Chapter 3

I started my revenge with Tony who was the black guy that had sex with Mary Ann. He held a knife on me and I sat there and took it, watching my wife have sex and him laughing at me.

I followed him a couple of times to a bar near where he lived. I always kept my distance and never went in. It was pretty much a mixed bar but predominantly black. Tony would often go there on Saturday nights, and once in a while during the week and stay for an hour or so.

He would ride his motorcycle and park it in the back so no one would mess with it. It was late on a Wednesday night that I followed him to the bar. It was a pretty light night for bars since it was a weeknight. It was a dreary dark night and not much was happening. I waited an hour and was parked in a lot next to the bar. It was near midnight when he came out. I looked all around and didn't see anyone. I put a mask over my face. Kind of like a cold weather mask.

I took my ball bat and went up behind him. He didn't hear me due to starting his cycle. I swung the bat and caught him across the small of the back. I swung two more times hitting his arms, which he raised to protect his head. He did have his helmet on but still got his bell rung. I swung one last time and caught him in the ribs.

He never had a chance to retaliate or see who I was. He fell off his bike, which stopped running as he fell to the pavement in utter pain. He seemed to be conscious but barely. I headed back to my truck and went home. I guess I was lucky that no one had seen me. It was a stupid thing to do but sometimes we all do things we shouldn't.

It was in the papers the next day that a man was beaten behind the bar. They had no witnesses and no suspects. There was no one that would think I was involved, seeing it was nearly five months ago that he fucked my ex-wife and it was never mentioned in court. Maybe this dissolution turned out better for me.

I would have liked for Tony to have known it was me but that would have caused a whole new set of problems up the road.

The next time I had stopped in for breakfast Kathy asked me if I read about Tony getting beat up. I told her I had but I didn't know much about the area. "I'm happy he got his payback. Probably was some other husband getting even with him," I said.

Kathy stared at me but never asked me if I was involved. The problem would have been that I wouldn't have wanted to lie to her.

I did get some satisfaction from beating him. Too bad he didn't know it was me. But again that could present some long-term problems. He was in the hospital for a week with multiple bruises and fractures. He would be out of work for a month. According to the reports he had no idea who it was because the person was wearing a mask. He didn't even know if his attacker was black or white. Good thing I wore gloves.

It was now time to go after Rob. He was married so I figured the revenge might be a little easier to attain. I knew that on Saturdays he usually went to see Mary Ann, thanks to the information I got from Kathy. I figured he told his wife that he was working or out with his friends. That way he had the whole day to be with Mary Ann.

Around noon on Saturday I went to his house. I knew his wife was named Sheila and was in the same graduating class as Rob and Mary Ann. I knocked on the door and a nice looking lady answered. I could see two small children yelling and playing in the living room.

"Can I help you?" asked Sheila.

"My name is Jim Holder. I'm not quite sure how to say this to you. Your husband is having sex with my ex-wife."

"What? Who are you, again? Who's your wife? Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm Jim Holder. My ex wife is Mary Ann Jennings Holder. She was in your high school..."

"I know who the hell she is. The fucking bitch! How do you know Rob is fucking her?" She came out on the porch and closed the door so her kids couldn't hear.

"We were at a wedding a few months ago and I caught them having sex. I didn't know if it was a one time thing at the time but after hearing she had been with him before, I divorced her. Now I find out she has been with him before we were even married and never stopped having sex with him. Now she is pregnant and I believe Rob is the father. I know for sure that I'm not."

"Why should I believe you? I don't even know you and you come to my house while my husband is at work and accuse him of screwing his old girlfriend. Sounds like you just want revenge."

"I do want revenge but it is the truth. Your husband isn't at work today. He's with Mary Ann at her apartment forty miles away. He goes there most every week. I can prove it to you."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I'll call Mary Ann and ask to speak to Rob. Then, I'll hand you the phone. Do you know of any reason why he should be there?"

"Hell no! Wait here while I get the phone." She went inside and brought her phone out. I noticed it was a speaker phone, and told her I would use it so she could hear the entire conversation.

