Chapter 1

Ron Black, “Ronnie” to his friends and family, studied the chart in front of him, but his mind wasn’t on his work. It was on what he had been told earlier that day about Nancy, his wife of two years. He thought he had a good life, which included a beautiful, loving wife. But all that came crashing down not two hours ago.

“I’m sorry to tell you this, but your wife is cheating on you,” Bill Jacobs told him as he nursed a beer at the bar down the road from the pharmaceutical company where he worked as a researcher. Ron considered Bill to be more than just a co-worker and respected colleague – he thought of him as a friend.

“How do you know?” Ron asked. Bill took a sip of beer before he continued.

“I heard a couple of the guys in the lab talk about it in the men’s room,” Bill said. “They were bragging about having taken her at the last company get-together.”

“Damn,” Ron said. That explained a lot. The company liked to have regular parties for the employees and their spouses at the newly-finished employee lounge, a huge room with a stage for a band and a giant flat-screen monitor for showing movies. It also doubled as a break room during normal work hours.

The most recent gathering was just two weeks ago. There was a period of about two hours where Nancy was nowhere to be found. When she finally showed up, she claimed someone had given her a tour of the place.

“I’m so sorry, man,” Bill said. “I thought you should know.”

“Thanks, Bill,” Ron said quietly. “You’re a real friend.”

“You’re welcome,” Bill said. “I know if it were me, I’d want to know. Just don’t do anything stupid.” Ron laughed at that. “Stupid” was the last thing anyone could ever accuse Ron of being. Clueless, maybe, perhaps even a bit naive about some things, but never stupid.

“I won’t,” he told his friend. Bill finished his beer and put a hand on his friend’s shoulder as he stood up.

“If there’s anything I can do, let me know,” he said before leaving. Ron nodded his head and took another sip of his beer. As he processed what Bill said, he took inventory of himself and thought about his life, playing it over in his mind like a movie.

In almost every physical respect, Ron fell below average. The youngest of four children, he was often ridiculed as the “runt” of the litter. Standing at five feet seven inches, he was about two inches shorter than the average male in the United States and weighed about 145 pounds. His body mass never really fully developed and as a result, he was physically weaker than most men his age and size. Even his penis was just a bit smaller than average, but he had never heard any complaints so far.

Add to that his generally mild temperament, and it was easy to understand why most people’s first impression was that he was a wimp. He could count on one hand the number of times he had ever lost his temper, and even then, he simply walked away most of the time.

Throughout his entire life, his immediate family took advantage of his small stature, slight frame and quiet manner. They seemed to delight in making fun of him, calling him “little Ronnie,” a name he despised. His two brothers, John and George, loved to tease and mock him. His sister, Lisa, who was only a year older than him, often joined in, but was never quite as cruel as his older brothers. Even his parents mocked him and made him feel like less of a man.

“Why can’t you be like the other boys?” his mother, June, would ask when he declined to go out with his brothers.

“Because I’m NOT the other boys,” he would say. “Why can’t they be more like me? Why can’t they try reading a book now and then instead of throwing a ball around all the time?”

The only one in his family who didn’t rag on him was his grandfather, Mark Black. He loved visiting with the older man, who had the largest personal library he had ever seen. By the time Ron was 12, he had read every book in his grandfather’s ever-growing library. His favorite story was Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 classic, “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.” He was always amazed at what people often got wrong about the story.

He also enjoyed reading books about science and devoured everything he could find on the subject. While other kids his age were struggling with “Dick and Jane,” he was reading “War and Peace” and treatises on biochemistry. His grandfather saw something in Ron that no one else did, and paid to have his IQ tested. When the score came back, he was astounded. With an IQ of 215, he beat out Albert Einstein and Steven Hawking.

Ron wasn’t just a genius, he fell in the classification of an “unmeasurable genius.” With Ron’s test results in hand, Mark paid to have the young man tested for admission to Mensa, even though he was much younger than the minimum testing age of 14. Mark and Ron celebrated with ice cream and cake when he was accepted into the organization. He certainly wasn’t the youngest to be accepted, but he was quite young. For the first time in his life, Ron felt happy.

Mark encouraged the young boy every chance he could and even bought him the most powerful personal computer available on the market. Ron spent much of his free time on the Internet, reading everything he could find.

