Chapter 4: The Shoe Drops

It was less than three weeks after Ricky found the images on Barb’s computer that she got some insight as to what was going on with Nick. She gets home a few minutes before 5:00. As she pulls into the driveway Nick calls. He tells her he cannot get out of the office for another hour and asks if she wants to meet for dinner. She agrees and they decide to meet at Lucella’s at 6:30.

She parks her car in the driveway since she will again be leaving in just over an hour. She enters the house from the front door and opens the mailbox en route. She carries the mail into the kitchen and drops it on the table, absentmindedly going through the envelopes. It was mostly advertisements or catalogs, but as she got to the bottom of the stack she saw the logo of a well-known divorce attorney in town. Harrison Dick. The name sent chills down the spine of anyone that had to face him in court. The envelope was addressed to Nick.

Barb takes the envelope and peers at it closely. She considers trying to steam it open, but figures that only really works in the movies. No matter how closely she looks, nor what method she tries such as shining a bright flashlight behind the envelope, could she gain any insight as to what was contained in the envelope.

She finally puts the mail back into a neat stack and buries the questionable letter toward the bottom. She will tell Nick the mail arrived and she dropped it on the countertop. He usually deals with the mail so it will not seem strange that a pile is waiting for his attention.

At 6:15 Barb leaves the house. Her mind is still racing with the unknown related to the mystery mail. She figures her best course of action will be to act as normally as possible at dinner and then see what happens when they get home.

Barb arrives at Lucella’s at 6:25. She is able to get a table for two at the rear of the overflow dining room. Once settled she sends Nick a text message indicating where she had been seated. They are sitting in Helen’s section and from across the room Barb waves and motions that she would like two glasses of wine. Helen nods her understanding.

Nick arrives at the table a few minutes later, followed closely by their wine.

“Good timing, Nick,” says Helen and she places their drinks on the table.

They both order a salad and entree combo off the menu and then watch as Helen retreats to the kitchen to get their order started.

“What’s up at the office that you didn’t get out at 5:00?” asks Barb.

“Just more of the same. Management is really squawking that we meet our goals, plus ten percent, this quarter. To sweeten the pot, they just announced an extra bump on our yearly bonus. The top earner over quota will get an extra twenty percent, second will get ten percent, and third will get five percent. Everyone is putting in overtime to try and secure more commissions by the end of the quarter.”

Barb asks, “The last time you mentioned your quota, you said you were leading the sales team. Is that still the case?”

Nick grins and says, “Absolutely. Bernie made up a little bit of ground, but I’m still ahead of him by almost six-figures, and he just got his biggest client to re-up for a quarter-million. There’s no way he’ll get enough new sales to catch me in three weeks.”

Barb reaches her glass out and clinks it against Nick’s glass.

“Congratulations,” she says.

Their food arrives and they enjoy their meal. While eating, Barb asks Nick if he would want to go see the movie that was on their list. He seemed to be caught up on his work, and she was off the next day, so why not make it a late night and do something spontaneous?

Nick’s demeanor flips. He shuts down her suggestion without any thought. “Not tonight. I’ve got too much to do when we get home.”

Barb doesn’t say anything. They finish the rest of their food in mostly silence. After paying their bill and heading to their respective cars they hear their names.

“Barb, Nick,” yells Maggie from across the parking lot. “Are you just leaving? Surprised we didn’t see you inside.”

Maggie is the first to reach them and gives each a brief hug. Ricky is right behind her and offers a handshake to Nick and a hug to Barb.

“If you are done with dinner, want to stop over for a drink?” asks Ricky.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m afraid I have a lot of work I need to get done before tomorrow,” says Nick.

Maggie senses something in Barb and says, “How about you, Barb? If Nick will be tied up with work do you want to have a quick drink?”

Barb glances at Nick and replies, “That sounds wonderful.”

Nick’s surliness surfaces a bit when he quips an abrupt, “Fine. I need to go.”

As Nick turns and strides toward his car Maggie says, “I guess you are riding with us?”

Barb says, “No, we met here since Nick had to work late. I have my car.”

