Chapter 22

They came from different worlds, hers much more privileged than his, his considerably more dysfunctional than hers. Or so he thought when they met. Jack had been to hell and back, a trip he embarked on despite the best efforts of Phil and his grandmother. He had only himself to blame for his demise. At sixteen, he was angry. Angry at God, at the world, at the system, at his grandfather for dying and leaving Jack without another father figure. He was angry at himself. He tried to find peace in all the wrong places, and tried to surround himself with anyone who would validate his choices. Alcohol and dope were commonplace in his latter teen years. When those things didn't give him the rush he craved, he tried to push the limits of the law. Shoplifting was first, then breaking and entering. He got away with most of it, too, appearing time and time again before judges, but always getting off somehow. Finally, when he and a half-dozen others guys embarked a drunken night of vandalism, he was caught and ended up in juvie.

He was only in juvenile detention once but was in rehab three times after his junior year of high school. The fact he graduated from high school was a miracle, but he was still directionless in life. He had pushed away anyone who truly cared about him and had reached the lowest emotional point of his life by his 19^th birthday. He'd worked odd jobs here and there, but knew he had to make a change.

Jack looked around himself to try to find someone he could emulate, and it took a long search to find it. Ironically, that role model had been there all along. Phil Goodwyn was the one man who really showed any interest in whether Jack made something of himself. They hadn't talked in a long time, and unfortunately Jack's pride wouldn't let him go crawling back. Jack decided that he would follow the example of his grandparents' neighbor and prove to him that he had changed. He applied to the university where Phil taught and was accepted on a provisional basis. With a clear goal in mind, Jack attacked his life with a vengeance. He aced his remedial classes during the summer, as well as his first semester of freshman classes. Then his life took another unexpected turn.

He took a sociology class his second semester, where he was assigned to partner with a stunning, curvaceous brunette for a class project.

Looking now as that same stunning, curvaceous brunette boarded the plane, he knew he had been given more than any man deserved. They went from classmates to friends and eventually to lovers. When their relationship had progressed to the point that Abigail wanted Jack to meet her parents, he balked. He wasn't worthy of her, and meeting her parents would just reaffirm that. After some tenuous moments in their relationship, mostly fueled by Jack's feelings of inadequacy, he finally spilled all the torrid details of his past life to his girlfriend. She accepted him without hesitation, baggage and all. Jack knew he loved her, and the rest just fell into place.

Jack turned from the gate as his beautiful wife disappeared down the ramp and wondered how he'd get through her absence.

As Abigail stepped into the airport terminal, she took a deep breath. She was hit with sudden déjà vu to a day not six months ago, a day that changed her life. She had been unsuspecting that day, assuming her surprise visit to Seattle was only so she could spend time with her sisters. Little did she realize at the time that Jack had worked up a plan, and she and Allison had played things exactly as he hoped.

Now here she was, again alone, attempting to do her part in a plan her husband had drawn up. At least this time she knew what the plan was. Her task list was clear: find a job, find a house, and find a high school. She also hoped to check out the University of Washington campus and attempt, one more time, to make contact with Analise. Jack wanted to be a part of the baby's life, however possible. If Abigail was honest with herself, she also wanted to try to make amends with Analise, regardless of what her younger sister had done.

Abigail made quick work of getting her luggage and picking up her rental car and was soon driving down highway 518, then I-405. She looked at the surroundings with a much different eye than during her last trip here, viewing it as a prospective resident and not a tourist. The area was pretty, lush and green, but still so different than her home in Tennessee. The land was hilly, the vegetation wild and unruly. The skies were grey, as they were every day of her visit during the winter, but to her that didn't detract from the beauty. She caught glimpses of Lake Washington as she neared the junction with I-90. Based on beauty alone, she knew she'd get along just fine with this area.

They were focusing their attention on what is called the "Eastside", the east side of Lake Washington and east of Seattle. Her hotel was located in Bellevue, as were three of her four job interviews—the other was in Redmond—and one of the high schools that seemed most promising for Allison. Bellevue, Issaquah and Mercer Island high schools all held potential.

