TITLE    : Unexpected Surprise
STORYID  : unexpected-surprise-2
SUMMARY  : A cheating wife tale.
AUTHOR   : slow_n_gentle@lit
DATE     : 2008-12-27
CATEGORY : loving-wives
FLAGS    : 
TAGS     : |cheating wife|cheating husband|


This is a story about an average Joe who did something out of the ordinary one day and had an unexpected surprise.



My name is Joe, I'm 48, 5'7", 165 pounds, and married for 25 years to my beautiful wife Alice. Alice is 45, 5'5", 110 pounds, with auburn hair, green eyes, and the figure of a woman half her age. We have two grown daughters, both single career women who moved to the big city 50 miles away for better paying jobs. I'm an appliance repairman and Alice is a clerk at public works. We rent a 3 bedroom 2 story home on a tree lined street in a quiet little town of 15,000 people. I drive a 6 year old pick-up truck and Alice has a 3 year old Ford sedan with 12 payments left. We have my IRA, Alice's pension, a saving account with $25,000, and about $1,200 in the checking account. We're not rich, but we don't starve either. We live like everyone else around us. We go out maybe once a week to eat or the movie. Alice goes to Women's Workout Place and I walk in the park if it's not raining. Like I said an average small town couple until that day.



It was a Tuesday, I remember because it was garbage day, and I was in a hurry because I forgot to put gas in the truck the night before. I opened the garage door; put the garbage cans by the curb. I backed out of the garage, making sure the garage door closed before pulling into the street and driving away. I stopped at the gas station and put $20 of regular in the tank. I noticed I forgot to take some extra money before I left, but I still had 3 bucks in my wallet. 



At the shop, I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat at one of the tables in the break room waiting to see what my day would be like.



"Hey Joe, I need a little favor," yelled Marty as he walked over and sat down, "You got the south rural route today and I really need to get to Glover Valley. Tomorrow is May's birthday and I fucked up and forgot her present. She wants this antique lamp in the resale shop over there. I put half down a couple of weeks ago and forgot to pick it up Saturday. They close during the week before we get off. I'll take your next Saturday if you trade for my local route today."



After 25 years of marriage, I understood the pain in his eyes at the thought of forgetting his wife's present.



"No problem Marty," I said in a relaxed cheerful voice, "take my next two Saturdays and you have a deal."



I knew my day was improving when Marty grudgingly agreed.



I looked over my service calls and picked up the parts I thought I would need before heading out for the day. I called my first customer to tell them I was on my way over. By the background noise, she had a house full of kids.



I had to replace the fan under the refrigerator that one of the kid's toy plane jammed and burned out. I handed her the plane and the bill to sign.



The second job involved replacing the electronic igniter for the oven. I wrote another bill, received payment and decided I would grab a cup of coffee before my next customer.



I headed for the diner when I remembered I only had 3 bucks. My home was only a few blocks out of the way. I could stop and grab a twenty. Besides, it was only 10:30 and I already had two jobs completed. 



I pulled into my drive and shut off the truck. I would have let it run for the quick stop but the garbage truck had already passed through and the empty cans were rolling around. I grabbed the two cans and brought them into the garage through the side door. That's when I found my wife's car in the garage. As I walked passed I touched the hood and noticed it was still warm. Maybe she ran home for something, but why drive in the garage and close the door? She could have become ill, but she was in a good mood when she left this morning. I opened the door into the kitchen and started to call out when I noticed 2 pairs of shoes on the floor the kitchen with a trail of clothes headed for the living room. My throat became dry and my stomach began to tighten. My heart started racing and my emotions kept flip-flopping between raging anger to beat the hell out of the guy and throw her ass out the front door; or sit on the floor and cry because the woman I have loved and trusted all these years is cheating on me right now. How long have I been blind to it going on, weeks, months, damn maybe even years?



"This is the shit that you hear about happening to other husbands. You know it will never happen to you because you have a good marriage to a loving, faithful wife," I thought as I took slow deep breathes to keep my breakfast from coming up.



