Chapter 1

I was going to throw a twenty-first birthday party for my wife. We lived in an apartment building so my wife's parents threw the party at their house instead. We invited a couple who were friends of ours and lived in our building.

Mario and Maria had moved here from Mexico about four years ago. They lived together and had two kids ages six and four. For some reason, they never got married; they said they didn't want that total commitment. Mario worked at a Mexican restaurant in town.

Mario was thirty and Maria was twenty-six. They were quite a stunning couple. Maria had that beautiful Latino look: long black hair, brown eyes and a dark olive skin. She was built and when you saw her, you had to stare. Mario was a typical dark skinned Mexican to me. According to my wife he had a sexy look about him.

My wife Julie and I had been married just four months and we didn't have any kids. She worked as a cashier at a large department store complex; I worked at one of the factories in town. Our life seemed to be going all right.

All of our relatives that live locally came to the party. Her two older brothers and their families, and my sister and older brother and their families were all at the party. It was quite a surprise to Julie who later said she just thought it would be her parents and us there.

Of course, everyone was offering Julie drinks to celebrate being twenty-one. We were all doing our share of drinking. My in-laws put on quite a feed for everyone. The party ended in the early evening. We drove back to our apartment and Mario and Maria said it was too early to quit partying. They had taken their kids to a friend's house for the evening.

Mario said we could continue our own party in our apartment. He went to his and brought back some tequila and a couple of porno tapes. Julie and I have watched porno before but always by ourselves. We didn't want to look prudish so we went along; of course we were on our way to being wasted anyway.

Maria made us all some drinks while Mario put in the porno tape. Julie sat next to me on the couch and Maria sat on Mario's lap in a large lounge chair. Damn, Maria was a sexy woman. She always wore the blouses that you could pull down over your shoulders. Tonight she had on one of those and a full flaring skirt like you see on Mexican women.

The movie started and we all watched as a couple on the screen were at a bar. In the next scene they were walking into a house where the man was slowly taking off her clothes. The movie was in Spanish and Julie and I had no idea what they were saying. We sure could understand what they were doing.

Every now and then Mario would give us an idea of what they were saying. Another man had entered the room in the movie. Mario said it was the woman's husband and she had gone out to find a man to have a threesome with. Of course the men started kissing and touching the woman all over. It definitely was a b-grade movie but the sex was getting hot.

We drank our drinks and Maria got us all refills. Looking at her was making me hot. I asked Julie to sit on my lap. She was fairly drunk and was more than willing. I was drunk and hot to trot as well. She had on slacks which I unbuttoned and pulled down her zipper for better access into her panties.

"Shawn, we have guests over. Should we be doing this?" asked Julie.

We looked over at Mario and he had Maria's top down and her tits exposed. My dick got hard very quickly. I always wanted to see her breasts close-up and personal.

"It's okay, Honey; they're our friends and look at what they are doing."

I know it was the booze and my hormones making me act this way. I slipped off Julie's blouse and then undid her bra showing our friends my wife's body. Mario did the same to Maria as they both smiled.

Julie and I kissed and kissed. As she moved over and sat on the couch I pulled off her pants and panties in one motion. There she was naked for our friends to see. Mario took off Maria's clothes also and they moved over beside us on the couch.

My God, how much hotter could it get. It was the kind of thing you read about in stories of what porno films are made. To be seeing it and doing it was amazing.

Mario lit up a joint and we all took a couple of hits off of it. I've never been so hot in my life, with my naked wife sitting on the couch next to a beautiful Latino woman. The whiteness contrasting to the olive skinned woman was fantastic. It was the type of thing you only see on videos.

No one was watching the movie anymore. We had the real thing in front of us. I did glance at the TV and the woman was being double-teamed by the two men. It was hot.

Mario and I were both eating out our ladies who were loving it. I couldn't believe we were doing this in front of another couple. Neither Julie nor I were virgins when we got married, but I never did anything like this. It was just like you see in the porno movies and I was doing it.

