Chapter 2: Third Week Of June

For the rest of the week, Steve had half-expected a police cruiser to pull him over every time he climbed into the pickup and went somewhere. By the second day, when there'd been no knocks on the door in the middle of the night and no uniformed cops had come to the construction site to pick him up, he began to relax. His bitter promise to the man who'd been with Barbara not withstanding, he knew he had no legitimate defense to any charge the district attorney might bring against him.

While he waited to be arrested, he occupied himself with a visit to an attorney his brother recommended. Jon said the woman was a bull terrier in the courtroom. She'd just gotten one of Jon's buddy's full custody of his three children where there was only a hint of adultery on the part of his wife. Steve didn't need anything beyond a simple, no-fault divorce but he figured he'd go ahead and get someone who would be super aggressive in his behalf. It fit his mood to a "T."

The locks were all changed by noon on Friday. Most of Barbara's clothes were packed into a few dozen wardrobe boxes and smaller ones containing all her personal possessions. He'd not spent a lot of time at it. He'd swept her clothing off the shelves, out of her drawers, and off the closet rods and dumped everything into the nearest box.

He'd taped them all up and stacked them in the garage. They'd sit there until his soon-to-be ex-wife came and got them. He kept finding things around the house he'd forgotten to put in the boxes. He finally decided to keep one box assembled and open so he could throw new items inside whenever he passed by.

When Saturday came and he was still a free man, he decided the jerk who'd been doing Barbara hadn't gone to the police. Barbara had called several times on each of the last three days but Steve hadn't answered. If the caller ID showed her cell phone number or a call originating at his in-laws, he simply didn't pick up. He figured it had to be infuriating to Barbara. He didn't care.

When the phone rang this time, the display showed it was his father-in-law's cell phone. Impulsively, Steve decided it was time to break the silence.

"Hello, Lloyd," he said quietly into the mouthpiece. There was a short silence on the other end.

"Uh... Steve!" Barbara's father hadn't really expected Steve to answer the phone.

"Yeah, what can I do for you?" Steve replied.

"Uh... Steve... look, I'm just as sorry as I can be about... the problem between you and Barbara. I... uh... we were hoping you might be able to come over and talk about it, son. You know we think the world of you and we don't want a misunderstanding to turn into a something worse."

Steve didn't say anything for a long moment. He considered putting the cordless phone down on the end table and just walking away. If he put it face down, it would terminate the call. He was tempted.

"Steve?" Steve was quiet a count longer.

"Yeah... well, Lloyd, I'll be frank with you. Considering some of the things I overheard Diane saying about me while Barb and I were dating... and after we were married... I'm not exactly sure where this "thinking the world of me" comes from, but I'll let it pass for now.

"Barb and I aren't having a "misunderstanding," Lloyd. I caught her cheating on me with another man and I'm not about to let it slide." He didn't say anything more, waiting on his father-in-law to carry the conversation if he wanted to.

"Okay... so... Steve... is there anyway you could come talk to us. I promise nobody's going to be judgmental. We only want to get this resolved, all right?" There was a note of pleading in Lloyd's voice. Steve guessed the older man was under a good deal of strain.

"No," Steve said firmly. He paused. "But if you want to come over here, I'll be here for the next hour or so," he told his father-in-law.

"I..."

Steve heard some murmurs in the background.

"Okay, Steve... we'll do that," Lloyd said at length. "We'll be right over."

"Sure," Steve replied. "Hey... bring the van, okay? Barbara has a bunch of stuff over here she needs to pick up."

"I... okay... we'll bring the van," Lloyd said quickly. He didn't want to start another discussion. "We'll be there in a few minutes.

He kept his face carefully bland as his in-laws and wife came in. Barbara peered all around, noting every change Steve had made during the week. Her lips tightened at each missing picture or knickknack. Steve shook his father-in-law's hand and nodded to Diane. He wasn't especially close to his mother-in-law. She knew why.

There was no welcome at all in his eyes for Barbara. The only person he really was glad to see was a surprise. He hadn't expected Barbara's Grandmother, her "Nony," as she called her, to be there.

"Hello, Lydia," he said warmly. "I didn't know you were coming." He gave the older woman a genuine smile of welcome.

Steve had always gotten along with Lydia. When her daughter, Diane, and Diane's husband had turned up their noses at Barbara's choice of dates and later, her mate, Lydia had always been solidly in Steve's corner. She offered her cheek for a quick kiss and gave him one in return.

Steve looked outside, wondering if there was one more of Barbara's family still outside.

"Kimberly isn't going to join us?" he asked. Lloyd shook his head.

"She's still off at her college prep course up in Austin," he said, "but I wouldn't have brought her anyway... I don't think she needs to be involved in this, do you?" Steve shrugged.

"I'm not sure you need to be involved in this, Lloyd," he said without malice.