He thought it would be fun to learn other languages, so Mark bought him software to help. Soon, Ron was fluent in several languages, including Russian, Greek, Spanish and Latin. Just for fun, he taught himself Klingon, even though it wasn’t really a true language. Mark joined him and before long, the two often conversed in the language, much to his family’s chagrin.

“Dad, you’re spoiling the boy,” Ron’s father, Bob, told Mark one day. “He needs to learn something useful, not spend all his life in those books of his.”

“The boy’s gifted, Bob,” Mark said. “Maybe if you spent as much time with him as you do the other kids, you’d see that. Trust me, he’s going places. And I’m going to do everything I can to help him.”

Of course, all of this caused more than a few embarrassing moments in school. Like the time his teacher was discussing Shakespeare.

“What’s your favorite line from Hamlet?” she asked Ron one day in class.

“taH pagh taHbe’,” Ron declared in perfect Klingon. Everyone looked at him in shock, thinking he had lost his mind.

“What?” his teacher asked.

“To be or not to be,” Ron said. “Or in the original Klingon, ‘to live or die!’”

“I see,” the teacher said. After class, the teacher kept him back as the other kids left, snickering. She scolded him for his outburst and told him that if it ever happened again, he would be sent to the principal’s office.

“I’m sorry,” Ron said, looking at the floor.

“What was that, anyway?” she asked. Ron pulled out a copy of Hamlet translated into Klingon and handed it to her. She smiled as she looked at it.

“Please try to stick with the original version, okay?” she asked.

“I will,” he said. Of course, Ron had already read the entire play, along with several others written by the bard, since they were part of his grandfather’s extensive library. Thanks to his photographic memory, he already had them all memorized. If she had asked, he probably would have recited the whole thing to her from memory.

He caught an earful about the incident when he got home that afternoon from his parents and his siblings teased him unmercifully. That was one of the few times he got angry.

“Heghlu’meH QaQ jajvam!” he hissed when they wouldn’t shut up about it.

“What’s that?” Lisa asked. He looked at her, angrily.

“Today is a good day to die,” he said. Her eyes grew wide and she backed away from him slowly. His brothers also slithered away, wondering if their little brother was crazy enough to act on what he had said. They gave him a wide berth for weeks after that.

Mark continued to encourage Ron, buying him college-level textbooks on various subjects. Ron was fascinated with chemistry and biology, partly due to Stevenson’s novella, so Mark bought as many texts as he could on the subjects.

Watching his grandson, Mark realized the boy was actually bored with school. He aced every test the teachers threw at him, many times without even studying. Having contacts on the school board, Mark arranged to have Ron test out for his high school diploma. It was time for the boy to face a new challenge, he thought.

“Are you sure about this?” Dr. Williams, the local superintendent asked.

“Absolutely,” Mark said. “The boy is highly gifted, he has an extremely high IQ and he’s frankly bored. Hell, he could probably teach these classes. I want to get him into an environment that will challenge him.”

“Okay, Mark,” Dr. Williams said. “Bring the boy by and I’ll administer the test myself. If he does well enough, I’ll help you get him into college.”

Mark wasn’t really surprised when he learned that Ron had aced the test, in record time.

“It’s the damnedest thing I ever did see,” Dr. Williams said. “I gave him the hardest test I could, and look – not a single red mark on anything. He even wrote out a three-page essay in the chemistry part of the test.”

“I’m not surprised at all,” Mark said.

“Look, I took the liberty of speaking to the dean of admissions over at MIT,” Dr. Williams said. “If it’s okay, I’d like to see if we can get him in. It’s a great school for both chemistry and biology.”

“Let’s do it,” Mark said.

It took a little doing, but once the dean saw Ron’s record, which included the IQ test, his activities in Mensa and the test Dr. Williams gave him, he bent over backwards and soon, Ron was on his way to MIT.

Ron and Mark were both ecstatic, but his family wasn’t impressed.

“So, you think you’re better than the rest of us?” John asked as Ron packed his things. Ron looked at him.

“No,” he said. “Maybe a bit smarter, but not better.”

“Yeah, well, let’s see what all that book-learning gets you,” John said in derision. George was more direct.

