The Next One Ch. 04

"Who are you and what are you doing in my apartment?"

I saw fear flash across Gloria's face. Barrington was quick; I'd have to give him that. He took a step back and looked at the apartment number on the door and said:

"Oops; I guess I wasn't paying attention. I'm one door off. Sorry to disturb you" and he backed out and closed the door behind him.

I didn't say anything except, "Where is the baby? I want to see my child."

I felt some of the tension leave Gloria and she took my hand and led me to the back bedroom. The baby was asleep in a crib and Gloria eased the blanket down so I could get a good look at the baby. The child woke up and looked up at me and as I looked down at her several things suddenly became clear. Things like the way my mother behaved when talking about Gloria. Things like why mother was always quick to change the subject when I kidded her about being a grandmother.

The baby had red hair and green eyes.

No one in my family had red hair or green eyes. Gloria's hair was as black as a raven's wing and she had brown eyes. Barrington was red headed and I would bet that he also had green eyes.

My plan to sit down and have a long talk with Gloria about whether or not we could get past her having an affair while I was gone went right into the trash can. Without looking at her I asked Gloria:

"Does Barrington have a cell phone?"

"What are you talking about? Who is Barrington?"

"Give it up Gloria. You're busted. The fact that I know the name should tell you that."

"I don't know what you are talking about. I don't know anyone named Barrington."

"Unless he is driving someone else's car he is the man who walked in the door a couple of minutes ago. He is also the man who entered this apartment Tuesday night and didn't leave until 6:40 the next morning. The same man who came in here Wednesday night at 6:21 and didn't leave until 6:48 Thursday morning. Whatever his name is you need to get in touch with him and get him to come back for you and his kid. I'm going over to my parent's house and spend the night. I will come back here tomorrow afternoon after three and you and your kid need to be gone. I'll see an attorney in the morning and start the end to this sorry mess."

"You aren't making any sense here Frank. I don't know anyone named Barrington."

"Jesus Christ Gloria; are you fucking brain dead? I just told you I have been sitting out in the parking lot watching that red headed asshole spend the last three nights in this apartment. Maybe his name isn't Barrington. The car he is driving is registered to a Reginald Barrington and maybe this Barrington guy loaned his car to the red headed asshole who just walked in the door. What about when I walked in the door? Your back was to me and you didn't know it was me and you weren't expecting me so where the fuck did that "It's about time you got here lover" come from? And are you going to tell me that it is just a coincidence that your bed buddy and this baby both have red hair and green eyes? Well I ain't buying it Gloria.

"You want to know my take on this? No, of course you don't, but I'm going to give it to you anyway. Way back when you first told me that you were pregnant you were just priming the pump; setting me up for the fall in case you couldn't get the red headed asshole to marry you. I always wondered why you went back to Baylor and didn't talk to me for almost two weeks after hitting me with the pregnancy shit. It was because you were busy trying to talk Barrington or whoever the fuck he is into marrying you and I guess he told you to fuck off and so it was back to Plan B – me! I'll even go a step farther and guess that the reason he wouldn't marry you is because he knew he wasn't the only guy fucking you while you were down there going to school and he didn't think the kid was his.

"No matter. Bottom line is that you are busted and we are done. Be gone when I get back here tomorrow."

I left the apartment and went straight to a phone and cancelled the two credit cards that we had and arranged for a new card in my name only and with a different account number. The bank would have to wait until the morning.

I received a joyous welcome at my parent's place and after things settled down mom said:

"I know that your first stop would have been your apartment, but I see that you have your bags with you."

"Yes indeed and I'm betting that you know why. Why didn't you tell me?"

"You had enough to worry about and there wasn't anything you could have done from where you were so why add to your load? Besides, you might have been able to get by it. She might have been able to show you or convince you that there was red hair and green eyes in her family."

"Maybe, but there wasn't anyway she could explain away the red headed asshole she was sleeping with when I got home."

"Oh my; I didn't know about that. What are you going to do?"