Quietly following the clothing trail, I removed a wallet from a pair of men's pants. The owner was Walter Skein, my wife's boss, according to the driver's license. I stuck the wallet in my pocket and circled back toward the den where the computer was. We keep our digital camera in the computer desk drawer so we can find it when we need it, like right now. I took the camera and slowly made my way upstairs trying to remember which steps made a noise while trying to hear what room, if I didn't already know, they were in. As I slowly walked toward our bedroom, I could hear Alice and Walter talking before seeing them from the open doorway in the act of fucking. Why do stories always say the door was partially closed? When only two grown adults live in the house, why would you close the bedroom door? I moved as close as I dared and clicked off a couple of pictures before returning downstairs to the den. I set up the printer and made two copies of each of my pictures. They were not neatly composed but you could clearly identify the people and what they were doing. As I was leaving I remembered to pick up some money. I took all our spare cash, the savings account book, and the checkbook out of my wife's purse. I also grabbed all her credit cards. The sound of loud moaning from upstairs became evident as I left the way I came in.



I decided to hit the bank instead of the diner. I took a thousand in cash out of checking, and a cashier's check for all our savings. I returned to the shop and told them I was ill and stopping at the drug store before going home. I jumped in my pickup with my pictures in hand and drove over to see Mrs. Walter Skein.



I had known Walter and Betty since we were kids. In high school Walter dated Alice for a while until he noticed how beautiful shy, quiet Betty had become. He dumped Alice and went after Betty. 



"Hi Betty," I said in a cheerful voice as she answered the door, "I wanted to drop off Walter's wallet before he thought he lost it." I handed her the wallet.



"Well thanks Joe," Betty replied, "I'm sure he will appreciate it. Where did you find it?"



"In his pants pocket," I said in a calm voice, "In my living room next to the rest of his and Alice's clothes, before they went upstairs to have sex in our bed." I showed her some of my recent photography.



"That lying cheating son of a bitch," Betty yelled as her face began getting red, "I'm divorcing the bastard this time. I listened to his bullshit a year ago, but not again."



"Would you like to ride along?" I inquired, "I happen to be on my way to the attorney right now."



"Let me get my purse and I will be right with you," Betty replied in a still angry voice.



"May I suggest you also bring along the check book, saving account and anything else you have at the bank," I said "He who has the money survives."



"Damn good idea," Betty said with a grin on her face,"wait until he finds out the accounts are empty. I might have to go to a funeral instead when the cheap ass has a heart attack."



Betty and I went end to see the best divorce lawyer in town, Milton Berg. When he saw the anger in Betty's face, he skipped his lunch and invited us in immediately.



I explained what I saw and gave him a copy of the photos. I told him exactly what Alice and I own and that I wanted all I could get for what she did.



Betty told him what they own and she expected Milton to scrape Walter's bones clean before she would be happy.



I asked him if he could have both of them served tomorrow at work. He looked at his watch and said that it was possible. We each gave him a $500 retainer and left him to his lunch.



As I drove Betty to the bank, I explained about having some cash and the rest in a cashier's check. She liked the idea since she had not thought it out that far.



When she finished her banking, I was driving her back home when an idea came to me.



"Betty," I said in a questioning voice, "hasn't your mother been feeling a little ill lately? Maybe you should pack a suitcase or two and go stay with her for a few days until she feels better. Since she lives in Cedar Point, if Walter happened to get upset when he receives his papers tomorrow, he won't have the local police to look the other way when he starts yelling. Cedar Point would not like someone coming around and disturbing the quiet in their town. Besides, I have a few hours before I have to return home and I haven't seen your mom in a long time."



"I think that is a wonderful idea Joe," said Betty in an excited voice, "I'll call mom as soon as I get home. I can pack some clothes in a hurry and you can follow me to mom's house. I know she would just love to see you while I tell her about what that rat bastard Walter did this time."



I brought Betty home and within 45 minutes we were on our way. She tried to call Walter at work but ended up leaving a message on the answering machine. He must have taken a long lunch.



I followed Betty to her mother's house in Cedar Point. She moved into the two bedroom ranch about 5 years ago when her husband died in an auto accident. Selling her larger house, plus the insurance money made her life a little easier. Betty's mom, Millie, was always one of my favorite people. She was a person who believed in living life and telling people exactly what she thought. I would hate to be Walter if he decided to come to this hornet's nest. But for me she was the best. She fixed us both a simple lunch and a cold soda while we heard her wisdom on our respective spouses.



"I should have told you years ago Joe," Millie started, "You should have gone after Betty since she had a crush on you, which made Betty blush. You two would be a fine couple. I knew back then that Alice was going to be a problem. She was always talking about boys, boys, and boys. I knew it would develop into hot pants eventually. I thought she was sneaking around years ago, but didn't say anything because I couldn't prove it. I would see her talking to the men in town and she would turn red and look away whenever she saw me watching her. Nope, didn't trust her."