“Remember, squirt,” George said. “Payback’s a bitch. One of these days, you’re gonna get what’s coming to you.” Ron ignored him and kept packing. His parents refused to say anything to him and wouldn’t even give him a goodbye hug. Lisa wasn’t much better, but she did give him a hug. Ron left the house with his things, a tear in his eye, when Mark came to pick him up. Mark’s plan was to take a few days to drive Ron to the school.

“Why does my family hate me?” Ron asked Mark as the older man drove.

“They don’t hate you,” Mark said. “They just don’t understand you. I think you remind them of their own deficiencies.”

“What do you mean, Grandpa?” Ron asked.

“You have a great intellect, Ron,” Mark said. “That scares them. It intimidates them and makes them feel inadequate. Think about all those stories and books you’ve read. Surely you can understand.”

“I guess so, grandpa,” Ron said. “Still, it would be nice to know that my family actually loves me.”

“Well, I love you,” Mark said. “And I’m damn proud of you. I know that one day, you’re going to do great things.”

“Thanks, grandpa,” Ron said. “I love you, too.”

So it was that at 14, Ron was a student at MIT, even though he was too young to drive. He studied hard and read everything he could get his hands on, committing it all to memory. Most of the other students avoided him, but some became good friends.

Mark, who was very well off, had set up a fund for Ron that paid for his education and all his expenses. He also set it up so Ron would receive a nice stipend every month. Ron read up on investing and put some of what he had learned to use. As a result, he was well on the way to building a nice nest egg for himself.

When the time came, Ron used some of that money to buy himself a new car. Mark approved of Ron’s initiative and gave him a few tips he had learned over the years.

Ron did more than just schoolwork during his time at MIT. Inspired somewhat by Stevenson’s writings, he began his own private research project. Believing that science could fix all of mankind’s problems, he wondered if something could be devised to give physically-challenged individuals like himself an edge without turning the patient into a killing machine or an out-of-control freak on steroids.

At this point, everything was just hypothetical, but it was something he never gave up. His online research led him to the work of one Dr. Franklin Steiner, who had considerable success in this area. According to Steiner’s basic hypothesis, “Each of us have various defense mechanisms to help us cope with extreme situations. Sometimes, we fall back on an alternate version of ourselves, what could possibly be described as an ‘alter ego,’ if you will. That alter ego could manifest itself in many ways. A normally quiet, unassuming individual could suddenly become boisterous, arrogant and overbearing, for example. Those not familiar with this behavior from that person would suddenly have a much different opinion of him or her.”

As Steiner explained it, each of us has an “inner beast” that lays dormant within us. His treatment helped bring that beast out to help the patient deal with a particular situation. Once the source of the stress was gone, the beast would retire and the person could, in theory, continue life as normal.

In Ron’s view, this had the potential of bringing forth a person’s inner “Hyde,” a thing obsessed with destruction without anything to hold it back. No, Ron, decided, his solution would have to be more permanent, but without the destructive and potentially deadly side effects. Naturally, none of this had been approved by the FDA, but Steiner claimed to have had several successful human tests. Still, he was intrigued with Steiner’s work and vowed to visit the man one day after he graduated.

By the time Ron was 18, he had his first doctorate, and received his second doctorate a year later, much to everyone’s surprise. He had also gotten his black belt in karate, something he took primarily for the mental discipline and the physical training, which he actually enjoyed. Mark, of course, wasn’t surprised, and celebrated all of his grandson’s achievements.

As always, Mark made it to all of Ron’s ceremonies. None of the others accompanied him, however. Ron had written his family a few times while he was there, but gave up when he never received a response. They didn’t even send anything at Christmas or on his birthday, but Mark always did.

In the meantime, Ron sent resumes out to a number of companies and conducted several Skype interviews with prospective employers. He received several offers of employment, but after careful consideration, decided to accept an offer from a very large and reputable pharmaceutical company a half-hour from his home. Not only did it boast a huge research facility, it offered the best compensation package of all the offers he received.

It was during this time that Ron met Nancy. Nancy, who had just graduated from high school, worked as a waitress at a diner he liked to visit when he wanted to get off campus. She was always so nice to him, and he found himself very attracted to her.