"See a lawyer and go for a divorce or maybe an annulment. She obviously lied to me when she said we had to get married because I was the father of the child."

"I'm sorry honey. Gloria wouldn't have been my choice for you, but I had hoped that things would work out for you."

I spent the night in my old room and mom fed me breakfast in the morning and then I headed for town and was standing at the door when the bank opened. I cleaned out the savings and checking accounts and closed them. I opened a new checking account in my name only and filled out the necessary paperwork to have my direct deposits go to the new account. That done I headed over to Home Depot and got a new locking door knob and dead bolt.

When I got there Barrington or whatever his name might be was loading suitcases into the back of the car he was driving. I looked him over and thought that even with my gimpy leg I could take him; maybe teach him that fucking another man's woman wasn't a good thing and then I thought maybe it wasn't that way at all. Maybe he saw it as me fucking his woman. Maybe she was cheating on him with me when she came home for the weekends. Fuck it! It wouldn't be worth the effort.

In the apartment Gloria was looking around to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. When she was done she headed for the door and I stepped in front of her and held out my hand palm up and said:

"Keys to the apartment and truck."

She dug through her hand bag, came up with them and handed them to me. I stepped aside so she could leave and she said:

"Don't I even get a kiss goodbye?"

"Your boyfriend out there might not approve."

I turned and walked away from her and she left the apartment and pulled the door closed behind her. Even though I had gotten her keys she might have a spare so I got busy and changed the locks with what I'd picked up at Home Depot. That done I had the rest of the weekend to get through and I visited a couple of my old haunts and said hello and visited to old friends that I ran into.

Monday morning I called an attorney and made an appointment to see him that afternoon. I told him my story and he told me that getting an annulment would be the way to go, but if she fought it things would probably devolve into a regular divorce and at that point we would need tests to determine the paternity of the child in order for me to avoid having to pay child support. I told him to go ahead with the paper work and gave him Barrington's address as the place to serve Gloria.

I left the attorney and drove over to XYZ and paid a visit to the HR office and filled out the necessary paperwork for returning to work and then I went back to my parent's place for dinner. I told them about what had gone on and about my visit to the lawyer and then my mom said:

"You really should say hi to Allison now that you are home."

Some things never change. I wasn't even out of my marriage to Gloria and mom was trying to get me back with Allison.

++++++++++++++++++++

I went back to work and back to school. I had one semester remaining to get my Associates Degree in Business Management. I rejoined the Wednesday night bowling league and surprisingly my average went from 160 to 175. It seems that my limp slowed down my approach to the foul line and gave me a better delivery.

I didn't do any dating because I didn't want to give Gloria anything she could use against me in case she might want to fight the breakup so it was just work, bowl and school for me while I waited to see what happened.

At work Randy retired and Melvin moved up to take his spot and then John surprised the hell out of me and moved me up to take Melvin's spot. I had hoped to move up in the company; that is why I was taking classes, but I hadn't expected anything to happen for a couple of years. The frosting on the cake – the end to a great day – came when I got home from work and got my mail out of the mail box. My annulment came through.

I went out to celebrate that night with some old classmates. We ended up at a party and by the end of it I had a date for Saturday with Bev Holbrook. I didn't even have to work for it. Bev came up to me and said:

"I hear that you finally found out about Gloria and Reggie and tossed her out on her cheating ass."

"That pretty much sums it up."

"You know I divorced Al right?''

"No, I didn't know that."

"Dumped him for the same reason you got rid of Gloria. I caught him sliding between the sheets with Nancy Neubert. I guess we are both single now."

My daddy didn't raise no dummy and I saw Bev's comment as an invitation so I said:

"As both of us are single I guess I'm free to ask you if you would like to go out some time."

"I don't have anything going for Friday."

"Well then, how about we get together Friday and do something?"

Friday was dinner and a movie and after the movie we hit a party that she knew about. When we left the party we had no sooner gotten in my truck when Bev said:

"You know what I miss most about not being married? The sex. I miss having a sex life."

Again, my daddy didn't raise a dummy so I looked her right in the eye and said:

"Your place or mine?"