"Walter," Millie said like the word was poison in her mouth," I disliked that beady eyed ass the minute he opened his mouth. He tried to impress Betty's dad and me with his manners and polite talk. I knew the minute they left on a date he was going to sweet talk Betty pants right off her. I tried to convince her to dump him but he had already knocked her up by then." On that announcement, Betty turned extremely red and decided to use the bathroom.



"Well Millie," I began, "You are a very wise lady. You seemed to have called at least two of the players correctly. If Betty hasn't already told you, I caught Hot Pants and Sweet Talk in my bed today. I convinced Betty to come here because they are serving papers on the two tomorrow and she doesn't need to be in that town. The café will have a whole new topic of conversation by lunch time Thursday. I wonder if his political buddies will back him up when the word gets out they were caught during the day when they should have been working."



Millie agreed with my thoughts on the matter. She might have to call her old friend Emily and see how everything in the old town was going since Millie talked to her last month. Emily was one of the town gossips. She could spread a story, usually bad but once in a while good, faster than CNN and the area radio station combined. If you wanted everyone to know, tell Emily and before the day was over it became the topic at every home in a twenty mile radius. 



I asked Millie and Betty what they felt Walt would do when he realized he would have the single life for a couple of days while Betty was taking care of her sick mom.



Millie thought he would see if Alice would sneak away from me for a while, or go to the bar at the edge of town.



Betty was guessing the bar at the edge of town. That's where that tramp Tammy worked and hung out. It was over a year ago Betty was told about the rumors Walt was spending a lot of time out at that bar. Rumor also was he was seen with Tammy when he was there. "That was when I told him I would divorce his ass if I found out those rumors were true," said a fired up Betty, "He denied he ever went out there and didn't even know if Tammy worked there anymore. He hadn't seen her in years. He would never cheat on me. I was all the woman he needed, the lying asshole." Walt was lucky he wasn't here because flames were coming out of Betty's eyes.



It was getting late enough for me to head home. Alice worked 8-4 so she would be home soon. I worked 9-6 with an hour for lunch. I hugged both woman and told Betty how sorry I was. I said I would call tomorrow and let them know what was happening in town.



I bought a same keyed pair of door locks at the hardware store in Cedar Point. No need to advertise my intention by buying them in town. I took the nice scenic route home. I did call the attorney from my cell phone and he assured me the papers were filed at the county court house today and my wife would be served tomorrow at work. I thanked him and gave him Millie's number to contact Betty. I stopped and looked around the stores at the local strip mall just killing time. I wanted to arrive home at my usual time as if nothing had happened today.



I pulled into the garage at 6:15. Alice's car hood was cool to the touch so I knew she came home at the usual time. I stood and took several deep breathes as the garage door closed. I needed to calm my heart rate before seeing Alice. I wanted to act like nothing unusual had happened today. Another part of me wanted to storm in there, grab her by the neck, call her a stupid fucking slut, and throw her out the front door.



"Hi dear," I said as I walked in the house, "what are we having tonight that smells so good?" As you can tell, I took the first choice.



"Hamburger Helper and a tossed salad like every Tuesday. You know I go to Women's Workout at 8:00. How was your day?"



"The usual. Fix broken appliances. Then try to answer why it broke after 15 years, and how come it costs so much to fix, and why it took two day to come out. How about yours? Any better than mine?"



"Nothing much happened. Oh, Walt Skein's wife had to go to her mother's house for a few days. Her mother became ill with the flu or something and needed her help."



"Did he say how ill?" I asked, not wanting to let this opportunity go, "Does she have to go to the hospital?"



"I don't think so," said Alice with some hesitation in her voice, "His wife left the message on the answering machine."



"Wasn't Walt there to take the call, or you?" I asked in a questioning tone.



Alice paused for longer than normal. "It must have been around lunch time. I ran down to the diner for sandwiches, and Walt might have been outside or in back talking to the men."



"Well I hope she is OK?" I replied, "I've always liked Millie. She was one of the best moms on the block when I was growing up. Maybe I call Walt later for her number."



"That's OK dear," Alice answered quickly, "I'll ask Walt for the number at work tomorrow. He probably already talked to his wife. I can let you know what she said and get you the number. I'll have it tomorrow night. It's probably nothing serious."



"You're right," I answered in a relaxed voice, "Tomorrow night is soon enough. Thanks for thinking of that."