I dialed my old number and Mary Ann answered the phone. "Mary Ann this is Jim."

"What the hell do you want, you fucking wimp?" said Mary Ann.

"I know your lover Rob is there and I need to say something to him. Put him on."

"He's not here."

"You lying slut! I can hear him in the background talking. Hand him the damn phone!"

She handed Rob the phone and I gave Sheila her phone. "What the fuck do you want, you fucking pervert? Want to watch me fuck your ex-wife again?" He started laughing.

Sheila yelled, "You fucking bastard! So you're back sleeping with your slut whore again. Well I have news for you, you bastard. You can just stay there, we're through. Just to get even with your cheating ass, I'm going to fuck Jim. Two can play this game."

Rob mumbled a bunch of shit that didn't make much sense. He was trying to make excuses but Sheila told him to go to hell, that he was a lying cheating bastard and she was getting a divorce.

After she hung up she told me she had no intention of having sex with me. She just said it to get even with Rob. She was a mother and had two children to raise. Between her job and the alimony she would get from Rob, she would do quite well.

She actually thanked me for telling her the truth. If Rob should ever ask me if I had sex with her I was welcome to say yes, but in court for the divorce she would be telling the truth. I did tell her if she needed me as a witness in her divorce case that I would be willing to testify.

I left feeling both good and bad. I got revenge on Rob but I hurt Sheila and broke up her marriage. She did tell me she thought he had been cheating on her but never had the evidence on who it might be with. I had to wonder why Rob would have a fling with Mary Ann with a nice looking woman like Sheila and two kids at home that cared for him.

Some guys are just born assholes and because some were school athletes they still think they're studs. Guys like Rob needed to grow up.

Sheila did kick his ass out. He couldn't stay with Mary Ann because it was too far away from his work. When Kathy found out about it she wasn't mad at me. If anything she said her sister deserved it. Her parents were surprised that Rob had cheated on his wife with Mary Ann.

Rob moved in temporarily with Ben and his mother. Ben was divorced a couple of years back. His wife left him for another man. He moved back in with his mother. I did find out that his mom was divorced when Ben was a teenager. She pretty much raised him alone. I guess a lot of us were raised by a single parent.

She was a bartender at a neighborhood bar. She had asked Ben not to be a customer there because it made her feel uncomfortable watching him drink the way his father did. She didn't have a problem with Rob moving in temporarily till he could find a place.

In case you're wondering I got most of my information with small talks with Kathy when I stopped in for breakfast. Mary Ann was getting bigger and would be having her baby in another month or so. According to Kathy, Rob wasn't the kind of guy that could take care of himself. He needed a woman to take care of him.

Kathy said that Mary Ann came to visit her parents one weekend and brought Rob along. According to Kathy, Rob used his razzle-dazzle to explain that he and Sheila had been on the outs for quite some time. When he saw Mary Ann at the wedding he remembered how much he cared for her.

He began seeing her after I filed for divorce. Damn, he could lie! They became close friends again and now he asked her to marry him. He knew she was going through a lot and they would wait till after the baby was born and his divorce was final. They figured they would find a place near Steubenville to live so Mary Ann and the baby would be near her parents.

He got a promotion at the mill so Mary Ann wouldn't have to work if she didn't want too. He did say he would be a good father to the baby even though it was mine. Mary Ann's parents accepted him, lock, stock and barrel. Kathy said she couldn't believe all the bullshit the two of them put out. She did her best not to say anything and would just bide her time till school was out.

If you haven't figured it out by now, Mary Ann was always their favorite. In their eyes she could do no wrong. Needless to say, Kathy and Mary Ann were pretty much opposites. I wanted to be with Kathy but she was so busy with working at the restaurant, taking her nursing classes and also helping out at the hospital as a nurse's aide. Maybe our time would come, she always told me.

I went into the bar with four of my friends after work. I couldn't believe it when I saw Rob and Ben sitting there. I didn't know whether to avoid them or confront them. I didn't have much choice when Rob said, "Hey Jim! I'm fucking your old lady again. You fucked up my marriage but I still have your ex to fuck." They started laughing.