Abigail took one of the Bellevue exits and eventually found her hotel. After checking into her room and using the bathroom, she called Jack. The answering machine picked up and she glanced at the clock. Thursday afternoon meant he was in his class. The machine beeped.

"Hey, hunk. Just calling to let you know I made it safely. I'm already in love with Bellevue. Assuming we can afford anything here on whatever salary I can manage, this place would be perfect. Not too big, not too small, not too crowded. Anyway, call me when you get in tonight. I have my first interview in an hour, then my second around 2:30, Pacific Time. I'll probably just bring food back to the hotel room for dinner, so I'll be in."

She left him the number of her room, expressed her love and hung up. After settling in, she freshened up, grabbed her portfolio and purse, and headed to her first interview.

"I've invited someone to sit with us at lunch," Brianna said as she slid into her seat across the table from Allison.

Allison looked up at her friend. "Sure, no problem. Who is it?"

Just then Merrigan Mandrake wandered over, nervously looking at Allison. Seeing the redhead standing there was a surprise, but Allison tried not to let it show.

"Allie, you know Merrigan, right?"

Merrigan stood behind Brianna, a look of hesitation on her face. She looked at Allison expectantly.

"Um, yeah. We've met a couple of times. Have a seat, Merrigan."

Allison noted the relief on the other girl's face and looked at Brianna as if the answer to Merrigan's presence was written on HER face. It wasn't. What was there again surprised Allison. Brianna watched Merrigan sit with a look of nervousness and affection. Allison filed that away for further investigation. When the redhead was seated, Brianna smiled warmly at her, then turned back to Allison.

"Merrigan was the one who told us where Tyson had taken you."

Allison nodded. "I remember. Thank you, Merrigan. I really owe you."

Merrigan blushed. "No. No, you don't owe me anything." She looked like she wanted to say something else, but she held her tongue.

"So, um, you're Matt Painter's girlfriend, right?"

"Ex-girlfriend. We broke up." Merrigan turned to Brianna and it looked like they had a silent conversation. Brianna shook her head, and turned back to Allison.

"Merrigan and I have been doing some talking over the last week or so, and we found out we have a lot in common. Since she and Matt broke up, she's not really comfortable hanging with that crowd, so I asked her if she wanted to sit with us."

Allison smiled. "Sounds good. The more the merrier."

The three girls turned their attention to casual topics, and Allison quickly found that she liked the new girl. She was friendly and funny, almost a breath of fresh air in the room. Soon, Dana joined them and her singsong voice steered the conversation from one direction to another. Allison sat back and watched the interaction. It was clear watching Brianna that Allison wasn't the only one that liked Merrigan. She wondered if Brianna was already trying to find a new best friend, and a tiny pang of jealousy crept into Allison's thoughts. She quickly stifled it. Allison was the one who was moving away. It was only natural for Brianna to find a new person to hang out with. Then she began to notice something else in the way her best friend interacted with Merrigan. It was almost ... flirty. Like the way Brianna acted when she talked about Jack.

Allison began to wonder just how Brianna really felt about Merrigan.

Before she knew it, lunch was winding down. The girls cleaned their stuff and parted company. As she watched Brianna and Merrigan walk away, deep in conversation, she noted the sudden seriousness of their expressions. She shrugged and headed to class.

Abigail opened her room door just as the phone rang. She quickly threw her stuff on the bed, set her food on the desk and grabbed the phone.

"Hello?"

"Damn, you've got a sexy voice!"

She smiled. "Hey, Jack. How was your day?"

"It was school. How do you think it was? What I really want to know is how your day was."

She proceeded to fill him in on the flight and her impression of the area, then turned to the job interviews.

"The first one at the counseling center was OK, but I'm not sure it's really what I want to do. The second one, though, went great."

"That the one at the home health company?"

"Yeah. It'll be coordinating their services, primarily for elder care, things like therapy, counseling, long-term care."