It took him a while, but he finally screwed up enough courage to ask her out on a date, and much to his surprise, she accepted. She wasn’t his first, by any means – he had dated and even had sex with a couple others at school, but he didn’t see them as anything more than friends or classmates. But Nancy was different.

She was impressed that someone so young could be finishing a second doctorate at MIT. This was a man going places, she thought. And, she reasoned, would be just the thing to get her out of the hell-hole she was trapped in. She fell in love with him over time, but she was more in love with the idea of hitching her wagon to someone so successful. Of course, Ron didn’t know that at the time and he had managed to fall in love with her as well and he was floored when she accepted his proposal of marriage. The large diamond ring he offered helped a lot in that regard.

Mark was pleased to hear the news – not just that Ron had secured his dream job, but that he was getting married.

“Ron, you know you have a lot of assets you need to consider,” he said. “I’m sure Nancy is a nice girl, but I really think you should get a prenuptial agreement, just to protect yourselves.”

“You’re right, Grandpa,” Ron said. “I didn’t think of that.”

“Tell you what, son,” he said. “I’ll have my lawyer draw something up for you, okay?”

“That’s great, thanks,” Ron said. Mark’s lawyer drew up the agreement, which was fair to both sides, but protected Ron’s finances just in the event of a divorce. It also spelled out what would happen in the event of infidelity. After reading it over, he presented it to Nancy.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“It’s called a prenuptial agreement,” Ron said. “It’s designed to protect both of us in the case of divorce. I’m not planning anything, but you know that about half of all marriages end in divorce.”

“Well, okay,” she said, signing the paperwork. Ron sent the papers back to Mark. Now he had everything set up – he would graduate soon, take Nancy home, marry her, then go to Hawaii for a honeymoon and come back to start his new life with his new job and wife.

Mark, meanwhile, had purchased a nice two-story home with a full basement for Ron and his new bride. Ron offered to pay for it, but Mark refused, calling it a wedding present. Mark knew that Ron always wanted to have a basement he could turn into a home laboratory.

The next couple months flew by for Ron. After receiving his second doctorate, he picked Nancy up at the apartment she shared with her older sister. Other than her clothes, Nancy didn’t have anything – not even a car – she rode a small scooter everywhere she went. Ron put her things, including the scooter, in the U-Haul trailer along with everything else and headed home.

Nancy’s eyes grew wide when she laid eyes on the home Mark had bought for them. She had never lived in anything this nice before. Ron was impressed. The house was nice but not too extravagant and had a nice yard with a covered deck. Mark had even purchased new furniture for them to get started.

They unloaded the U-Haul and quickly put everything away. Ron put the scooter in the garage and promised to buy his new wife a car when they got back from Hawaii.

A couple days later, Ron took Nancy to meet Mark and the family at his parents house. He didn’t know what to expect as he hadn’t heard from them in so long. Mark hugged them both and welcomed Nancy to the family.

Ron’s parents hung back and didn’t say much to him, other than to comment on how skinny he was. They did hug Nancy, though and welcomed her into the family as well.

“I was kinda hoping to see something from you guys while I was gone,” Ron said. “It’s been what, four or five years? I know I sent you my address.”

“Sorry,” Ron’s father said. “You know I’m not one for writing.”

“Not even a Christmas card?” Ron asked.

“We just got so busy, we forget,” Ron’s mother said. “We’re not really into sending out cards and stuff. You know how it is.”

“Yeah, I think so,” Ron said. His siblings came into the room. George and John nodded their heads at Ron and ogled Nancy. Both of them looked like miniature versions of his father in their wife-beater shirts and dirty jeans. Neither one appeared to have shaved recently and sported a bit of stubble.

“Well,” George said, with a smirk. “The little squirt’s gotten himself a girl friend.” He walked up to Nancy and appeared to be inspecting her. “She’s nice, squirt. Have you learned how to fuck her yet? Or haven’t you been able to get it up?” John and Ron’s father chuckled as Nancy’s face turned red. Mark walked up to the two boys, angry.

“Knock it off, you two,” he said. “Show some respect for your brother’s fiance.” He turned to Bob. “Your mother would be so disappointed if she saw this.” Bob looked at the floor, ashamed.

“Well, Big Daddy sticking up for the Brainiac, as always,” John said. “Guess some things never change.”