We ate dinner pretty much in silence with a little talk of the weather and calling the daughters later in the week. When we finished, I cleaned off the plates and put them in the dishwasher. I told Alice I was going to the oil change place before they closed at 8:00. The pickup was past due. She went upstairs to get ready for her exercise class. I picked up the camera from the den and went to the garage.



I drove past Walt's house before going to the oil change place. As I expected, his car was gone. I looked at the diner and the two taverns on the way to the oil joint. I checked McDonalds, and the buffet house. Alice's car was at the workout place. I could see her through the front window talking to some other women while they waited for the class to start. I called Millie on my way to the bar on the edge of town.



"Hi Betty, its Joe," I replied, "Did Walt ever call to check on you or Millie?"



"Hi Joe," Betty said,"he hasn't called yet. Did Alice say anything about it?"



"Only that Walt's wife left a message about going to stay with her sick mother. When I asked her about why you had to leave a message, she hesitated a long time before saying she was probably out picking up lunch for everyone and Walt was either in back or outside with the men. I'll call you tomorrow when I hear anything. Bye."



I slowed as I approached the bar. There were only three cars in the lot and Walt's was one of them. I went about a half a block down and parked at the abandoned gas station. I walked back with camera in hand and carefully looked in the side window. One guy was at the bar; two more were drinking and shooting pool. Walt was at a table playing kissy face with Tammy as his hand rubbed her back and her hand rubbed his thigh. It was bright enough inside that I attempted a couple of pictures. The two stood up during the second picture and headed for the door. I tried to move into the shadows which are tough when it is a full moon out. They went over to the side of Walt's car where they continued the kissing and stroking. I got a good shot of his hand squeezing her tit and both hands grabbing her ass. A nice shot of Tammy rubbing his crotch and thigh. They finally broke it up and got in his car. They drove back into town as I walked back to my truck. I drove past Walt's on the way home, but he wasn't there. Alice was still at the exercise place. I went home, showered, and watched TV until the news came on. Then I went to bed.



I pretended to be asleep when Alice came upstairs. She showered, climbed into bed, and snuggled up to me. Later in the night I woke up. Alice was sleeping on her side as I climbed out of bed and went downstairs. I went out to the garage and disconnected the wire to her distributor. I came in, washed my hands, drank a glass of milk, and went back to bed.



We got up at our regular time. I started the coffee while Alice got ready for work. I had my coffee and headed upstairs as she came down for her usual toast and coffee. I shaved and dressed for work as she said goodbye and left, only to come in a minute later complaining her car wouldn't start. I went out to the garage and tried it myself, she was absolutely right. I looked under the hood, scratched my head, said I would look at it after work, and went in to turn off the coffeemaker so I could take her to work.



I kissed her on the cheek when I dropped her off. Alice said she would get someone to drop her off at home after work. I returned home and quickly changed out the two door locks; then rushed my butt to work so I wasn't late.



I caught the split route with two jobs in the country and two in town.



At the first house I had to replace the power cord to a chest freezer when a mouse committed suicide by chewing through the old cord. 



The pump went out on the dishwasher at the second place. I called the office to check on the pump. I told the customer the pump had to be ordered and we would be back next week.



I headed back into town and grabbed a cup at the drive thru of McDonalds. I was relaxing, listening to the radio and enjoying my coffee when my cell went off. It was Millie's number.

<hr pg="2" />"Hello," I said.



"Get prepared," said a laughing Betty, "they got served. Walt just called screaming in the phone. He is so rattled he was stuttering trying to talk." My phone beeped but I decided to let it go to voice mail. 



"Well, did he deny it?" I asked, "Did he call you the liar? Could you here Alice in the room?"



"He denied it," Betty said, "tried to say someone was just causing trouble, most likely Joe because Alice told him Joe was probably having an affair. He told me Alice was served because Joe is covering his tracks."



"Walt always was a good politician," I retorted, "Use an offense as a good defense. It seems to have worked for him for years. I am sure he will have Alice say the same thing. I wonder how long she will agree when I show her last night's photos of Walt and Tammy. By the way Betty, you were right. He went straight to her. They must have gone to her house, I lost them at the bar, and he didn't bring her to your house."



"Well," said Betty with a huff, "I guess that is one blessing. Maybe he is afraid the neighbors will see them, or he didn't want her to know I'm not around."



"I'll call you later tonight," I said in a calm tone. "I have to check my voice mail and return to work. Tell Millie to call Emily and get the gossip machine working."