The women got off the couch and lay on the floor next to each other while Mario and I quickly got undressed. I was glad to see our cocks were similar in length and girth but his was much darker, almost black. We each put our cocks in our woman. There we were side by side fucking our woman, and at the same time watching the body of our friends.

Mario reached over and lightly squeezed Julie's boob. I have never seen another man touch my wife. I didn't know what to think. Julie and Maria both smiled. It was at that point that I knew I wanted to fuck Maria. I could see Mario smiling at me when he said "Let's switch."

I pulled out of Julie and Mario quickly did the same pulling out of Maria. I couldn't wait another second as I pushed my cock deep into Maria. I was now fucking another man's woman, right in front of him.

I looked over as he pushed his dark cock into my wife. It was the wildest thing I have ever seen. My feelings were so mixed up but, right then I just wanted to fuck the hell out of this beautiful woman in front of me. I reached up and lightly massaged her large breasts. They were much larger than Julie's. They weren't any nicer, just larger. She moaned as I kept jabbing my cock hard into her.

I heard Julie making all sorts of guttural sounds as she was being pounded by Mario. He was playing roughly with her tits. I could see the red marks on her light skin. I knew she never liked them squeezed hard but it was a little late to stop it now.

Maria was moving her ass up and down; I knew she was near climaxing. I pushed in deep and felt her pulsating pussy around my cock. She was moaning as I fucked her, kissing and gently rubbing her beautiful tits. I was making love to her body. It was the way I was with all women, I didn't just fuck them.

I didn't know if I should cum in Maria or not. I didn't have on a condom and neither did Mario. It bothered me because Julie wasn't on any kind of birth control. We had been monogamous ever since we got married. I never had a need for a condom.

I was now ready to come myself. I figured I'd pull out and come on Maria's belly. If Mario saw me he hopefully would do the same thing. As I felt Maria spasms subsiding I pulled my cock out of her and shot my white cum all over her belly and on up to her tits. She smiled and began to rub my cum all over herself.

She then grabbed my somewhat softening cock and pulled me up so that I straddled her face and she started sucking the rest of the cum out of my cock. Damn, it felt good. I had this older sexy woman — well, a few years older - sucking my cock. This was just the type of thing you read about and want to try.

My cock didn't have a chance to get completely soft as Maria kept sucking it. Here I was face fucking a woman in front of her man. What a turn-on.

After a few minutes I glanced over when I heard Julie scream out. I figured she had just climaxed and Mario had his cock buried deep inside my wife. I watched as he gave his last final pumps into my wife's unprotected pussy.

When I came down from my high, my feelings began to change. This was the part you don't read in erotic stories. It was starting to change back into reality. I had just watched another man pump a load of cum into my wife and I didn't like it.

You read all these stories about swapping and everyone fucking everyone else. You picture yourself in the group, fucking everyone that moves. Your mind is led by your dick as you want to fuck till you can't come anymore.

I've read so many stories that I figured it was the way of life for us young people. I do have to say while fucking Maria and watching my wife was a turn-on. I was also a bit high on alcohol and weed.

My cock started to soften before I came again. I know it was from watching Julie have an orgasm with another man. Sure, she had other men before we were married, but we agreed never to talk about our past relationships. This was real and this was now. The man had a face and I knew him.

Mario smiled a big grin as he wiped his cock on my wife's blond bush. I pulled my cock out of Maria's mouth and went to the bathroom. I honestly felt like I was going to throw-up but I didn't. I washed off my cock and went back into the living room. I knew Julie could see the look on my face.

I was putting my underwear back on and asked Mario and Maria if they would please leave. Mario started in on it was only sex, no big thing. He and Maria did it every once in a while to add spice to their life.

I told him I didn't need spice, I had Julie and asked them to leave again. I did tell Maria that I was sorry and told her it wouldn't happen again. I told her I thought she was a beautiful woman but I loved my wife and only wanted to make love to her.

