Chapter 13

Melissa awoke feeling an arm flung over her waist and a hard on at her ass cheeks.

Furious, she threw the covers off the bed to see Charles still sleeping, drooling on the pillow which sickened her. It was an early Sunday morning. Still sleeping, Charles unconsciously pulled the blankets back over his head.

She still felt the spot where his erection poked into her ass cheeks. It was pleasant but irritating feeling since she still detested her husband. 'We'll have a little talk later' she thought to herself, throwing on a robe to get the children up for Sunday School and church that morning. She decided to go along with the girls because she was still angry at him. After rousting her daughters out of bed, went into the bathroom to draw a bath. Her butt was still feeling where his hard cock was pressing against her. Before his infidelity, she would have welcomed it. Even give into his probing of her. Enjoy having sex with him. Not now. Not after that indiscretion.

By the time she had her bath, dressed for church, had breakfast with the girls; Charles had awakened. He appeared at the breakfast table just as the three were finishing their meal. He was a mess. A three day growth on his face, his hair not combed, and wearing an old blue robe over his underwear.

"Good morning, girls," he said cheerfully. Then kissed his wife's cheek that she had lifted up to him for Mona and Jenny's sake. She felt like wiping the spot where his lips had pecked her face.

"Daddy!" the girls sounded excited. "You going to church with us?"

"I'm afraid not, I'm kind of busy today," was his lame excuse, casting an eye at his wife. 'I really love her, ' he thought but now wasn't the time for any reconciliation. It had been over a year since she learned of his unfaithfulness and she was no closer to forgiving him as she was before. Charles and Nancy had broken up as soon as Melissa learned of their affair but no matter how many times he sought her forgiveness, she wouldn't have any of it. He then reminded himself how often he begged her, but to no avail. She wasn't accepting any of his weak excuses.

"Come children," Melissa ordered. "Go get your Bibles and let's go or we'll be late.

They ran up the stairs to get their Bibles as Melissa glared at him.

"I'm very sorry," he pleaded for the countless time.

"I'm sorry too! We had a wonderful thing going until you did that to me."

"I wish I could turn back the calendar and change things."

"You should have thought about it back then!"

"How long are you going to punish me like this?"

"I'm not punishing you, Charles. I doubt if I love you anymore. I am only keeping you here to appease the girls until they marry and leave. I loved you so much at one time but you betrayed me. I'll probably forgive sometime in the future, but I'll never forget what you did to me."

"I know that I've said a thousand time but I still love you."

"You'll have to live with that, Charles," she replied as the girls ran down the stairs and into the dining room.

"Ready?" Melissa asked her children.

"When is Daddy going to go with us, Mommy?" Mona asked.

"Someday soon," their father promised.

They didn't get home until late afternoon. After church the trio met up with her sister and family at the park. It was a nice warm late May day. They had lunch outdoors at a cafe then went to the zoo. Michael excused himself and left the women to do their thing while he went back home.

Michael found Charles pouring his second drink of bourbon. With the repeal of Prohibition liquor was flowing freely again. The Volstead Act was an unmitigated disaster bringing wealth to many of law breakers of that era including the now jailed Al Capone and many of his cronies. Still there were other gangster eager to step in his shoes and run things in Chicago.

"What are you doing?" Michael sat down and removed the bottle.

"What the hell are you doing?" Charles sneered at his younger brother. "That's the only thing that keeps me going from day to day."

"You are a stupid bastard," Michael would not be cowed. "This is one of your real problems. You think is that will bring Melissa back to you? You're lucky she lets you sleep in her bed. You just had to take up with that tramp..."

"She's not a tramp!" Charles sneered. "She was loving and kind..."

"She's a homewrecker," Michael challenged. "If she knew you were married, she should have moved on to another man who wasn't. As it is, you've lost the love of a woman you don't deserve anymore. I don't blame her at all. You've ruined a good thing and now you're paying for it. Drinking isn't going to bring her back."

"Fuck you!" Charles reached for the bottle but Michael wouldn't give it to him. He could tell his brother was already drunk.

"Profanity isn't going to help you, Chuck," Michael said. "Do you want to win your wife back?"

Charles brokedown crying. "More than anything."

"Then get your head out of your ass and start winning her back."

"How!"

"Patience, kindness, sober, and being a man. She knows you drink this shit and this isn't going to help. It's a crutch. What you've got to do is go back to the point where you won her love and start getting her back. You should have been at her side at church this morning."

"She talks about faithfulness, but we had fucked before we ever became engaged.

She's the one who should look at herself too."

"You two might have had some fun before you married, but she has been chaste since you had taken those vows. You've got to get a grip on yourself and try to get her to love you again."

"Mike, I'd do anything to win her back."

"Then be the man you once were. Yes, we lost the stores. You have to realize that you have to be a man and stop feeling sorry for yourself. You put yourself into this position, now you are going to have to get yourself out of it. It's going to be a long slow process but you can do it if you keep your mind to it."