He agreed with his father-in-law though. Kimberly had just graduated from high school in June. Her grades weren't that good, so she was attending a short seminar-style course to better prepare her for college. Kim was a dark-haired beauty, fun to be with and outgoing to a fault. She'd been a cheerleader for all her three years in high school and a member of all the favorite social groups. She'd only turned eighteen last January, though, and tended to be a little flighty. Steve wouldn't have included her in this discussion either.

Barbara and her parents sat on the couch. Lydia made herself at home on the loveseat and crossed her legs comfortably. She saw Steve watching her and grinned mischievously at him. Steve had told her once she had the best legs of any sixty-seven-year-old woman he ever saw and Lydia had never forgotten it. She recrossed her legs and relaxed on the overstuffed cushions.

Steve took a seat in the Lazy Boy and swiveled it around so he faced the trio on the couch. He waited.

He watched Barbara. She shifted slightly from side to side, mildly self-conscious under his gaze. Steve looked at her, wondering who this woman was. He'd married her after dating off and on for two years. Those two years had been broken a quarter of the way through for almost six months after an argument about exclusivity. They'd been married for four years now, so he'd known this woman for six years. No, that wasn't quite right. He did not know her. He didn't have a clue why she would betray the marriage. In fact, he decided, he didn't know her at all.

He examined her, trying to see her as a stranger he'd just met. She was attractive. She always had been but it seemed these last couple of years she'd grown into what had always been a tall, willowy body. Her legs were long... the thighs slender and firm. Her calves were slim without being skinny.

She had brunette hair over green eyes. Sometimes, in the right lighting, Steve saw a red glint here and there amidst the lighter colored strands. She was Irish on her father's side. It was only natural to expect a red-haired gene to express itself occasionally in the family tree. It looked good on her.

There was just a sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheekbones. Her features were eye-catching, but not striking. Barbara's beauty didn't depend upon any one thing about her. It was the total package... her long stride, beautiful smile, flashing eyes... it was everything about her that he loved. He corrected himself. He had loved her. She'd been killing that love for a long time now. He wasn't sure how much was left.

He deliberately turned away from Barbara and looked at his father-in-law. Steve raised his eyebrows in invitation. It was best to get this little meeting underway... best to get it done with so he could put it behind him like an unwelcome chore.

"I... Steve," Lloyd said awkwardly, "Barbara has told us about you seeing her and Mr. Porter at the park and we think you might have misinterpreted what she was doing there with him."

Steve glanced at his wife. Barbara was sitting erect instead of reclining against the back of the couch.

"Okay," Steve said. "What were you doing there with Mr. Raphael Porter?" he asked his wife. "Or more precisely... what did you tell your parents you were doing?"

"I told them exactly what was happening," Barbara returned sharply. She appeared to be barely holding on to her temper.

Steve smiled quietly. The smile didn't show in his eyes. He motioned his wife to continue.

Barbara took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry you got the wrong idea, honey," she said. "It's all very simple and you shouldn't have overreacted like you did."

Steve held up a hand to stop her from continuing. Barbara looked at him in confusion.

"Don't call me honey, darling, love... or anything like that, okay?" Steve said. "You've forfeited the right to do that and I won't tolerate it."

Barbara's lips thinned. Her eyes were alight with anger. Making a visible effort to control herself, she nodded.

"Whatever you say... Steve," she said in a conciliatory tone. "Anything to get along." She sat back and folded her hands in her lap.

"Anyway, what you saw was perfectly innocent. You see, Rafe has been having problems in his marriage and I've been trying to help him through a bad time. We go somewhere and talk and it seems to help him hear things from a woman's point of view. That's all it was... hon... Steve. Rafe is just a good friend. That's all. I can understand how you could get upset when you saw us out by the river, but... that's all there is to it."

She ended her explanation on an upbeat, smiling tentatively at her husband. Steve looked at her for a long moment without speaking. Her narrative sounded well practiced to him.

"How did you meet Mr. Porter?" he asked finally. Barbara's eyes narrowed. She hadn't expected the question and didn't have an answer ready.

"Before you answer," Steve continued, "I will accept only the absolute truth. If you think you have a chance at saving this marriage... and I guess that's why you're here... then you better not lie about a damned thing. You understand that, Barbara?"

After a moment, she nodded. Steve lifted his hand, palm up, while he nodded in her direction. The gesture was an invitation for her to continue.

"He works in the same building I do," Barbara said. "We met at the cafeteria downstairs and just started talking one day," she went on. "Actually, I think you'd like him if you weren't always in such a bad mood."

Steve let the remark pass without comment. He couldn't quite keep his lip from curling in contempt though. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"So you met him at the little restaurant down in the lobby downstairs where you work and you've been giving him some help with his marriage, right?" Steve asked her. Barbara nodded.

"And there was no affair?" Steve asked. She shook her head decisively.

"No sex?"

Barbara glared at him.

"Certainly not," she responded.

