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She cheated, I ran

I am sitting on my veranda sipping an iced tea. The veranda is in Tepeji del Rio, Hidalgo, Mexico. I am here because my ex-wife was/is a slut.

I am Gary Wilson, 49, 5’ 11” and weigh about 190 lbs. I have blue to gray eyes and am starting to lose my hair. I was the owner of a small but profitable company. The company made things that every car in the world needed. The products were also in every appliance you have ever used or had repaired. The business was pretty much recession-proof.

My ex is Susanne, 46, and if you listen to her she is 5’ 8”, but I swear she is not quite 5’ 6” with bottle black hair. She has a smile that will make you feel like you are a special person, but if you cross her she becomes the ‘Wicked Witch of the West’. I crossed her when I destroyed her lover. That is why I am enjoying life in the high desert of Central Mexico.

I met Susanne Valdez while we were both in high school in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I was a junior and she was a freshman. According to the ‘social rules’ in place, juniors did not date freshmen, particularly when the junior is lily-white, and the freshman is Hispanic. I saw her walking down the hall toward my locker as I was getting my books out for my homework that night. About the time she was 20 or so feet from my locker, one of my asshole classmates, John Collins, pushed her up against the wall and started to paw her. Before I could react, he had grabbed her by the breast and she gave out a pained cry.

Now I am not now, nor was I then, a muscled jock. The only sports I participated in were cross-country, track, and baseball. I was tall and skinny. I also had been taught that women were to be treated as the weaker sex and protected or defended from bullies. So I went up to John and bitch slapped the back of his head and when he turned I motioned Susanne to run. She did. John, who probably outweighed me by 50 lbs., proceeded to wail on me with serious intent. Susanne returned with a teacher who grabbed John and called for the school nurse. I only remember John’s first punch as it knocked me down and I hit my head on the marble floor. I was out for the count.

Before he could be stopped, John had apparently kicked me in the ribs, punched me a lot in the face, and basically destroyed me. I ended up in the hospital with three broken ribs, a damaged cheek, a concussion, and bruises all over. John, besides being expelled from the entire school system had a broken hand. He was also arrested and charged with sexual assault and attempted murder.

While I was in the hospital, I was visited by a couple of detectives to get my side of the story. The two detectives took a lot of pictures and got a copy of my medical report. One of them, a nice man, named Det. Jason Wires told me that John’s parents were very rich, and had retained a team of very good lawyers for his defense. I told him that as far as I was concerned, he needed to have the entire prosecutor’s staff come down hard on him. I also said that I really did not think attempted murder would stick, but if he was convicted of sexual assault and simple assault, he might spend some time in the system. The detective said that the family was trying to buy off the girl, and would probably contact me about the same thing. They also said that they had to go to school the next day to get a copy of the surveillance video.

Before that day was over, my parents told me they had been approached by the lawyers. Those assholes had threatened to have me charged with assault for slapping John. They also made an offer to pay my family to forget the charges against John. I told my parents to let them do their worst, but if they really wanted some settlement, to have John’s parents come into the hospital to see me. I also told my dad to make sure that he got the video of the hallway so it did not disappear before the meeting. He said he would. They left and I went to sleep.

The next day I got another surprise when Susanne and her family came in to visit me. She saw my face and started tearing up. She and her parents were very vocal in thanking me for coming to Susanne’s rescue. They also said that they had been approached by the lawyers, and were insulted when the idiots said they would try to put the blame on Susanne because she was encouraging him.

I explained that my parents had decided that I would be the one to decide what was going to be decided, but that I would insist that we all get our pound of flesh in any settlement.

They agreed and would follow my family’s lead with John’s lawyers. I asked Susanne what she wanted to do. She then surprised me by showing me a picture of her breast. It was definitely bruised, and I was very angry.

I told them that I would let them know what I decide. I asked that they leave a copy of the picture with me in case the lawyers came to see me. I also said that I would take into account any possible embarrassment that Susanne might have to go through if it went before a judge. I offered, with my dad’s permission, to let them use our attorney.

They agreed to talk to my father and our attorney before they decide what to do. They said they would not agree to any settlement without conferring with us. I thanked them for their cooperation and for their get well thoughts.

Shortly after they left, John’s parents and their lawyers came in. I just held up my hand before they could say anything. I picked up the hospital phone, and called my dad and told him who was in my room. He told me what to do. He hung up, but I kept the phone in my hand at put my hand over the mouthpiece as if I was still talking to my dad.

I said to them; “My dad has retained an attorney. That attorney told my father that I was not to talk to your attorneys without him present. Mr. and Mrs. Collins, if you insist that the attorneys be present while you are here, I must insist you leave. If you don’t, I will call security and you will be escorted out.” I laid down the phone and with a great sigh slumped back into my pillow.

Mr. Collins leaned over to one of the attorneys and had a whispered conversation. The attorney shook his head vehemently. Mr. Collins looked at his wife and motioned them all out.

I saw some backbone appear and with a glare at her husband said; “You pompous ass, your son did this. You will either fire these two assholes, or I will see a divorce attorney and you can eat shit.” She continued; “I am here to apologize if you don’t like it tough shit.”

