Chapter 20

As soon as Greg left the driveway, David turned to Bonnie and asked, "So did he?"

"Did he what?"

"Did he fuck you!"

"Don't be ridiculous! Of course not!" That's what she said, but even as she said it, she thought of all the times she'd thought about it, even fantasized about it. But at that moment, she was thankful that she and Greg never did have sex.

"Well, where do you know this guy from anyway?"

"Look, if you want to talk about this, at least wait until we get inside. After all, you're the one who's always so concerned about what the neighbors think!" replied Bonnie in an exasperated voice.

David didn't like the way Bonnie was talking to him. 'In fact, she's been up on her high horse for a while now, ' he thought. He was convinced more than ever that she was having an affair with Greg, and that he was the reason she was acting like she was.

"He's just a nice guy I met at the gas station," explained Bonnie, once they were inside. "We've talked a few times, and he told me that if I ever needed anything I could call him. That's all."

"Yeah? And what did you give to him for him to show you all this niceness?" snarled David, in return.

"Nothing!"

"Look, Bonnie. I'm not stupid. No one does things like that for nothing!"

"You're wrong, David! Not everyone is like you, you know. There are some people in this world who truly are nice!"

It was obvious that David wasn't going to be convinced that she wasn't having an affair. He was about to say so when he was suddenly interrupted by Sandy, who'd come up from the basement.

"I thought I heard Mr. D's voice," she said. "Is Andy gone?"

"Look, your problems with your boyfriend have gone too far. If you can't keep your personal life away from my family, then I don't want you working here anymore," said David angrily. "Don't bother coming back tomorrow."

"David!" shouted Bonnie. "You don't seem to care what happens around here so long as it doesn't affect your world. Sandy's a really good babysitter. We're lucky to have her, and if she's going to be fired then I'll be the one to do it, and I say she stays!" Then turning to Sandy, she said, "You can go home tomorrow. Andy won't be there, and you'll never see him again."

Sandy gave her a questioning look, and Bonnie simply said, "I'll explain later. For now, just go back to the shelter, and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, Mrs. D," replied the young woman, and after glancing at David, she quickly left the house.

"How dare you contradict me in front of the hired help!" shouted David, once he recovered from his shock. Never in his wildest dreams did he think Bonnie would ever stand up to him like that.

"The hired help? David, we don't have any hired help. Sandy's just the babysitter."

"Fine way to talk to your God damn husband! Here I was all worried about you..."

Bonnie cut him off, saying, "Worried about me! You didn't seem too worried when you told me to lock the doors and just wait for him to go away!"

"Well, after thinking about it, I dropped everything I was doing and rushed home as soon as I could didn't I? Good God damned thing I did, too! I bet if I didn't get here when I did, you'd be upstairs fucking that Greg guy in our bed right now!"

"David, you're shouting!"

"You're God damned right I'm shouting!" returned David, just as loud as before.

"But, David, the boys will hear you," reasoned Bonnie.

"What's the matter, Bonnie? Are you afraid they're going to find out what a God damn whore their mother is?"

Bonnie slapped his face hard, screaming, "Get out! Get out of this house!"

David caught Bonnie by her wrist, and slung her around to the floor yelling, "Alright! I'll go, but just remember; this is my God damned house, and when I come back you'll be the one leaving! And once I tell the judge what a God damned whore you are, I'll be getting the kids, too! Then I don't care who you go spreading your legs for because you'll never see me or the kids again!

Bonnie sat on the floor where David had flung her and cried. His words of, "I'll bury you in court, Bonnie," and "I'll make sure you don't have a God damned penny to your name when I get through," before slamming the door behind him resounded in her ears.

She was in shock, and didn't know what to do at first. She knew she couldn't go back to her parent's house, and images of her wandering the streets looking for a place to stay flashed through her mind until she felt Tommy touching her shoulder.

"Are you okay, Mommy?" His voice shook, as he bravely held back his tears.

Bonnie looked around, and saw Corey at the entrance to the basement. He was crying, and she wondered just how much they heard. 'As loud as we were shouting at each other, they probably heard most of it, ' she thought.

Mustering her courage, she looked up at Tommy, and forced a smile. Then sounding as cheerful as she could, she said, "Don't worry; everything will be all right. You'll see."

Tommy hated to ask her, but he couldn't help himself. "Who's Greg, Mommy? I heard Dad yelling about him."

'I'm back to being Mommy to him, but David is still "Dad" to Tommy, ' she thought. Then giving him her best smile, she said, "Greg is just a good friend who helped us get rid of Sandy's awful boyfriend. Your father is wrong about Greg. He didn't do anything bad, and neither did I."

"I hate him!" replied Tommy, angrily.

"No, Tommy, Greg didn't do anything wrong. He's just a good friend who tried to help us."

"Not him, Dad! I hate him!"

"Why?" asked Bonnie in surprise.

"Because he made you cry. He's mean!"

"You shouldn't hate him Tommy. He's just angry; that's all."

"Well, I still hate him!"

"Me, too," put in Corey, throwing his arms around his mother.

Bonnie didn't know what to do. She knew it was wrong for them to hate their father, but just then, she hated him, too!

'Maybe after things calm down a little, I can sit them down and talk to them, ' she thought. But just then, she couldn't even get herself together enough to stop shaking.

She didn't know how she did it, but she somehow managed to get a dinner together for the boys, even though she hardly remembered doing it.

Bonnie was tempted to call in sick the next morning, but figured the best thing she could do was keep to her routine as much as possible, and wait to see if David was going to try to make good on his threats.

'Besides, ' she thought. 'It looks like I'm going to have to stay on everyone's good side at work since I might be needing a lawyer soon.'

She didn't know how she was going to be able to pay for one, even if they gave her a good discount for being an employee. David had always kept track of the money, and she didn't have any idea how much there was. The only money she really knew about was what came in her pay check.

Bonnie thought about Greg when she drove past the gas station. She'd spent too much time listening to Sandy thanking her and didn't have time to stop, but she didn't see Greg's car there anyway.

'It's probably just as well, ' she thought. 'The last thing I need just now is getting caught seeing him again.' She could just picture David somehow spying on her and some creep in a beat up car taking pictures whenever she saw Greg.

Just like when she cooked dinner for her and the boys, Bonnie didn't remember much of that morning. She did what was required of her, but in reality, she was just going through the motions like a plane on auto pilot. The one thing that she did think of was her two friends. She needed them more than ever, and couldn't wait until she had a chance to talk to them. David didn't know about them, and just then, they were her secret ace in the hole.

"I think he's the one who's fucking someone else," said Shelly, as soon as Bonnie had finished explaining what had happened.

"What do you mean?" asked Bonnie. "David's not having an affair with anyone. Not only does he not have any time for an affair, it's just not him to have one. Besides, it's against his nature."

"Trust me, Darling, he's having one," replied Shelly, with an almost evil smirk.

"How do you know?" asked Bonnie, doubtfully.

"Well, you know what they say don't you? The first to point their finger is the most guilty."

"I think Shelly's right," put in Liz. "Besides, even if he isn't, it might shake him up a little if you accused him of having an affair. Anyway, you certainly don't have anything to lose."

"Well I don't believe he's even capable of messing around with someone," returned Bonnie.

"Hey, he's got a dick doesn't he? If he's got a dick, he's capable," replied Shelly.

"Even if he is, I wouldn't ever be able to find out for certain, much less prove it. I mean, how does one even go about finding out such things? And don't tell me I have to hire one of those low life private detectives!"