Chapter 25

Teri had the house picked up, beds changed, and laundry done by the time I got to thinking about checking in with her. The children were remarkably well behaved, but I did look forward to the apartment being finished, so I could have my space to myself again.

When I walked into the kitchen, Teri was setting out lunch for herself and the children. "Your lunch is on the table in the dining room," she said merrily. Having a roof over head had made a big difference in her outlook. Looking at her hands, I could see the effects of weeks and weeks of living out in the cold. Her nails were ground down to nothing, and the exposed skin looked red and angry.

I asked her to bring her lunch and join me in the dining room, so we could talk about how to run the house. She jumped to comply, and after seeing that the kids were fine, she came and sat at the table with me.

"Ok. We got you out of the cardboard box and into a house. Now that you are a little acclimated, tell me what you need as far as supplies, instructions, information, or anything else, to make this work."

She gave me a long, appraising, look. "I don't think you need to worry about supplies. I am perfectly capable of making a Target run whenever it's necessary, and as long as you trust me to spend your debit card. As for information, you are so thoughtful about so many things, that I can't think of anything that I just have to know. I'd love to have a clear idea of what you like to eat, and how often, but as long as you tell me when I fail to please you, and as long as you put up with me asking when I'm puzzled, I think we can roll with the punches and keep you in clean clothes and solid foods." She was smiling, so I knew there was at least, a bit of mirth in her statement.

"What do you need, that I haven't thought of, or provided?"

She was suddenly shy. "Honestly, Kevin. I am – we are – fine. You have been amazing, and I can never thank you enough but I will try ... Thank you."

Her eyes were wet as she said that, and I didn't want to go down the hero worship path, so I changed the subject, just slightly. "If you don't mind, tell me about your lives before things became difficult."

She eyed me just a bit, and then said, "I was so in love. We were THAT couple in college. He was the football hero, and I was the cheerleader who worshiped his every thought and deed. Everyone referred to us as the "it," couple. My girlfriends wanted a guy just like Cal, and his friends wanted a shot at me.

"Our pre-engagement period lasted almost two years, and in that time we were apart for classes and vacations. If we were at school, we were together. It took about an hour to get the housing office to reassign Cal's roommate out of his room, and me into it, and from then on, we were the perfect couple.

"For the next two years, we lived like one person. Cal loved to show me off to his parents, their friends, and his social set. The men seemed taken with my cheerleader personality, and the women tended to be just a little standoffish. I grew up over that time, and eventually it occurred to me that I was the engine of their distaste. So I toned down the cleavage, eased off on the make-up, and tried to listen far more than I spoke.

"It worked as far as Calvin's friends and family were concerned, but Cal wanted to put me up on his personal pedestal and show off. I was his girlfriend, then his fiancé, but all that time what I really was, was his special possession. We clicked but it wasn't until way after we got married, that I realized Cal thought he'd bought me, instead of marrying me.

"When I tried to explain that I was making his friends uncomfortable by showing so much skin, he said that if his friends didn't appreciate me exactly as I was, then he'd go find new friends. I should have seen through that statement and understood what he really meant, but I was in love, and he was my one-and-only.

"We had a good lifestyle. Our house was nice. Not flashy – just nice. The cars were always new, and reflected whatever was popular at that time, and our friends seemed to love to come to our house for dinner parties more than have us over to theirs.

"When I was expecting Judy, Cal loved to lift up my blouse, and kiss my big stomach, even in front of his parents, and friends. I loved the attention, but hated being put on display. It was like Cal just HAD to uncover me to prove I was really pregnant, and that he did it.

"After Timmy was born and I got my figure back, Cal decided we were done making babies and convinced me to have my tubes tied, which pleased me immensely. Instead of worrying about birth control and unexpected surprises, I felt freer to really enjoy our ... you know ... our time together."

She shook her head and blushed just a bit. "I REALLY can't believe I'm telling you these things.

When Cal's parents died, very close together, he seemed to need me more. That neediness turned into a bit of an obsession, I think, because that's when he started to talk again about wanting to show me off. Cal wanted us to start hitting clubs and parties where they drank, snorted, and smoked things.

"I didn't stand in his way, but I refrained from participating." Her face darkened from whatever memory she was experiencing. "As he got more into that kind of thing, he became more ... more ... I don't know ... maybe he was less sure of his masculinity back then, and needed to show me off to force his friends to see him as the big stud he always wanted to be. It started when he would pinch my nipples, through my blouse and bra, but it wasn't long before he was shoving his hands inside my bra, in front of people.

"When he started buying risqué outfits and demanding I wear them to those clubs, I wondered where it was all heading ... until the night we didn't go to a club, but to someone's house for a party in their basement. Pretty much everybody got high, and then almost everyone started getting naked.