Mario laughed. "Bro, it was sex, not love. I like to have some strange once in a while and so does Maria, no harm done. We'll be around if you two ever want a repeat performance.

"I've had my eye on that pretty young bride of yours for quite awhile. I could see how you always stared at Maria. I knew it was just a matter of time before I fucked your little woman."

"Get the fuck out of here or I'll..."

"You'll what? Go cry in the bathroom," he laughed.

I walked over to the end table and pulled out a revolver I had for protection.

"Whoa, Bro, no need for violence. Hell, if I remember correctly, you even got a blowjob out of the deal. We're leaving. If you ever come to your senses you know where to find us," said Mario.

"Put that gun away, Shawn. It's over and done with," said Julie. "No one held a gun to our head. Just let it go."

Mario and Maria walked out the door. The after-effect was nothing like I expected. Sure I fucked Maria, but I let another man cuckold me. I wondered how long it would take me to get over this.

Julie came to me; she was still naked and kissed me. "He was nothing compared to you, Shawn. He was just a guy getting his rocks off. Please just forget about him. He's not half the lover you are. Take me to our bedroom and make love to me. I was fucked but now I want to be loved."

She knew just what to say. I walked her to our bedroom and started kissing her. I gently kissed each nipple till they became rock hard. I was a little aggravated seeing the red marks on her tits. "That's it, lover; you know just what to do," said Julie.

I kissed her belly and she told me not to go any further. "He came in me, Shawn. Don't go there. Just put your cock in me and fuck me gently."

I did as she asked. I did feel his cum but I just pushed my cock into my beautiful wife. I was able to last a long time. While I pumped in and out of her I gently massaged her breasts. "You make me so hot. Shawn, I love you so much."

"Take me from behind," she said, as I pulled out of her and she got on her hands and knees. "Fuck me, Honey, fuck me good."

I pushed my cock back in her pussy. I watched the combination of juices coating my cock as I pushed it in and pulled it back. Her wet pussy lips would open up each time. I took a finger and gently pushed it in her ass. I added a second finger and pumped it in and out as I pumped my cock into her pussy.

I'm getting ready to come, Honey," I said.

"Give it to me, Shawn. Fill me up with your cum," Julie said.

I let go and I could feel her pussy squeeze my cock. She was coming as I felt her spasm over and over again. When the spasms stopped, I pulled my now limp cock out of her.

Together we got in the shower and it felt good. I soaped her all over and watched the cum drip out of her. After a good hot shower we headed back to our bed naked. We cuddled and fell asleep but when I woke up in the morning I took my morning piss and made love to her again.

This time I ate her pussy till I had to stop so she could go pee. When she returned I was lying on my back and she slipped my cock into her mouth, got it hard and then took it for a ride. Damn, she was good.

After we got up and had breakfast we talked about what happened. "Honey, I just went along with what I thought you wanted. It will never happen again, Shawn. I love you and only you. I don't need any other man."

It really wasn't her fault. I was supposed to be her man, her protector. She was somewhat drunk and I gave her weed and let another man take advantage of her. All because I wanted to fuck another woman that I had seen. As nice as Maria looked, I now regretted my actions.

In the next few days, things got back to relatively normal. We never talked about that night and we made love almost every night. The nights we didn't make love, we held and cuddled each other.

A few days later I asked her if she had seen either Mario or Maria. She told me she'd said hi to Maria one day when she was taking her kids to school. Mario had waved to her one evening but she didn't wave back. She didn't want to be with either of them again.

About a month had passed. I was sitting home alone. Julie was still working. There was a knock on the door; I answered it and it was Maria. She had on one of those sexy tops and full skirts.

"What do you want Maria?" I asked. I didn't invite her in.

"I just stopped by to let you know we are moving. Mario's brother is opening a restaurant in Michigan and Mario is going to help run it. I wanted to stop by and say I'm going to miss you."