“Well, if you two would show a little initiative I’d help you out the way I’ve helped Jon,” Mark said. “And the way I’ve helped Lisa. But it seems you’re happy pushing a broom and a mop bucket.” Ron looked at his two big brothers.

“What?” he asked with a smile. “You two are janitors? Really? After all that talk about being football stars? Don’t tell me, you’re still living at home, right?”

“Hey, college boy, it helps pay the bills,” George said.

“Where’s Lisa?” Ron asked his mother.

“She moved out a while back,” Ron’s mother said. “She got an apartment and she’s going to school to be a nurse. She asked me to give you her contact information. She still lives in town.” She handed Ron a card with Lisa’s phone number and address written on it.

“So, I hear you got a job,” Bob said, addressing Ron.

“Yeah,” Ron said. “I’ll be working as a researcher over at the pharmaceutical lab.” Bob nodded his head.

“Good,” Bob said. “I’m happy for you. Really, I am.”

“So, are you guys coming to the wedding?” Ron asked. “Or are you going to sit that out as well?”

“We’ll be there,” his mother said. Ron looked at his two brothers, disgusted.

“Don’t forget to shower, shave and put on some clean clothes,” he told them. George looked at Ron with hatred in his eyes.

“Remember what I told you when you left, squirt,” he said. He glanced at Nancy with a wicked smirk on his face.

“I never forgot,” Ron said. “Remember, I have a photographic memory.” He turned and motioned for Nancy to leave.

“It’s really good to see you, Ron,” his mother said as he left. Ron simply nodded his head as he walked out.

“I’m really sorry about all that,” Mark said on the walkway outside. “I should’ve warned you. I thought they could at least treat you with some respect after all this time.”

“I don’t know that I want them coming to the wedding,” I said. “There’s no way I can have this there.”

“Ron, they’re your family,” Mark said. “Good, bad or indifferent.”

“Is this what I’m going to get from Lisa as well?” Ron asked. Mark shook his head.

“No,” Mark said. “She’s grown up a lot since you left. I think you may be surprised. I’ll get with you later. I need to talk to these people and get this situation under control.” He looked at Nancy and hugged her. “Please forgive them,” he said. After Ron and Nancy were in his car, they drove off.

“Is that what you had to grow up with?” she asked. Ron nodded his head.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t this bad,” Ron said. “I don’t know what’s happened.” When they got home, Ron pulled out his phone and called the number he had for Lisa. She answered on the second ring.

“Lisa, this is Ron,” he said.

“Ronnie!” she exclaimed. “Are you home now?”

“Yes, I am,” he said.

“Listen, I’m not too far from your place. Mind if I come over for a few minutes?” she asked.

“Sure,” he said.

“Great,” Lisa said. “I’ll be there before you know it.”

“You know where I live?” he asked.

“Yeah, I was with Grandpa when he picked the place out for you. I hope you like it,” she said.

“Yeah, we do,” Ron said.

“Good,” she said. “I’ll see you in a few.” Ron saw a red Toyota pull into the driveway about 15 minutes later. Lisa got out of the car, carrying a bag, and walked to the front door. Ron beat her to the door and already had it open. Lisa set the bag down and gave him a big hug. He was surprised, but returned her hug anyway.

“It’s so good to see you again, Ronnie,” she said.

“It’s good to see you, too, Lisa,” he said. He introduced her to Nancy and the two girls hugged.

“Welcome to the family, Nancy,” Lisa said. “It’s great to meet you.”

“Same here,” Nancy said. Lisa handed Ron the bag. He looked inside to find a glass casserole dish with something inside and looked back up at his sister.

“It’s not much, but I thought you might like to have a tuna casserole,” Lisa said. “I know it was your favorite as a kid.”

“It still is,” Ron said. “Thanks. It’ll save us from having to cook our first day here. Please, come in, have a seat.” He took the casserole into the kitchen and put it in the refrigerator. “Would you like something to drink? Coke? Coffee?”

“Water is fine for me,” Lisa said.

“Me, too,” Nancy said. “Please?”

“Sure,” Ron said, grabbing three bottles of water. He carried them back in and sat down with his fiance.

