The Gamble

I slept badly again that night. I knew the final confrontation was still to come. More pain for the woman that I just couldn't turn my love off from.

I was expecting Freda's visit the next day and pretended I wasn't home when she came. I ignored several phone calls from her. There were none from Julie.

At 1.30PM I knocked on Sarah's door. She took one look at the bunch of red roses in my hand and gave me a huge hug.

"I was going to ask you how you went the last few days, but I can see."

God this woman was perceptive. She knew friends didn't give each other roses or that I would give them to her with things half finished. She invited me in and we walked up to an older lady. Putting her arm around me Sarah introduced us.

"Dave this is my mum, Laura. Mum, this is my boyfriend, Dave."

I was speechless but in a nice way this time. I was also wondering how much Sarah had told her mother. Laura solved that problem for me by asking.

"So, is it finished?"

"All over bar the shouting as my old Dad used to say."

I then updated them on the latest developments. Adding my supposition that Julie hadn't accepted it as serious. There was still work to do to prove I WAS serious. By breaking the rules, she showed exactly how much respect she had for me. They could both see and hear my pain. Laura hugged me as well.

Then a little angel entered the room. Hannah had finished her nap. Again I was introduced. She looked disappointed when Sarah explained that we were going out, even after Laura explained how much fun they were going to have. I whispered to Sarah.

"Can't she come with us?"

"Are you sure?"

"You're a package deal, I accept that."

"That would be great. It tears me up to be away from her all week while I'm at work, so I like to spend all weekend with her."

Hannah beamed when she was told the news. We had a great afternoon by the river. Sarah complained of feeling a little left out. But from the size of the smile on her face I knew I didn't have to take it seriously. I delivered both ladies home where Laura had already catered me into dinner. I left giving Sarah another chaste kiss on the cheek.

Julie must have been in her hiding spot just up the road when I got home. I hadn't even got the front door open when she pulled into the driveway. She left the engine running and got out. In her hands she held the papers I'd given her Saturday.

"Here you go Dave, signed and witnessed. Goodnight."

I was stunned while she retreated back to her car. She hopped back in and belted up. Putting her car in reverse she wound down the window and called over.

"Now I've called your little bluff maybe you can ask me out on a date this week sometime. I'm free on Wednesday."

With that she took off. Men are from Mars, women are from Venus be fucked. I'm from earth, Julie appeared to be from somewhere near the Horsehead nebula. If it was all over bar the shouting, then it was going to be some fugly shouting.

The shouting started Monday evening. Freda was waiting for me in my driveway when I got home from work. Before I could react, she grabbed me and kissed me full on the lips as I stepped out of my car. I pushed her roughly away shouting, "Listen, once and for all, I am not the slightest bit interested in you Freda."

Any response from her was hijacked by the gunning of an engine followed by the squealing of tyres as Julie streaked from her hiding place. Freda saw her coming and tried to escape down the driveway as Julie drove in it. She almost made it. Before the car even stopped rolling, Julie threw open the door which knocked Freda over. Freda sprang to her feet but was knocked flat by a slap to the side of the head that had an awful lot of rage in it. This time Freda was in no hurry to get up.

Now in normal circumstances, staying down would have been a good move. When faced by an enraged tigress, who suddenly realised she'd been taken for a fool, it wasn't. Julie started laying into her with her feet. I would no more have got between them than if they were rabid dogs. Julie's fury was incandescent. Finally, when Julie was tiring but still foaming at the mouth, I risked tackling her to the ground. At that precise moment a police car cruised by. Julie and I were cuffed and an ambulance was called for Freda.

The police interviewed Julie first. I could hear her yelling from where I was in the holding cells. They finally gave up and took her to cool her heels in the cell across from me. When it was my turn I gave them the full story. I tried to make them see that Julie's actions were justified. I felt I owed her that. I was released with an apology at 11PM.

I went to work Monday as usual, never being so glad that I worked over 1.6km (a mile) underground where cell phones didn't work. On the way home I updated Sarah via phone. She invited me for dinner again and passed on a request from Hannah. "Could that nice Dave read me a bedtime story tonight?"

I arrived home an hour later than normal. I worked with Freda's father and called in at his place to talk to him and his wife. I explained what I knew of their daughter's manipulation of my wife. Neither of them seemed particularly surprised. I urged them to try to influence Freda not to press charges against Julie for assault. They promised to do what they could.

Julie's car was in the garage when I finally arrived home. Walking into the master bedroom I saw her empty suitcases on the bed. The shower was running.

Waiting downstairs with trepidation, I rang Sarah and cancelled our dinner date. We discussed what tactics Julie was likely to try. In hindsight, we both got it wrong.

Julie strode down the stairs, brimming with her usual confidence.

"What's for dinner Dave?"

I didn't answer, so she came over and stood right in front of my chair.

"I've decided to forgive you Dave. We've both acted a bit silly I know, but let's put it all behind us. I've come back. If you haven't organised dinner yet, let's go out."

When I found my tongue again I couldn't help blurting out. "Can you tell me exactly how I 'acted a bit silly' Julie and what I have done to be forgiven for?"

"Why, for the hurt you caused me with that silly divorce trick Dave. That was really low of you. Luckily I knew you were bluffing all along."

"What makes you think it was a bluff Julie?"

"Because Freda said..."

Whatever delusions were keeping Julie going until this point, looked like they just evaporated. She'd been so far under Freda's bullshit spell, that some remnant had still clung on. Until now. Her face went white and she sat with a thud on the coffee table. I sat there in fascinated discomfort while a new reality levered its way into her mind. The show lasted five or six minutes. Finally.

"I gave you up didn't I? You weren't bluffing with the divorce were you? I was so sure you were that I just signed it." I shook my head sadly from side to side.

"For the record Julie. You didn't give me up. You threw me away. I've always done everything I could think of or had the energy to do, for you Julie. What did I get? You just walked out, leaving me lost and alone. I tried to warn you. Didn't I say that it was a gamble? How much more direct could I have been? After all the love and effort I put in, I was expecting, no I knew I'd earned at least your respect and loyalty. Did I get those? No I got kicked in the teeth. Disrespected and left broken and confused. Did you ever look at the balance of effort in our marriage and see the same Dave sided result I have seen over the last five weeks? No, you just let some manipulative bitch convince you that you could get more."

"Well you can't have Freda now. I've sorted her out!"

Where the fuck did that come from?

"Look, this has nothing to do with Freda, ok. Sure, I realised at one point that this was all just a con on her part to drive a wedge between us but I've never thought of her as anything but the skank she is."

"So we're all right, aren't we Dave?"

This was it. This was the biggie. The point of no return.

"No we're not ok Julie. We have the divorce papers to prove it. I can't get past the disrespect you've shown to me all along. Not to mention all the threats. I have to tell you, when you threw me away, someone else picked me up."

Julie's face, remarkably, went even paler.

"What do you mean Dave?"

"I've met someone else Julie. She started off as just a friend that helped me through this. God knows I needed one. My only friend having just walked out on me. I'm sorry Julie, but you gambled and you lost."

With a clear conscience, I strode to the door and walked out into a new life. If I was quick, I might just be able to make story time.

The end.

What are boys made of?

Snips and snails

And puppy-dogs' tails

What are girls made of?

Sugar and spice

And all things nice

So how come they taste like fish?