"Me? Why would you miss me?" I asked.

"I went along with Mario wanting your young blond wife. The reason is I wanted you. I used to talk to Julie all the time and she told me how you didn't just fuck but made love. I could feel it the one time I was with you. You didn't come till you knew I had reached an orgasm. Mario just thinks about himself."

"Why do you stay with him? You're a beautiful woman and any man would be glad to be with you."

"Would you, Shawn? Would you like to make love to me one more time before I leave? All you have to do is ask and I'm yours."

"Maria, I love my wife and would never cheat on her. The one time the four of us were together was a mistake. You are an incredible woman and deserve a lot better than the man you have. It would be so easy to say yes to you but I can't do it. I can't hurt Julie. Why do you stay with Mario? You never did answer me."

"I guess in an odd sort of way I love him. He is the father of my two kids. Maybe someday he will be more like you."

We said our goodbyes and she told me they would be gone by the weekend. If I changed my mind and wanted her, all I had to do is ask. When Julie came home I told her Maria stopped by.

"What for? You didn't let her in, did you?" asked Julie.

"No, we talked at the door. Is my wife a little bit jealous?" I asked.

"Yes, I am. She likes you and we both know it. You said we weren't going to have anything to do with them anymore"

"Hold on, Honey. She stopped by to say that they were moving to Michigan. Mario is going into a restaurant business with his brother. So they will be out of our life after this weekend. She never even came into our living room."

I didn't want to tell her the rest of what Maria said. There was no reason to since they were moving. Julie came into my arms and we kissed. I could tell it was going to be another good night.

They did keep their promise and moved out. I was really glad to see them go. I would miss looking at Maria but I was more worried about Mario putting the make on my wife. I trusted her but I didn't trust him. I also have to admit if I was around Maria alone, I'd be afraid of having a weak moment.

Life was good and we went on with our life. We visited family or stayed home and made love. About two months went by when I came home one evening and Julie was smiling.

"Ok, what is it." I asked.

"I'm pregnant! You're going to be a Daddy," she smiled.

"When? Where? How?" I asked.

Julie laughed. "Let's see, when was a few months ago. I don't know exactly till I see the doctor. I missed a couple of periods and took a home pregnancy test. Where could have been the bedroom, living room, kitchen or even the shower. How is because you made love to me a lot over the past few months," smiled Julie.

I smiled too, but then a thought came across my mind. "Julie, is there any chance that ... that it might have been that one time..."

"No, don't even think it. We've made love almost every day since that awful day. So I guess you might say there is one in a hundred chance, but I know you're the daddy. I love you so much."

"Julie, what if?"

"Please stop, Shawn. Don't ruin it for us. You're the father and we are going to have a baby. I'll be seeing the doctor in the next few days. Our parents are going to be so surprised."

"Can we still make love?" I asked.

"Of course, Silly. Right up to the day I deliver. Don't worry, you won't have to do without or should I say do it alone?" laughed Julie.

Julie went to the doctor the following week. If his calculations were correct Julie got pregnant about a week after her birthday party. It took a load off my mind while we planned for our baby's delivery.

Our parents were happy for us. My mom even acted a bit surprised, but smiled and said she was going to be a grandmother again. I couldn't wait for it to be over. I wanted the baby to be mine so bad. I know what the doctor said but until the baby was born I'd be worried. A couple of times I talked with Julie but it aggravated her when I brought up the subject 'What if?'

I tried to be positive and act normal. We got a nursery set up for the baby. It was going to be a girl. If we were lucky she would look just like her mother. We had a baby shower and got most everything we needed. Everyone was so happy for us.

About two weeks before the birth of the baby I received a job offer. I went home and talked to Julie about it. She told me she knew it would bring in a lot more money but she would prefer me to be home with her and the baby.

