Chapter 1

Do you believe that "love at first sight" can really happen, or is that just something that happens in romance novels? I mean, does that really happen in real life. Well, I can speak for myself, but the first time I ever saw Jennifer, I was hit with the 'thunderbolt'. Do you remember the first Godfather movie, what happened to Michael when he was sent to Sicily to get away from his family's rival gang, after he killed the corrupt cop [played by Sterling Hayden]? That was the first time I'd ever heard of the 'thunderbolt', and I thought it was just a movie or novel plot line.

Not so, keno sabe, the first time I saw her, I was hopelessly in love — well, at least in lust. Unfortunately, Jen was not as thunderstruck as I was. But true love prevailed (or did it?), but at any rate, after about 8 months of an on again, off again relationship, I proposed, she finally accepted, and on a gorgeous June day, we got married. Donny Jamison, my Marine Corps bud was my best man, and his wife, Julie, was Jen's matron of honor.

It was only 2 years after our marriage that the first crack appeared in what I considered to be our perfect relationship. That year, our anniversary date fell on a Sunday, and I had been out of town for the past week, and my flight was due back in Atlanta on that Friday afternoon. As we always did while I was out of town, we had talked to each other on the phone, at least once every evening, and that Thursday before my return to Atlanta was no exception.

Now, this may seem to some to be childish, or even petty, but you need to know that I am a woman's feet and toes person. Breasts are nice — but I can take or leave them, butts are better, pussies are just fantastic, but the first things I notice about any woman, after her face — of course — are her feet and toes. I was raised around Latina woman until my mother and I moved to Thailand for the re-uniting of my mother and father, and every woman that I was aware of when I was growing up always wore toe nail polish; generally reds, wines or even dark purples or even, occasionally, with one of my cousins, blue. I was always absolutely enthralled with their feet and toes, especially when they painted their toe nails.

So when I noticed Jen after we first met, I was rather gratified to note that she always wore toe nail polish, generally some shade of red. As our relationship progressed, I let her know that I always wanted her toe nails in particular to be painted red, preferably scarlet or even dark crimson.

I don't now remember how the topic even came up that Thursday evening as we had been talking about we would do to celebrate our second wedding anniversary, but somehow, Jen let me know that she was going by her favorite nail place, "The Emerald Nail" on Friday, after work to have her regular weekly (or sometimes bi- weekly) manicure and pedicure session.

"Honey, that's great, I'd like to see a really sexy color, maybe some gold metallic scarlet, like that nail polish color that I bought you several weeks ago."

"Oh, Danny, I've been talking to Julie and Trudi at work, and you know, Ms. Wright, Angela, my boss, and they keep telling me about having a French pedicure done. That is a very fashionable style now, and they said you would like that on me."

"Really, that's what they told you, did they? I wonder how they knew what I would like on your nails. Well, honey, just so you will know, after my years in the Marine Corps, I despise all things 'french' and that includes French pedicures or manicures."

"Danny, now don't be that way, you know that you'll like whatever I wear, and you always do."

"Jen, I always like what you wear because you always wear those bright or dark red colors that I want you to wear; if you want to have a French manicure, ok., but no French pedicure because I won't like it, and I don't want that on your toe nails, ok."

Jen got somewhat huffy about my 'attitude', and our conversation sort of went south from there. Needless to say, this ending of our conversation put a damper on our evening's call, so shortly we told each other our love and ended the call.

My flight did not get in until later Friday evening because of weather delays in the Orlando area, where I had been working one of my investigations, so it was after 10:00 p.m. when I finally got off the plane at the Atlanta airport. I had called Jen already, since it was clear that I would be much later than usual, and she told me that she would probably go out with her girl friends from work, Julie and Trudi, and maybe Donny (as I've said, Julie's husband — and my best friend from our Marine Force Recon days) for drinks and supper. She told me which restaurant they would be at, so if I did get in at a reasonable hour, I could join them.

Now, I had no real intention of joining them, as Trudi Smith, in my humble opinion, was a ball-busting bull dyke-bitch, and I considered those to be her most endearing qualities; her personality went downhill fast after that. But Jen would be with Julie and Donny, our respective best friends, so I knew that, in particular, Donny would not let anything out of the way happen, so I was not worried.

I knew that they all would long since have finished supper, so I didn't even try to call Jen again on her cell phone, I had already left a message before I departed Orlando that I was sure I would be really late, so I left the message that I would just see her at home. Frankly, I expected to find her at home, since when I got there since it was almost 11: p.m. However, since she was with Donny and Julie, I expected that she would be home soon, so I unpacked my soiled laundry and got ready for bed.

