parking lot lights were shut down Becky couldn't see her dad or his car. Chuck waited until she was past before opening the door and taking off.

He was soon headed out of town. The capitol was only a couple of hours away and he could get there and hole up for a while. He needed more alcohol and a place to flop.

All too soon the sun was fully up but he was on the edge of the city. He found a motel near a bar and parked. He wasn't fully sober but he was too sober for what he wanted. There was also a package store next to the bar. He didn't have to even talk to people, he could just grab a bottle of his favorite color and stay inside in the dark.

He did just that. He bought enough and paid enough in cash that no one bothered him for a week. He drank, he fell, he puked, he woke, he drank, he fell , he puked, he woke and he repeated until there was no more booze and he just couldn't get up the gumption to walk across the street again.

He was still wearing the same clothes he had attended the party in. He stunk to high heaven, even to himself.

There was puke everywhere in the room. It was on the walls, the bed, the floor, the shower floor and the curtain, and everywhere except it seemed the toilet. God it smelled so awful his stomach was churning all the time.

He got off the floor that final day and went and stood in the shower. He slowly stood fully upright and then started to take off his clothes while the water cascaded down.

He had no plan for his future except to get back to work. The only thought for his wife was evil plans to make her hurt like she had hurt him. Right now he didn't have a clue about how to retaliate. She had her lover, the one who could make her scream with pleasure, the one who knew where her clitoris was located without a map to guide him. Hell he was probably sharing her bed right now. After all she didn't need Chuck anymore. She made that clear at their Silver Anniversary.

He would need a place to stay. He sure as hell wasn't going to step into the house he built for her while she was in residence. Maybe she would move in with Andrew the love god. No, she wasn't that considerate. With the house paid off she could manage the expenses on her wages and he did build it for her. No, she would believe that she deserved the house and everything in it. Hell, she might kick against giving him his own clothes. She might keep them out of spite. After all he was a complete dud in and out of bed.

After stripping down and trying to scrub his clothes with the little bar of soap he rinsed and got out of the shower. He hung stuff everywhere to dry and then tried to clean up some of the puke. He put the bottles that no longer contained his new most liked color into the trash, well, near the trash can as it was full.

He opened the windows to let in some fresh air. He reminded himself to tip the cleaning staff when they came to clean up as it was going to be a horrendous job.

A few hours later his underwear, slacks and shirt were dry enough to put on. He went out and grabbed a paper. He actually couldn't remember what town he was in. He was surprised to see that he was in the capital and a full week had passed.

He then went and found a café to eat at and a cheap clothing store to buy some new duds. He was surprised when he got back to the room that the staff had been in and cleaned up. When he checked he found they had also gotten maintenance to bring a new mattress in. Their tip was growing by the second. He checked his cash and found he still had a couple of hundred left along with his seldom used credit card. He supposed he would have to use the card to settle this bill.

Since he was now up and around he placed a long distance call to his boss at his house. Billy was glad to hear from him and didn't seem too upset that he had missed a week of work. "Look, son, I kind of understand what you are going through. Before you came to work for me, Millie, had an affair. Back then she was a hell of a looker and she knew it. I had a hell of a time with her for a while but she finally came around after I went on a bender and disappeared for a whole month. She was so worried I might have done something to myself that she finally realized what kind of ass she was being. She finally got with the program and we have been pretty good since then."

He paused. "Have you called home yet?"

Chuck was candid. "Right now I don't have a home. If you mean, have I talked to Marcy, the answer is no. I have no reason to talk to her at any time."

Billy didn't try to get him to change his mind. "Please call Becky. She has been calling every day to see if you have checked in or returned. She is frantic. And by the way, so is Marcy. She has also been calling me and Millie and crying about how she didn't mean to hurt you."

Chuck was now alert enough to snort his disgust. "Yeah, I'll bet she didn't mean to hurt me. Just like the last time she decided to step out and do what she wanted. She gave me that same line then. It takes a while to learn a lesson sometimes but I have now learned it."

The talked about work. Chuck promised to be back on Monday ready to go. Billy told him to take his time. He had vacation built up. Chuck ruminated that he had intended to use his vacation to take Marcy on a cruise. Thankfully he hadn't gone to the travel agent yet and scheduled it.

"Look Billy, this is costing me big dollars so I will let you go. If you hear from Becky tell her I am fine. I will try to get a hold of her before that though and tell her myself. Good bye."

He hung up and then dialed Becky's apartment. She didn't answer but she had an answering machine so he left a message saying he was fine and would be back in town in a few days. He would then call her.

He didn't call his house as he had no reason to talk to his wife. That was a problem that would soon have to be rectified.

Since she had shit on their marriage vows he no longer felt compelled to honor them either. One of his thoughts during his drunken days was that he needed sex lessons. He had pondered and pondered in the confusion of alcohol induced haze about how to go and get said lessons. He had finally decided that he needed to find a prostitute who would be his sex educator.

Now, in the cold harsh light of day he pondered that question again. Somehow it still made some sense. Who else knows a lot about sex? Possibly a porn star but he didn't know where to start looking for a porn star here. He had heard of certain street corners in the downtown area of the capitol where hookers hung out. If he could find one who wasn't diseased or hooked on drugs then he might have his educator.

He went by the office and paid for another few days. He also apologized to the manager for how he had left the room and gave the tip to him to pass on to the staff. This made the manager a little easier to deal with. It was not a chain motel but a single mom and pop operation and fought against the reputation as a flop house. Having a drunk puke everywhere didn't help but the apology did.

Chuck drove down to the main downtown area. He got out and started to window shop. Ostensibly he was looking in the shop windows but in reality he was looking for a street walker. He wandered for a couple of hours. Since it was daylight the pickings might be a little lean.

After a lunch at a sandwich stand he continued his perusal of possible teachers. Finally on a corner away from the main business area, near a more run-down mix of small residential houses, a few apartment buildings and small businesses, he saw a few women standing on the corner waiting.

They weren't dressed like the hookers in the movies and TV where they would wear tight clothes that barely covered the essentials. No these women, of young, middle and older aged spread were of that ilk. They were wearing just normal everyday clothing. The way they just stood on the corner and then talked to passing motorists and pedestrians was the clue that here were the educators he was looking for.

Chuck watched the women work the johns for a few minutes before approaching. One of the girls turned to look at his fifty year old visage with his graying hair. She must not have been too turned off as she immediately spoke. "Hey, Sailor, how's the weather?"

He smiled at her. She appeared to be one of the older women. She was a little hard looking as though her life wasn't too easy. He supposed that was the case as she was out here during the day competing with some younger talent. She didn't have the cover of darkness to help her hide her years.