With that, Mr. Collins jerked his head toward the door and the attorneys left. I then grabbed my cell phone and told the Collins that my father said that I should record anything that we talk about.

That went over with Mr. Collins like a noisy fart in church. Mrs. Collins just looked at her husband and said; “Of course you must do what your parents tell you, unlike our son. You go ahead and use your recorder. I for one am tired of trying to protect that bully that we have raised. He seems to think that because we have money, we will buy him out of any trouble. It must stop now.”

After that things calmed down, and Mrs. Collins chatted for a little while her husband fumed. I thank her for her nice words, I ignored Mr. Collins.

He finally said, “I hope you get better quickly. I know that you were protecting an innocent. I’m sorry for what my son did.”

I thanked him and asked that they excuse me as I was going to need a pain pill and they put me to sleep. They made their goodbyes and I just sank back into the pillow again as the whole encounter had drained me. I got the pain meds and was out for the count.

When I fully recovered, I had lost almost the entire semester of attendance at school and the school wanted me to repeat the classes that I missed. I had that covered because my cousin also went to the same school and had been giving me my assignments. I was not behind except for the quizzes and tests. I challenged the administration to have the teachers prepare a set of new quizzes and final exams and if I successfully completed them I would continue as if I had not missed a day of school. To back up my point I reminded them that I had been assaulted on school grounds during school hours. They agreed, and I took the tests and aced them all. When you can hardly move without your chest hurting you find you have a lot of time to study.

Susanne came to the hospital and over to my house after school once I was home about twice a week until I could go back to classes. She helped me with my Spanish class and that kept me from stumbling on the one class that classroom time was vital. Because of the lost time, my Spanish teacher prepared an oral test as well as a written final. Easy-Peasy.

I found Susanne to be funny, flirty, and fun to be with. When the school year ended I asked for and received permission from her parents to date her. We dated semi-seriously the whole next year until I graduated. Then we parted as friends and I went into the army. My family could not afford to send me to college, and the scholarships I qualified for would not be enough. The G.I. Bill would make college possible.

John had come up for his trial, and as the prosecutor was trying to get elected to a higher office on a ‘tough on crime’ platform refused to let John plead to a lesser charge. When the smoke cleared the Collins’ attorneys destroyed the prosecutor for excessive prosecution. John got off with 2 counts of misdemeanor assault, a small fine, and his parents sent him off to a military school.

While I was in basic training the Collins’ had presented a fair compensation package to my folks but were basically ignoring the Valdez family. I was already in the army but I told my dad that we would settle for all medical bills, all legal fees including the settlement percentage, $6000.00 for every day I missed school from the injuries and $4,500,000.00 if they offer $700,000 dollars to the Valdez Family and paid for Susanne’s college to a bachelor’s degree plus all of our legal fees. I was surprised when they agreed without even a counteroffer. I suspect Mrs. Collins had a lot to do with that.

Dad put my money in a trust for me that I would have access to when I turned 25.

When I was in the army, Susanne and I wrote and called each other often, at least for a while. Because I did not know where I would be stationed or when I would get leave I encouraged her to date others. She said she did not want to, and would wait for me. I was lucky, and because of my fluent Spanish, I was assigned duty in Mexico City. After the first few months, the letters from Susanne slowed and finally stopped. I was a little hurt but figured she found someone and did not want to tell me.

When I completed my enlistment, I went back home and talked to the Valdez. It seems Susanne had started dating someone almost as soon as I was in basic training. That bothered me as she had lied to me.

I went off to college and dated many young ladies. It seems an ex-GI without any school loans was considered a good prospect. None of the ladies were able to attract more than passing interest. I was no saint, but I wasn’t a male slut either.

When I got my degree, I went back to GR and got a job at the company I later bought. Being a 26-year-old degreed veteran got me in the doors. I worked my way up after 15 years from salesman to President of the company. A year later the owner came to me to buy out the business. I did. I revamped several departments and procedures and modernized a lot of the equipment. The business profit margin improved. Customers were happy and I have never laid off an employee.

After I had been out of the army about a year, I ran into Susanne and we ‘reconnected’. I found I still had feelings for her. When we started dating again, she made it clear that we would not be exclusive until she was sure it was right. I said that I understood. We dated for over a year before she decided it was right. In all this time, because she would not be exclusive, I never had sex with her.

On a Friday, after she said we should now be exclusive, Susanne asked me why I wasn’t asking for or trying to have sex with her. I told her that while I was not a virgin, sex was important to me, and I was also afraid of getting a sexually transmitted disease.

Susanne got angry and went into attack mode. She started screaming obscenities, and went on for what seemed like an hour, but was probably 2 minutes.

When she finally wound down, I asked her point-blank if she had had sex with someone while we were together. She said yes, I asked when she said: “The first time was when you were in basic training.” Then she said; “I like sex, so I sleep with anyone I have dated more than twice – except you.”

Then came the clincher. I asked if she had only been with me in the past year. The look on her face was priceless. She finally got what I was getting at.