Well, I must have been really tired, because I just crashed, with the TV on watching some cable channel or the other. I woke up sometime later on, our bedroom was dark, the TV was off, and Jen was seemingly asleep beside me. I looked at the bedside clock and noticed that it was 2:30 a.m., and wondered what woke me up. I thought about it for just a moment, and decided that it must have been the TV being turned off. Oh, I wondered why Jen was so late getting home, but well, I was really tired and sleepy, so back to slumberland.

I generally wake early, as most mornings I either work out in my "weight" room, or maybe go for an early morning workout at the dojo where Donny and I train, and where I teach part-time. So, even though it was a Saturday, I was up around 6:30, went through a light workout, then showered in the guest bathroom so I would not wake up Jen, and then made some coffee for us. I was drinking my first cup and reading the paper, when it occurred to me that Jen had turned off the TV at around 2:30 a.m. Had she just then gotten in bed, and if so, why had she acted like she was asleep when I woke up? This was an unpleasant thought for me, so I decided to casually question her about it when she got up.

Jen, as I've said, is not a morning person, so she did not get up until almost 9:30. I could hear her moving around, before she came into the kitchen, yawning and asking for a cup of coffee. I didn't notice anything out of the way at first, being more concerned about where she was until after 2 o'clock this morning. When I brought her the coffee, I noticed then that she was barefoot, and that she didn't have on any toe nail polish; well, actually, she had a French pedicure on her nails. I was more than a little miffed about that, so that overrode my other concerns at first.

"Morning, sleepyhead, here is your coffee"

"Danny, thanks honey, I need this," she replied.

"Jen, I just noticed, what happened with your pedicure, you don't have on any nail polish, is there some problem with your nails?"

A funny look flashed across Jen's face, then she said, "no, honey, no problem, actually there is a color, it's that white band across the end of the nails, that finishes off a french pedicure."

I sat down across from her, and looked her straight in the eyes, without speaking. Jen blushed, and then looked away from me.

"Let's pass on that issue for a moment; where were you last night when I got home at 11:00, I expected that you'd be home by then. Why didn't you call me when it got later?"

"Sweetheart, Julie wanted to go dancing after supper and Donny said 'ok', and I knew from your message that you would be rather late getting home, so when they invited me to go along, I decided to go with them, instead of coming home to sit by myself. I didn't think you'd mind; and I just lost track of time."

"Oh, well, I hope you'all had a good time. Did Trudi 'bitch' go with you?"

"Danny, I wish you wouldn't refer to her that way, she's been a good friend to me in my new job, and she really does mean well. And yes, she went with us."

"She may have been a 'good' friend, but she definitely does not mean well, and you know how I feel about her. You may have to work with her, but I'm uncomfortable with you socializing with her, especially to all hours of the morning; and yes, I know, even with Julie and Donny there also."

"Danny, I was not out till 'all hours', I got home a little after 12:30 but you were already asleep. I got ready for bed, and was in bed with you by a little after 1 o'clock this morning."

I was silent for a moment, I was almost certain Jen had just lied to me. "Oh, well, like you say, I was really tired, so I crashed as soon as I got home; I even fell asleep with the TV on."

"I know, silly, I turned it off when I got in bed." BAM, this confirmed that she had just lied to me, but why?

"Jen, one of the reasons that I don't like Trudi is that she seems to have too much influence on you. That french pedicure is an example."

"When you and I talked on Thursday, you mentioned that Trudi told you that you should have a french pedicure; but I told you that I didn't like or want that on your nails, and asked that you have put on your nails a color that I liked. Now, I find that Trudi's wants for your pedicure style and color are apparently more important than what I want."

"Danny, that's not true, it's just that I decided to try it for myself. "You know that you always like what I do, and it's not like that it's no color at all. I know that you like for me to wear toe nail polish, and I like it too, so I always do it for you, but I wanted to try something different and fashionable like my girl friends."

Now, I'm not a man who beats around the bushes, so I just confronted this whole situation head-on.

"Jen, first of all, I told you expressly on Thursday that I did not like nor did I want you to wear a french pedicure. I treat you with respect, and I expect that same respect from you. You knew that I did not like that french pedicure, did not want it on your nails, I told you how I felt, I would actually prefer no nail polish at all to that crappy 'french' pedicure. So your decision, aided I suppose by Trudi's and Angela's likes, to do so offends me, and I consider it disrespectful."

"Next, I don't know what time you got home, but I woke up when you turned off the TV and it was 2:30 this morning, so you may want to re-think your story about what time you got home, and why you told me different.

"Now, I'm going to get my workout clothes, and go to the dojo and teach my Saturday morning class. When you're ready to tell me the truth, and when you've removed that 'french pedicure' crap off your toenails, you can call me on my cell phone, and I'll come home so that we can talk our way through this and about the future of our marriage. Right now, I'm pretty much pissed off at you and your disrespectful and lying attitude, and how much Trudi and apparently your boss Angela influence your decision making, so you'd better get your head on straight."