"Yours. My sister moved in with me when I kicked Al out."

When we got to my place I warned her I might be a little quick as it had been almost a year since I'd last had sex.

"So what? Unless you have something else to do we have all night."

The first time was pretty quick, but the second time took a bit longer and the third time I managed to get her off twice before I finished, Bev was one hot lady in bed and her blow jobs were state of the art.

As I was driving Bev home she said, "I don't know about you, but I'm in no hurry to get into another serious relationship right now, but I enjoyed tonight. I don't want to be running around just taking on anybody to have a sex life. Have you ever heard about a friends with benefits relationship?"

"I have."

"Interested?"

I didn't even have to spend two seconds thinking on it. "I certainly am" I said and that was the start of a relationship that got me laid at least twice a week for the next four months. Then one Tuesday night after a very energetic and sweaty encounter Bev told me that it was our last time.

"I met a guy I think I might get serious with."

I wished her good luck and told her that there would always be room on my bed for her if things didn't work out. She gave me a hot kiss, told me that she would hold me to it and then she was gone.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Two weeks after Bev said goodbye it was Thanksgiving and I was invited to my parents for dinner. I expected to see Mr. and Mrs. Ames there and probably Allison, but I was surprised to see that Allison wasn't there. From the table talk I gathered that Allison was spending the day with her boyfriend and his parents. I also gathered from the conversation that Mr. and Mrs. Ames didn't think highly of Allison's choice, but at least for the first time in years neither my parents nor Allison's said anything about me and Allison needing to hook up.

The talk in the kitchen as my dad, Mr. Ames and I took care of the clean up stuck mostly to what Bush was doing in the Middle East and sports. Both my dad and Mr. Ames worked on me to join veteran's organizations and they argued – good naturedly – about which one's were the best. My dad was American Legion and Mr. Ames was Veterans of Foreign Wars, but I wasn't much of a joiner and wasn't interested in either one, but I kept my mouth shut and let them talk away while I would occasionally nod my head as one or the other made a point about something.

After clean up I thanked mom for a wonderful dinner, complimented Mrs. Ames on her mince-meat pie with rum and raisin sauce and said my goodbyes. When I opened the door of my truck and the interior light came on I saw Allison sitting on the passenger side. I hesitated for a moment and then got in.

"Surprised?" Allison asked.

"Very. I was told you were spending the day with your boyfriend and his parents."

"I did, but I got away as soon as I could."

"Why are you here?"

"God Frankie; you sure can be stupid sometimes."

"Yeah? Well I guess that it comes naturally to me."

"Duh Frank. I'm not with my ex-boyfriend, I'm sitting in your truck waiting for you so you figure it out."

"Sorry Allison; my mind doesn't seem to be working right now. You spell it out for me."

"It is simple Frank. You have been wasting my life. First it was that cunt Sarah, then that whore Gloria and when you finally get smart and get rid of her you hooked up with Bev Holbrook before I could get to you. I didn't get home from school until yesterday or I'd have been at your door the day after you broke up with Bev. I'm in this truck to make damned sure I get you before you find some other worthless bitch and make another mistake. We have wasted enough time Frank. Start the truck, drive to your apartment and let's get this show on the road."

I turned the key, pulled away from the curb and as soon as we were out of sight of the house Allison slid over next to me and her hands went to my zipper.

"Don't you dare hit anything" she said and then she lowered her head, took me into her mouth and sucked me until I pulled into the parking lot at my apartment. She sat up, opened the passenger door and said:

"You might have to call in sick tomorrow because I don't intend to leave you enough energy to get out of bed in the morning."

She was damned near as good as her word. The only thing that got me out of bed in the morning was my strong work ethic. As I was getting dressed for work Allison said:

"I'll be here when you get home from work tonight. Plan on a strenuous weekend."