My boss had connections overseas and they needed teams of men to go to Kuwait and Iraq to help rebuild the countries. You had to sign-up for a one-year stint and would be paid an average of a hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year. You could even make more if you put in extra hours working.

Here I was making thirty-five thousand dollars a year. I didn't want to leave my wife and baby for that long. My boss told me I had three weeks to make a decision. I knew I wanted to be there for the birth of my daughter.

I got a call at work from Julie that she was on the way to the hospital. Her mom was taking her and I could meet her there. On my way to the hospital I called my mom and told here the good news. She would soon be a grandmother again.

When I got to the hospital Julie was in her birthing room. It is the way they do it now. Everything takes place in the one room. We were all there in the room with Julie. Her pains were just a few minutes apart so everyone went to wait in the waiting room except for me and Julie's mom.

I put on a robe and mask and held her hand. Boy, did she ever have a grip! She was hurting me but I wasn't going to say anything to her. I couldn't even imagine what pain she was having.

The baby arrived and we heard her crying. Julie's mom looked at me and I looked over at the baby. She had black hair and had dark skin. Not black but kind of an olive color. My worst thoughts had just hit me. The baby was not mine but Mario's. Julie hadn't seen the baby yet but the look on my face must have been shock as Julie asked, "What's the matter? Is my baby alright?"

The doctor said the baby's fine. The nurse cleaned off the little baby and handed her to Julie. Julie had tears in her eyes as she looked at her baby and then at me. I couldn't speak, my mind was a mess. My worst nightmare had just happened.

I was walking out of the birthing room when Julie asked me where I was going, I told her I didn't know, I needed time to think as I walked out of the room. My parents saw the tears in my eyes as I came to the waiting room. Some of our relatives were there waiting with mom and dad and also with Julie's dad.

"What is it, Shawn? Is the baby alright?" asked my mother.

"The baby's fine," I replied. You can all go and see her now." I walked to the elevators hearing my folks yelling at me, asking me where I was going. I didn't answer, because I honestly didn't know.

I went to a local bar and had a couple of drinks. I waited about two hours before going back to the hospital. I knew I had to face the situation sooner or later. What was supposed to be one of the happiest days of my life turned into a disaster.

My dad was waiting for me in the lobby. He told me he saw the baby and asked what I was going to do?

"I don't know, dad; I love Julie but I know it's not my kid."

Dad told me there was all kind of arguments after I left. Everyone was picking sides and Julie cried almost the whole time I was gone. I walked in the room and Julie was there with my mom and her mother. I asked them both to please step out so I could talk to Julie alone.

"I'm so sorry, Shawn. You have to believe me; I did believe the baby was yours. I was only with Mario the one time and I've never been with another man since we've been married. I asked the doctor again and he said it's easy to be off by a week. He didn't know that date was so important. What are we going to do? I love you so much."

"Julie, I can't raise a child that's not mine, I'm sorry. Give the baby up for adoption and we can go on the way we have been. I can take the heat and we'll just tell people you made a mistake."

"What? I made a mistake? What about you, Shawn? It was you that let all this happen. I went along and am now paying the price. Why can't you just tell the truth and we'll take our daughter home and be a family?"

"She's not my daughter. She's Mario's. Let him have her. I'm not raising a kid that's not mine. You have a choice; you keep the baby and I'm gone."

"You can't be serious? It's my baby! I've carried her for the last nine months. I love you with all my heart, but I'm not giving up my baby because of what people think or say."

I went home that night but couldn't sleep. My mind was a mess. I knew some people would be calling Julie all sorts of names. They didn't know the truth; she didn't deserve it. I remembered my mother didn't seem overly surprised. I went to see her the next day and I asked her why.

"Shawn, when you were just a child you had rheumatic fever and the mumps at the same time. The doctor said at the time that you would fully recover but there might be a chance that you may not be able to father children."

"What? Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"You're only twenty-two and I was waiting to see if you were able to have kids. I had no reason to scare you while growing up. When Julie got pregnant, I was so happy for you but I did wonder."