“Lead the way, then, I’ll ride with you,” says Maggie as the two women walk to Barb’s car, leaving Ricky to drive home by himself.

Barb seems distracted as they head toward the house.

“Is everything OK?” asks Maggie.

When Barb doesn’t reply immediately Maggie adds, “Tell you what, let’s get a glass of wine in you and we’ll talk.”

They park Barb’s car in her garage and then walk across the lawn to Maggie’s front door. When they get inside they find that Ricky has already opened a bottle of wine and has three glasses set out as the wine breathes.

“It looks like Ricky is ahead of us,” says Maggie and motions for Barb to join her in the living room.

A few minutes later Ricky enters with two glasses of wine. He sees that his wife and their guest have kicked off their shoes and are reclining on couch. He hands a glass to each and then goes back to the kitchen to retrieve his glass and the opened bottle.

“You seem distracted,” says Maggie. “What’s up?”

Barb takes a long gulp of her drink. A beat later she lifts the glass again and watches the last of the liquid empty from the glass. She half coughs, half hiccups, as she turns her attention to Maggie.

“I’m not completely sure, but I think Nick may be planning on serving me divorce papers.”

Maggie and Ricky are stunned silent.

“I got home before Nick and collected the mail. In it, I found an envelope from Harrison Dick and associates.”

Ricky whistles. “If he’s thinking divorce, he went right to the top. Dick is the best in town.”

Realizing what he said, Ricky continues, “Oh, sorry, I, uh...”

Barb says, “That’s OK. It’s because he’s the best that I recognized the logo on the envelope.” She pauses and then says, “And I can’t help but think he is going to try and use the photos on my computer against me.”

Maggie immediately says, “No way. We’ll get those deleted and they won’t be an issue.”

The two women start to think about how they can proceed when Maggie realizes Ricky has been unusually quiet.

“You haven’t said anything. What are you thinking?” Maggie asks Ricky.

Ricky doesn’t reply as he looks at Maggie and then Barb. He finally starts to speak but is clearly somewhat embarrassed.

“Ever since we found the photos, I’ve been thinking Nick may be planning on something. I didn’t necessarily think divorce, but the groundwork for something was being laid.”

Maggie eyes her husband with a questioning glance, “Ricky, what did you do?”

Ricky stands and leaves the room. He returns moments later with his laptop. Before sitting he takes the open bottle and refills the two women’s wine glasses.

As he starts the computer he says, “Like I said, I figured something was up, and whatever it was, it seemed like we could fight fire with fire.”

Maggie’s stare intensifies as she repeats, “And, what did you do?”

The computer has finished its startup routines and Ricky stares at the screen and begins clicking.

“I, uh, well, I created an email address on the anonymous site we think Nick used. I then posted a message to a forum. Here, I’ll read it.”

He reads, “Hello Babes! My name is Nick and I LOVE tits and pussy. Unfortunately, my frigid wifey is never in the mood, and there is only so much I can do with Thumbalina and her sisters in the shower. I’m tired of looking at porn and want to see some real flesh. Pics sent by real women. Send me what you’ve got. The only caveat is ABSOLUTELY NO faces or other identifying elements in the photos. If I like what I see I’ll send you a surprise.”

It takes some time, but Barb finally says, “That sounds a lot like what Nick posted. He’ll know I found the photos.”

Ricky says, “He’ll know once he realizes the photos are not on your computer. This will just be a direct acknowledgment.”

Ricky spins his laptop to face his audience. The screen is full of thumbnails showing all shapes, sizes, and colors of both tits and pussies.

Maggie laughs, “You just took it upon yourself to collect hundreds of pictures of naked women, huh?”

Ricky feigns embarrassment, “It was a sacrifice that needed to be made, so I took one for the team.”

The three break into hearty laughter, then quiet as the weight of the situation once again reasserts itself.

Maggie is the first to realize the current dilemma. “So, Barb has a bunch of dick-pics on her computer, and you have a bunch of nudes on your computer, but we need her computer cleaned and the naked women on Nick’s computer.”