Chapter 14

Since there were no children involved the divorce proceeded forthwith and eight weeks later both sides agreed to the settlement terms and the divorce was finalized.

Despite the satisfaction Karen had gotten from embarrassing Astron Industries and Roger, she also felt huge regret for allowing herself to be drawn into such a nefarious state of affairs. She shuddered to think of how she was so easily duped into providing sexual favors for the corporation, and then there was everything which happened on Brigitte’s Delight.

She was lonely. All the corporate wives who she had called friends avoided her, refusing to even hear her side of the story. The one or two women she knew outside of Astron were now leary as well, as the word had spread about her “show” at the corporate ball and no-one, it seemed, wanted anything to do with her. She was a pariah, she was alone and she was miserable.

She even tried calling an old college roommate with whom she had been best friends, but was told the woman had married and moved to the west coast without a forwarding address.

When she went shopping she was the subject of whispering and looks of disgust. Even church members gave her a wide berth, so there was no solace there either.

There was but another of Tatia’s commands which Karen fulfilled. Just weeks or months ago she would’ve been aghast at what she had done at a small shop where they specialized in such services. But her life now was meaningless and there was no sense of propriety left, her self respect long dead. So she complied with yet another directive from her mistress.

And then she had but one more command from Tatia to fulfill, the most difficult of all. She had put it in the back of her mind but it now nagged at her and although she would give anything not to obey, she knew she had no choice, refusal of a command from Tatia was simply impossible. Each day brought stronger and stronger impulses to simply surrender and do what the amazon wanted. Obeying became paramount for there was nothing nor anyone who could help her resist the woman and what she wanted.

It was late on a Tuesday afternoon when Karen, dreading the grocery shopping she knew would elicit smirks and leers, stopped in at a small local food mart to get some fresh vegetables. Keeping her head down to avoid the stares and disapproving looks, she was examining some tomatoes when she heard a familiar voice.

“Karen? Karen Jenkins?”

She turned to find Ron Taylor, her first and only corporate “paramour” who had declined to indulge in what they both had known was wrong.

“Ron! How very nice to see you? Are you still with Astron?”

“Oh, no, I just couldn’t take some of their business practices. I left Astron shortly after you and I...”

“Spent an enjoyable night together,” she helped finish the sentence.

“I’ve thought about you, Karen, wondered how you are.”

“Well, since you left Astron you probably haven’t heard about my scandal.”

“Scandal? What scandal?”

“It’s a long story with which I won’t bore you. Suffice it to say I too have severed ties with Astron ... and with Roger.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Ron?” Her eyes were pleading, “Maybe we could have dinner some time. I’d love to...”

“Oh, Karen, I’m sorry,” he said, “I’m engaged. Regina Akers. She’s from a little town outside Chicago. We met and it was sort of a whirlwind romance.”

Her heart broken, Karen smiled. “I’m so happy for you. You deserve to have someone wonderful and now you’ve found her.”

“Maybe you could meet her sometime,” he offered.

“That would be nice,” she replied, both of then knowing it would never happen. “Well. It’s been nice to see you again.”

“And so nice to see you as well,” he said, then a bit awkwardly he moved on down the aisle.

Karen’s heart ached. Perhaps the one man who could have ... she held back a tear and forcing one foot in front of the other, continued her shopping.

The urge was growing stronger with each passing day. She knew she simply could no longer postpone what her mistress wanted. Could she do it knowing what it meant? She cried a great deal these days: cried over the scandal with Astron, cried over her divorce with Roger, cried over meeting and then losing Ron once again, but most of all she cried because of what Tatia wanted her to do and what it meant.