"Mom, you should have told me."

"What good would that have done? As I told you, the doctor said maybe you wouldn't be able to father children. What are you going to do now, Shawn?"

My dad had come into the room. I know he looked very disappointed. He was crazy about Julie but now this. He asked me if I knew who the father was.

While we were talking, my sister Joyce came into the room She said that after I had left the hospital she had a talk with Julie.

"I asked Julie why she had an affair on my brother, because you love her so much.

"Julie said, 'Joyce, I love Shawn and I didn't cheat on him. I would never do that. I really did believe that the baby was his.'"

"Shawn," said Joyce. "I believe her. I think she is telling the truth. When I asked her more questions she said I needed to talk to you. What the hell is going on, Shawn? We're family and willing to help you but we need the truth."

What could I do? I told them the truth. I saw the sad look on their faces. I just couldn't go through life with them thinking that Julie was a slut that cheated on me. I know I hurt them. No parents want to think of their kid doing what I did.

I tried to explain that we had too much to drink; I never told them about the weed. Of course I did tell them it was Mario and Maria. I was pretty sure they had it figured out already. "It was a one time thing and a giant mistake. I'm so sorry for letting you down as parents. I hope you don't hate me."

"Shawn, you're our son. We hate what you did, but we don't hate you or Julie. Maybe you two were just too young and probably shouldn't have even gotten married yet. Now there is a baby in the picture and she's not yours. What are your plans?" asked mom.

"I gave Julie a choice. The baby or me. I told her to give the baby up for adoption and we could go on with our lives."

"She's not giving up her daughter, Shawn. She already told me that. You can imagine how hard this must be on her," said my sister.

"I can't do it! I can't raise a child that I know isn't mine." I know I had tears in my eyes.

I went in and talked to Julie one more time. She told me again how much she loved me but she wasn't giving up her little girl, even if it meant losing the man she loved more than anyone but her daughter.

The next day I went in and saw my supervisor and told him I was taking the job overseas. Next, I went to see a lawyer. I was now mad at Julie. She picked this baby over me. Well, I thought she could raise the child by herself or contact Mario and let him support his kid.

Julie's parents picked her and the baby up at the hospital and brought them home. I tried one more time to reason with her but she was adamant about the kid; she was going to keep her. I contacted a lawyer and he said if I was tested and the child was proven not to be mine I wouldn't have to give Julie either child support or alimony. We weren't married that long.

I lived at my parents' for the next two weeks before going overseas. I never even said goodbye to the woman I thought I loved. I let her have everything we owned except for a few suitcases of my clothes. We didn't have much and I didn't have to pay anything in support.

My parents stayed out of it but my sister told me I was making a huge mistake, that Julie loved me and I was giving up the best thing in my life. I told Joyce that the decision was made by Julie, she had a choice and the choice she made was the baby that wasn't mine.

I left for Iraq the next day.

I was extremely busy my first month in the Iraq-Kuwait area. My specialty was doing electrical work and some of these areas were devastated. The problem was the destruction was so bad we had weeks of cleanup before we could even begin rebuilding. We went one building at a time, cleaning up the debris and then started reconstruction and in many cases, rebuilding the different structures. It was far from a cakewalk. So much rubble and waste needed to be cleaned up.

We began with hospitals and schools. I even worked late at night trying to make life a little more bearable for these people. I felt good doing my part to help restore these buildings and help these casualties of war. They were just innocent people who were bombed by some of their own people.

Most of us workers slept in a building together. We had the necessities like water and electricity. It was kind of like sharing a dorm with schoolmates except we were all grown men just trying to make an extra buck. Most were single or divorced like me. There were a few married men also. I knew how both sides felt.

I was there three months when my divorce papers came through. I was so hoping it wouldn't happen, but it did. I went outside by myself and cried. Julie was the best thing that ever happened to me but because of our stupid swapping night and Julie not giving up the baby, we were no longer married.