My voice mail was from an angry, hysterical Alice wanting to know what the fuck I think I am proving. She is a faithful wife and I'm accusing her of adultery. I better drop this whole damn divorce thing before she decides to get rid of me. 



I did my next job, replacing a broken switch on a washer, and drove home for lunch.



I had cooled off a lot since I disables Alice's car last night. I remembered, she bought it without me. She is the title holder and she took out the loan in her name. It's only fair she have her car. I reattached the distributor wire. Then I piled all of Alice's clothes and personal items in the front, back and trunk of the car. I backed it out of the garage and removed the remote control. I set the payment book on the dash before locking it back up. I had a nice sandwich and soda, then headed for my next job.



My last job took a little while. I had a broken belt on a dryer and had to return to the shop for the part. Alice called again. Someone dropped her off at home. She found her car full of clothes and couldn't unlock the doors to the house. She couldn't understand what she did to make me act this way, so could I call her back so we could straighten it out before it was too late. I decided I would talk to her tonight after I finished work. She could wait at our house or most likely go to her mother's house to wait. I hoped she would move the clothes in the front seat. I printed a couple of copies of Walt's activities with Tammy and left a copy under the clothes. The second copy was for Betty to use.



I finished the dryer job and returned to the office with about 20 minutes to spare. When I walked in, everyone suddenly became quiet as the just looked at me. Marty finally broke the silence. 



"Is it true Joe?" asked Marty, "The word at the diner is that you are divorcing Alice after catching her with Walter Skein. They say Betty left Walt and filed for divorce. I'm really sorry if it's true."



"It's true," I answered in a soft sad voice," Both were served papers today. I moved Alice's clothes out of the house at lunch time."



"I hope you take Alice for everything," said an angry Marty, "and I hope Betty does the same."



I turned down the offers to stop for a couple of drinks and drove home.



Alice's car was gone so I pulled straight into the garage. I had a dozen messages on the answering machine. The first from the process server confirming the papers were served; the second was from an angry Alice wanting to know why I wasn't answering any phone. Then I had a few threatening ones from Walt, followed by more from Alice changing from angry to calm to sad to pleading with an occasional sob to call her at her mothers. We could clear up this misunderstanding.



I quickly downed one beer and grabbed another before sitting down and reaching for the phone. I called Alice at her mothers. As soon as she heard my voice she started in.



"You have a lot of explaining to do Joe," Alice started with an angry tone in her voice, "I have been trying to reach you all day. You have upset me since I received those divorce papers. I don't know who has been filling your head with lies, but I have been faithful to you."



"I stopped at home yesterday morning," I said in a tired sad voice, "I found you came home and had company with you. I saw clothes in the living room and talking upstairs. I left."



Alice was silent for long time thinking about what I said, before she replied in a very soft voice. "Nothing happened," she started, "We were kissing and touching. I realized it was a big mistake and stopped before anything happened. You must have heard us talk before we came downstairs and dressed. I'm sorry I almost did something to ruin our marriage."



"So nothing happened between you and Walt?" I questioned.



"No I realized I loved you too much to ruin our marriage. Walt agreed we were being foolish because we both felt our spouses were neglecting us. I should have talked to you about it earlier. I'm really sorry," she quickly answered.



"That's damn good to hear," I said in a cheerful voice, "My recollection is a little bit different. I found your car in the garage. I saw Walt and your clothes thrown from the doorway to the stairs. I heard the two of you talking in the bedroom for a while before it changed to grunts and moans as you fucked like rabbits. But I could be wrong. You know how bad my memory is. Thank god I took pictures to remind me." I heard her crying as I hung up.



Epilogue



Alice and I were divorced about 4 months later. For changing the filling from adultery to irreconcilable differences she would agree to give me 75% of the money. I got my truck. She got her car and the payments. We sold off most of the furniture I never asked and Alice never said why. I still talk to my daughters. They think I should have forgiven their mother.



Betty took Walt to the cleaners. With the photos of two different mistresses, she cleaned him out good. She moved in with her mother and found a job in Cedar Point. We dated for a while until the divorces were settled and the property divided, then I moved in with her and Millie.



Alice lives with her mother and still works at public works. She found the pictures of Walt and Tammy. She filed a sexual harassment suit against Walt claiming he demanded sex for her to keep her job. She got a settlement and Walt's cronies fired him.



Walt and Tammy left town in the middle of the night.