I told her; “We are through unless you can stop dating anyone else, and give me a notarized copy of a health department report showing you do not have an STD.”

I saw the anger returning, so before she could react I tossed $20 to her and told her to take a cab home and think about what I had just said. Then I left and drove home. I did not hear from or see her for the next six months.

I started looking for a place to live. I was tired of living at my folk’s house, and like old fish, I was getting smelly.

I found a place out in the country. It was an estate sale that included a recently built 4500 square foot, 6 bedrooms, 5-1/2 baths ranch on 160 acres with a barn and stables. The land was mostly meadows. All of the nearly new farm machinery and implements and all of the horses were included. It was reasonably priced as the original owners were killed in an accident, and the adult kids just wanted the estate settled. The only catch was, the deal would only be finalized upon settling of the estate.

I made an offer that gave me possession immediately but allowed ownership to be when the estate was settled. It was accepted, and the estate allowed me to start taking care of the animals immediately. I made a side deal with the families that I would buy all of the furniture and other contents. The couple’s kids agreed as they had removed all of the stuff that they wanted to keep. I got a deal, and they were spared the expense of an estate sale.

The sale of the property allowed for a quick settlement of the estate, so a month later I had complete possession of the farm.

Just as I got fully settled into my new place, I ran into Susanne. I was going to a business dinner with a client who had just given the company a large order. As I was being shown to my seat, I walked past a table where Susanne was sitting with a man as old as her father. She looked up, saw me and got white as a ghost.

I continued on to my seat and had a nice dinner and a great business discussion. My client suddenly looked up and I turned to see Susanne head toward our table. I shook my head no, and she dropped her head and turned back toward the door.

The next day, my mother called and asked me to call Susanne.

I said; “There was no reason for me to call an ex-girlfriend, and if you have given her my telephone number, I will change it and not give it to you.”

She said she was sorry, but she had already given it to her.

I went on to explain, again, what caused me to be so harsh about Susanne. “I want nothing to do with a girl who has lied to me many times, and while dating me was sleeping her way through the men in the county.”

I then said that I would have my number changed and unlisted, and I would call her, but she would not have my number.

It isn’t any fun to get cussed out by your mother. Then she hung up.

I no sooner set the phone down than it rang. It was Susanne. She wanted to talk. I said rather abruptly, “So talk, but don’t lie. You have lied with words and actions enough for a lifetime.”

“I’m sorry, you have been there for me since high school and other than high school, and I have not had your back.” She continued; “I have lied, I have cheated on you. I know we had never committed to each other, but I also knew you had strong feelings for me and I let you think I was only dating you. Believe it or not, that man at the restaurant was my accountant. He was telling me about my trust fund.”

“OK, I believe you; I mean I have kissed my accountant several times. You really think I am a fool; don’t you. I saw you holding his hand or maybe something else under the table, and I have never had a hand holding date with my accountant. One last thing before I change my phone number, we are not dating, so I don’t understand why you feel you need to lie to me about last night. I shook my head to you because I was with a client. I did not wish to have him see you hurt me again. Goodbye Susanne.” Then I hung up the phone.

I stared at the phone for several minutes and wondered how I could let that woman make me so mad. I finally realized as I set the handset down that I still had strong feelings for her. I also realized that if I let her back in my life, I would be exposing my neck to a blood-sucking vampire. I just wished that I could find a way to not have it hurt so much.

Of course, she got to me again, or this would be a very different tale.

About two months later, I got a certified letter at my office, it was from the Susanne. In it was a letter certifying that patient Susanne Valdez was free of any communicable diseases, the six month HIV test was negative.

That did not bring me any relief. I did not even know why she sent it to me.

I was called into the office later that day. My boss, John Hastings, had four tickets to the traveling Summer Stock show of ‘CATS’, and he wanted me to accompany him his wife and his wife’s lady friend to the play. You don’t turn the boss down when he is also the owner.

The friend turned out to be Susanne, by this time I think I half expected it to be her, so I went with the flow. When the introductions were made, I told the boss’s wife that I knew Susanne too well, that she was my ex-girlfriend.

John scowled at his wife, looked at Susanne then at me. “Alright let’s hear the story.”

I explained the entire story from my point of view.

They asked if I wanted to leave.

I said; “No, my secret vice is live musicals so I will stay. I just wanted you to know that I will sit next to John; you can sit next to Susanne.” It made for a long and quiet night.

I actually enjoyed the play, and when it was suggested that I show Susanne home, I reached in my wallet and pulled out fifty dollars and said; “this will cover the taxi and a nice tip.”

Then I turned and walked to my car. I knew that I was in for it for my rudeness, but at the time I didn’t care.

Of course, I was called on the carpet Monday morning first thing. Before my boss could say anything, I handed him my letter of resignation with the stated reason that I refused to work for a company that meddled in my off the clock personal time.

He tore it up and told me to sit my ass down in that chair.

I turned around and headed for the office door. As I walked out, I got several strange looks from the receptionists and secretaries. I got to my desk and was blocked by two security people.