She gave him the details of the interview, the company and the job, answering his questions as she went. "They ended up bringing in a couple of other people to meet with me. All told it took a couple of hours, and they mentioned the possibility of a second interview."

"That's awesome, Abbie. I knew you'd wow 'em."

"Well, I guess I did something right. Let's just hope they call for that second interview."

"They'll call. You're smart, hard-working, creative, good-looking, and of course, there's that sexy voice. Who wouldn't want to talk to you?"

Abigail rolled her eyes but still smiled at his praise. "You're just biased."

"Maybe. But it's easy to be biased when it's true. Anyway, what's on tap for tonight?"

"Nothing. I've been pretty tense, so I think I'll soak in the tub and read."

"Just read, huh?"

"Just read."

"What if I told you I'm getting ready to head over to visit Allison for a couple of hours? You think your imagination could come up with something else to occupy your time while you soak."

Abigail felt her heart speed up. Part of her was jealous of her two lovers, but another part had no problems imagining the two of them together engaged in all kinds of fun activities. She was intimately familiar with both of them, after all. Plus, she still had that threesome fantasy that had yet to be fulfilled. She reached down and slipped her hand up under her skirt and pressed her fingers against her panty-covered pussy.

"Well, Mr. Loverboy. I'm touching myself already."

"I can just picture it."

"Give my sister a nice lick or two from me. I'm going to go finger myself silly now, then eat dinner and call it an early evening."

"Will do." Then Jack changed tracks. "I already miss you, Abbie. I'm so absolutely, positively in love with you I can hardly stand it."

"I love you and miss you, too, Sweetie. Make sure you're cautious tonight, OK? Don't want to mess things up now."

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Abigail flopped back on the bed, her legs dangling off the edge and pictured her husband and sister engaged in hot, passionate sex. She reached both hands under her skirt and hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her panties, then raised her ass and pulled them down and off her legs. She pushed the skirt up and slipped one hand into her hot wet pussy. She slid one finger and then another deep inside herself and caressed the velvety walls. Using her other hand, she pinched and stroked her swollen clit. As the heat built inside her, she closed her eyes tight, running image after image of her lovers through her mind. She heard the sounds her fingers made inside her sheath, wet, slurping sounds that only got louder the more aroused she became. Little tremors began to vibrate her pussy as her stroking became more intense, more aggressive. Soon she was bucking her hips to meet her hand, which rubbed in a blur across her throbbing nub. She felt her heart racing now, her breathing fast and shallow, and she lifted both feet, digging her heels into the top edge of the mattress. She gasped as her orgasm hit her, causing her to tense for several long moments, before thrashing on the bed in waves of convulsions.

As she came down from the climax, she let her feet fall back to the floor and tried to catch her breath. She gave a lazy look at her bag of food on the table and reprioritized. She could wait on dinner, seeing as it was already cold. A nice long bath. Yes, now THAT was much more important.

Maria Juarez set the two bags of groceries on the Mrs. Abreu's kitchen counter. She tried to listen as the old woman chattered away in her thick accent. Mrs. Abreu was Maria's parents' neighbor, and was too old now to get out. So Maria would make weekly trips to the market for her. The routine was the same. Pick up the groceries. Listen as the old woman chattered on while Maria put the groceries away. Ensure the plants were watered and the cats fed while listening some more, then add her two cents worth before leaving for home.

This time seemed no different, and Maria found her mind wandering to her husband and his activities. Ever since the Williams had confronted him, he'd thrown himself into digging into every possible story that might show that Ted Garner was indeed a bigot engaged in unethical activity. As the time had passed, however, he found little more than rumors. Maria began to wonder if the things that Jack Williams had said were actually based on fact. Bribery, blackmail, coercion, discrimination. There just wasn't any proof.

Just then something Mrs. Abreu said caught Maria's attention.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Abreu. What were you talking about?"

"Lupe Ramirez. She came by to visit last week. She just passing through on her way to see some family."

There was something about the name that gave Maria pause.

"That name sounds familiar, but I can't place it."