“You’re looking good, Lisa,” Ron said. “Everything going okay?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m going to school to be a nurse and I work part time at the hospital. I got a student loan and Grandpa set up a fund to help me with the rent and utilities, so I’m doing okay. I hear you got a good job.”

“Yes, I did,” Ron said. “I’ll be starting up right after we get back from our honeymoon.”

“I’m so glad to hear that,” she said. She got a bit pensive. “Have you been by the house yet?”

“Yeah, we just got back from there not too long ago,” Ron said. “What’s going on? I haven’t heard from anyone in about five years. And when I get home, it’s like they just don’t give a damn.”

“Things haven’t gone too well for Mom and Dad,” she said. “About a year after you left, the factory closed down and Dad lost his job. The only thing he could get was a janitorial position. Then the boys got injured playing football and they lost their scholarships. So they went to work with Dad doing night custodial work. After high school, Mom and Dad said they could stay and turn the basement into an apartment if they didn’t mind contributing to the household. So they agreed.”

“Is that why you left home?” Ron asked.

“Well, that was the beginning of it,” she said. “I didn’t want to work with the boys doing janitorial work. I’ve always wanted to be a nurse, but Dad said he couldn’t afford the tuition. Grandpa helped me get a student loan and set me up so I could get away from there.”

“You couldn’t have stayed at home?” Ron asked. She shook her head.

“No,” she said. “You know the boys have always been assholes. Sorry,” she said, looking at Nancy.

“I’ve heard worse,” Nancy said. Lisa continued.

“Well, they fixed up the basement for the boys,” Lisa said. “And all three of them – Dad, John and George – turned into even bigger assholes. Grandpa offered to help the boys, but all they want to do is play ball and chase girls. Then I caught then bringing girls into the basement. I even saw Dad joining them a couple times. The whole place would stink to high heaven. I couldn’t take it, so I left.”

“And Mom let this go on?” Ron asked.

“She wasn’t happy about it, but after Dad chewed her ass out, she quit saying anything,” Lisa said. “I think she’s afraid of losing their income if she divorced Dad.” She got silent for a moment, and Ron could tell there was something else on her mind, but she didn’t want to share it. He decided not to push the issue for now. Then she looked at Nancy.

“Listen, I’ll be free tomorrow afternoon,” she said. “Would you like to go shopping? Maybe we can get what you need for your wedding.”

“That sounds like fun,” Nancy said. “I don’t have much money, though.”

“Don’t worry,” Ron said. “I’ll give you my credit card. Just don’t max it out, okay?” Nancy and Lisa both giggled.

“I’ll try,” Nancy said with a smile. They spent the next afternoon out shopping for dresses and all the things women want for their wedding. Nancy had her hair and nails done and the girls enjoyed a nice meal. They finally made it home late that evening and Ron was gobsmacked by all the packages he carried from Lisa’s car. He also noted the two girls seemed to get along quite nice, and that made him feel good.

“I’m taking you out tomorrow afternoon to get your tux, big boy,” Lisa told Ron. He looked at her, surprised. “Big boy?” he asked himself. Where did that come from?

“Um, okay,” he said. The next day, she came by about 1:00 and they headed into town, where he got fitted for a tuxedo. On the way, Lisa noticed that Ron kept looking around the car, nervous about something.

“What’s the matter, Ron?” she asked.

“I’m just waiting for something to jump out and cover me with indelible ink or something,” he said. She laughed.

“You think I’d do that to you?” she asked.

“You would’ve before I went to college,” he said. She looked away, embarrassed.

“Was I really that bad to you?” she asked.

“All of you were,” he said. “You weren’t quite as bad as George and John, but you always seemed to go along with whatever they did. I never could figure out why you all hated me so much.”

“I’m sorry about that, Ron,” she said. “I never hated you, and I’m sorry if you got that impression.”

“Then why?” Ron asked. “Why were you all so hateful to me?”

“I can’t speak for the boys,” she said. “I was a bit jealous of you, and I pretty much followed George and John. Now that you mention it, I guess I was pretty bad to you. But that’s all in the past now. I’d like to get to know the real you, if that’s okay. Bury the hatchet, so to speak.”

“So, who are you, and what did you do to my sister? And why would you be jealous of me?” Ron asked, laughing. She laughed with him.