And it was. We never left the apartment and Sunday as she was dressing to leave she said:

"I will be back every weekend and I expect you to be here waiting for me. I graduate in May and I would like a June wedding. We will talk about it next weekend so between now and then you need to think about when we should clue in our parents. It shouldn't take them all that long to set things up, God knows they have been planning it for fifteen years." She paused for a moment and then asked, "What are you thinking?"

"I was just wondering when you started being such a take charge person."

"When I woke up to the fact that I wasn't going to get what I wanted if I sat around and waited for it to come to me. You are the perfect case in point. Given our past history if I just sat and waited for you to come to me what are the odds that you would have shown up?"

"Not good."

"See what I mean?"

She came over and kissed me and then said, "Run me home baby. I need to say goodbye to my parents before I head back to school."

++++++++++++++++++++

They might have started planning the wedding fifteen years ago, but that was then and this was now. Mrs. Ames greeted the news with less than enthusiastic joy. She didn't say or do anything to indicate disapproval or approval, but I got the distinct impression that she could have done without the news. Later I asked Allie about it.

"She thinks I'm making a big mistake."

"I guess I can understand that. I haven't exactly been the poster boy for good relationships."

Allie gave me a funny look and then she said, "It isn't you baby, it is me."

"You?"

"I went a little crazy back when. I went off on an "I'll show him" binge after that day at your apartment. I changed boyfriends as often as you changed socks and I won't lie to you baby, I fucked every one of them. My mom thinks I'm a slut and she thinks I'll always be a slut even after I marry you. She just doesn't believe I should be getting married at all."

"Just how big a slut were you? How many?"

"None of your business baby. I'm not interested in your sex life before our engagement and I'm not telling you anything about mine other than to say that all of it was to spite you."

She was right. What happened before was in the past and none of my business. Except that it was. At least once anyway. It happened at a party we attended two weeks before Christmas. Allie was off talking with a couple of girls and Bert Ellsworth (yes – the pigtail puller) came up to me. Bert had probably had a few beers too many to watch his mouth and he said:

"I hear you and Allison are getting married. Any truth to it?"

"That's the plan."

"You are one lucky son of a bitch. She's the best piece of ass I've ever had. I won't bother her after you are married, but I'm going to fuck her as much as I can before you get married."

It took four guys to pull me off of him, but it would be months before his reproductive equipment would be well enough for him to use for anything other than taking a piss. Several guys heard what he said to me before I stomped his ass and two of them swore that Bert tossed the first punch and I'd only defended myself. After that little fracas the word must have gone out that if you had boned Allison it would be best not to let me hear about it.

+++++++++++++++++++++

The following week was my company Christmas party and of course I had Allison with me. The first people I saw when I walked into the hotel ballroom were Russ and Evangelina Backman. I didn't see Sarah with them and I breathed a sign of relief. The last thing I wanted was for Allison to be asking "Why are those two women staring daggers at us." Not that I cared what the female Backmans did; I just didn't want to explain.

Russ waved me over and invited us to join them, but I told him that I had already committed to sharing a table with some guys from my shop. I introduced Allison to Russ and Vangie and I noticed that Vangie checked out Allison the way women check the competition and I had to wonder about that.

After dinner and the usual speeches the band started to play. I danced with Allison for a couple of tunes and then danced with the wives and girlfriends at the table and their husbands and boyfriends danced with Allison. Maybe an hour after the music started I got up to go to the bathroom and when I came out I found Vangie waiting in the hallway for me. I tried to move by her but she grabbed my arm and said:

"I need a favor Frank."

"You fuck up my life and you want me to do you a favor?"

"I didn't, as you put it, "Fuck up your life." I did you a favor, but that's neither her nor there. I gave you some good times baby and now I need a favor."

"What?"

"I need you to dance with me at least once."

"Why?"

"Because Russ has commented on it. You've danced with me at other parties and he is wondering why you haven't come over and asked me."

"I didn't dance with you at the last Christmas party."

"That's because Sarah was with us and your breakup was too fresh. Come on baby; do me this little favor, please?"

"I'll see" I said as I broke away from and went back to the party. I danced a couple of more times with Allison and then I asked her to excuse me while I took care of a duty dance.