Of course I thought of Julie often. She's one of the reasons I worked so late. As long as I was working, my mind didn't focus on Julie. Another month went by when I received a letter from my sister Joyce who asked me to call her. Phone calls were expensive so I only made calls about once a month. It was usually my mom or Joyce I talked to.

She told me that Julie agreed to sign the divorce papers and let me have my freedom. I felt bad; I didn't want freedom, I wanted Julie.

I had told Joyce that I asked my lawyer to locate Mario and start proceedings to get support for Julie and the baby. Joyce told me that Julie put a stop to it. She didn't want any help from Mario; in fact she didn't want him to know about Gina. Gina is what Julie named the baby. She was named after her mother whose name was Virginia.

"Joyce, how is Julie doing?" I asked.

"She's doing alright for a divorced mother with a child," replied Joyce.

God, that hurt! I didn't want to argue with Joyce. That part was over with. We agreed to disagree. She was my sister and I loved her but I don't think she understood what I was going through either. I wanted Julie; I just didn't want to raise a kid that wasn't mine.

"Shawn, I'd lied to you," said Joyce. "Physically Julie is doing fine. Financially, she is in kind of a bind. I know her mom and dad are helping her out some and children's services are helping her also. The baby was sick and was in the hospital a few days and Julie didn't have the finances to cover it."

"Is the baby alright?" I asked.

"She's fine now. She caught a cold and it turned into pneumonia. Of course she didn't have any insurance since the divorce and the baby wasn't covered under yours since you didn't claim her. They ran up about an eight thousand dollar bill that Julie has to make payments on each month.

"If she would have gone after Mario, he would have been responsible for his kid and have to help support her. Why didn't she do it? My lawyer was going to help her."

"She doesn't want Mario in the baby's life. If she would go after him for support, he would have a right to see Gina anytime. He could actually get custody part-time. Julie wants nothing to do with him. The birth certificate says, 'father unknown' and she wants to keep it that way."

I finished talking to my sister and sat and thought for a while. I contacted my lawyer and asked him if I sent any money to Julie would I be obligating myself in anyway. I wanted to help her a little financially but not be held accountable for any support in the future.

He told me I could always make a gift to anyone. It would in no-way make me responsible. He mentioned it would be best to do it through a family member rather than directly from me.

I contacted my mom and asked her if she has ever seen Julie. She was almost mute for about what seemed like a minute but was probably only a few seconds.

"Yes, Shawn. We see Julie every week. She brings the baby over and we visit for a couple of hours."

"What? I can't believe this! My own parents are turning against me," I said.

"No, Shawn, it's not like that at all. We have always liked Julie and she visits with us. She takes her baby wherever she goes. She's doesn't talk bad of you at all. In fact she always asks about you."

"It's not my kid, Mom; doesn't anyone understand that?"

"We all understand, Shawn. Nobody's blaming you for anything. It doesn't mean we can't be friends with Julie, does it?"

"I'm sorry, Mom. I guess I'm just thinking stupid. Look, Mom, Joyce said that Julie is having some financial problems. Is that true?

"Yes, Gina was sick and she had some medical expenses. Why are you asking?"

"I want to help. I'm making a lot of money and investing most of it. I want to send some money and I want you to give it to Julie to help pay up some of her expenses."

I heard my mom crying on the other end of the phone. "Mom, stop crying, please. Look, just give it to her and don't tell her it's from me."

"No, Shawn, I'm not lying to her. We'll tell her the truth. How much will you be sending Shawn?

"Joyce said her debt was around eight thousand dollars. I'll transfer ten thousand. That should help her pay off her debt. Mom, I love you and you take care. I have to go now."

I put more time into my work. I was working twelve to sixteen hours a day. I got a letter from my mom saying that she gave Julie the check and she cried for an hour. It made me cry. Damn, why is life so cruel?