Mrs. Abreu said a few words in Spanish while she shook her head sadly. "Lupe and her family had to move away. About 10 or 12 years ago. Her daughter Isabel was ... you know. Violacion."

Suddenly it all came back to Maria. She had just finished high school and was working as a waitress at one of the truck stops on the edge of town. Word came through the grapevine that a young Hispanic girl—Isabel Ramirez—had been raped by a couple of white boys. However, there were no real witnesses, at least no one willing to step in defense of Isabel. She was young, maybe 13 or 14, and already had a reputation of being kind of wild. She'd been in and out of trouble numerous times, and had even admitted to being sexually active. Many folks dismissed her claim of rape, but the Ramirezes tried to press the authorities to do something. Suddenly, after several weeks of pushing, they just dropped the charges and seemingly moved overnight. The incident soon faded from the public recollection. Maria was somewhat surprised that the tale hadn't crept up during Jack Williams' investigation, especially since Maria couldn't remember anything ever happening to the alleged perpetrators. She wondered if that was a sign of a baseless accusation, or just a really good cover-up.

After peppering the old woman with questions regarding the Ramirez incident, she took her leave. As she settled into her old car, she decided to pass it to Gimel and let her husband and Jack Williams figure out what to do with it.

Allison was pacing. She looked at the clock again. Almost 7:00. Jack should have been there by now. She hoped nothing had gone wrong, but then scolded herself for her overactive imagination. Her mom would be gone until about 8:30. Brad and Dad until about nine. Ben went home with a friend and wouldn't be home even later. In other words, a pretty standard Thursday evening in the Garner household. That left them only an hour comfortably together.

There was his knock, a unique melody that only he seemed to know, and she scrambled to the door. She opened it and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the handsome man standing there. Just the sight of him made her weak in the knees. She wondered if she'd ever get used to having such a beautiful man as a lover. He smiled at her apologetically.

"Sorry, Allison. There was a car accident..." She cut him off with a finger to his lips and then grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him into the house. She was horny and she was desperate. They made it to the living room before she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately. She broke the long kiss and began to unbutton his shirt.

"We don't have time for excuses. So shut up and make love to me RIGHT NOW."

In moments, they'd shed their clothes and were locked into another smoldering kiss. She sighed against his lips as they sank to the couch. Heaven couldn't be better than this.

Sharon grabbed one heavy box of flyers from the back seat of her car and struggled to stand up straight. Why had she volunteered to distribute the flyers for MADD? Not busy enough? Feeling underutilized? Glutton for punishment? Trying to drown her personal life in work? She sighed, carried the box to the door and set it on the ground so she could fumble with her keys. She unlocked the door and gave it a little shove, then bent down to pick up the box again. A gasping voice drifted from the house.

"Oh God, that's good..."

She froze at the sound. She knew the emotion behind those words. And she knew who said them. For a moment her conflicting emotions wrestled: the mother Ted assumed she was, or the mother she wanted to be. She blushed at the moan that came next, and slowly leaned in to grab the knob and pull the door closed, ashamed that she'd caught Allison in such an intimate moment.

"Yes. Right there, Jack. God your tongue is amazing."

She froze again, her mouth and eyes open wide. Was he... ? She felt shame again, but this time not because she caught them, but because she felt a familiar heat grow between her own legs. She tried to deny what the sounds and mental images were doing to her, but eventually it became too strong.

She leaned forward a little to peak into the house and gasped at the sight. She clamped her hand over her mouth, but they didn't hear her.

She could see into the living room. Allison was lying on her back on the couch, one leg draped over the back and other hanging down to the floor. Jack lay between her legs, his head buried ... there. Both had their eyes closed as he licked her. Instantly Sharon felt aroused, then ashamed, then angry, then aroused again. Her emotions warred within her. Here was her sixteen year old daughter, engaged in an act Sharon considered one of the most grievous sins: adultery, and oral sex to boot. She was having sexual relations with her sister's husband. Sharon knew it was happening, but seeing it seemed to cement it in her mind.