"No smoochin' or huggin' or... uh... touching you where he shouldn't have?" Steve asked calmly.

"No!" Barbara said forcefully. Steve looked at her without saying anything for a long while. His father-in-law coughed to break the silence.

"So, Steve... you see how you could have mistaken what Barbara was doing, right? I'm not saying she should have been out there helping that guy out... not without letting you know about it and all... but it wasn't what you were thinking."

Steve looked at Barbara's dad. He almost pitied the man. Steve shook his head resignedly. He reached down to the magazine rack on the offside of the Lazy Boy. He brought out a thick binder and flipped through it for a second.

"I guess you've all forgotten my brother Jon is the news director down at the Fox station," he said absentmindedly. "Folks who have a high-profile kind of lifestyle have files in every news organization. There are certain bits of information that are available to the public."

He glanced up at his wife. Barbara wasn't relaxing against couch's the back cushions any longer. She sat at the edge of her seat, suddenly anxious.

"And then... I also hired a private investigator. This is their report," Steve said, motioning to the three-ring binder in his lap.

Barbara's eyes widened perceptibly. The level of her anxiety rose exponentially. Her mouth opened but no sound came out.

"Mr. Raphael Porter is a moderately influential manager in the Harper Insurance hierarchy," Steve continued.

"He's pretty well thought of, but his career has stalled lately... it seems some investments he recommended went south... but he probably can put that behind him with some hard work. There's a chance he'll be taking a position at their regional headquarters next summer."

Steve's eyes skipped several paragraphs.

"Oh... here's something interesting. His office is actually in the Lowry Building downtown... I checked that on MapQuest... it's just over thirteen miles across the city from where you work, Barbara," he said quietly. "Pretty big building you and he both work in huh?

"Actually, that's a pretty good distance to drive in noontime traffic just to meet in the lobby restaurant downstairs from you huh? It's awfully far to go to pick up even the "good friend" that you are to him for a one-hour lunch to "help him with his marriage," don't you think?"

Steve pretended to be reading more information on the page. He ignored the other four people across the room except to note a look of consternation on his father-in-law's features and one of confusion on his mother-in-law's face. Barbara's features revealed a growing apprehension. Barbara's grandmother visibly disapproved of what she was hearing.

"Barbara, child," Lydia murmured reprovingly.

Steve flipped through the pages until he got to the back cover. He took three photographs from the flap on the inside of the cover. He leaned forward to place the first one on the coffee table in front of Barbara and her parents. Seeing its content, Barbara winced. She closed her eyes.

"As you can see, Lloyd... Diane," Steve remarked in a businesslike manner, "this is my wife at some kind of... uh... lawn party at a really cool mansion out in the county. She somehow forgot to tell me about this party but I've figured out when it was."

He looked up at Barbara. She wouldn't meet his eyes.

"She told me she and two of her girlfriends were going to go shopping up in Austin on an all day trip," Steve told his in-laws. "I believed her," he said succinctly. His disgust was becoming more evident.

"Uh... now... I don't know if you saw it right off," Steve said sarcastically, "but Mr. Raphael Porter has his hand on my wife's ass and he's squeezing it pretty darn good, don't you think?"

Lloyd swallowed hard and shook his head in disbelief. He looked sideways at his daughter. He started to speak but there was nothing to say.

"Well... so much for "no touching" huh?" Steve asked brightly. "I guess Barbara kinda forgot to tell you about that party too eh?" He put the second photo on the coffee table beside the first.

"Now, here we are at that same party," Steve said. "Remember that "no kissing" thing I asked Barbara about? Well, this sure seems to be a real difficulty to me when I try to understand how she answered no."

He leaned forward to tap the area around his wife's and Porter's heads.

"Uh... you can see my wife has a real lip lock on that guy, can't you? Clear as a bell, wouldn't you say? No chance of mistake there, is there? You gotta wonder how my dear wife could have forgotten to mention trading spit with her pal like that, don't ya?"

There was no reply from any of the three on the couch. Lydia snorted from her vantage point on the loveseat. Diane and Barbara looked up at the old woman disapprovingly. Lydia wasn't in the least intimidated.

Steve put the last 8 X 10 on the coffee table. He sat back down in his recliner, leaving all there glossy photos lying nakedly before the people on the couch.

"Now... that third one is pretty interesting, isn't it?" Steve asked conversationally. "You can tell just how good my wife is helping Raphael with his marriage, can't you? My goodness, Barbara... you must be doing wonders for him. He's got his fingers pretty far up your skirt there. Did he have them in your panties? In your pussy, maybe? From that smile on his face, he looks like he's coming out of his "marriage problems" pretty well, wouldn't you say?"

The edge in Steve's voice was hardening. He forced himself to relax.

"NO!" Barbara retorted. "He didn't... he wasn't touching me... down there," she protested. "And I told him more than once he had to quit--"