I took one last serious look around the house to see if there was anything that I wanted or had missed. I could not help feeling the sadness that overcame me. The memories throughout the years captured me once more. It took me a few to departmentalize them and accept the fact that I would carry them with me. Having regained my focus it became quickly apparent to me that I had taken everything I wanted with me. What I normally took with me on these last-minute unexpected business trips had been removed. Just like they would normally.

I had told my wife of twenty-five years that I would once again park my company car at the airport. Just like I always did in the past. In truth, it was still at the office along with every other item that belonged to them.

At the age of forty-five with having twenty-five years in management, I had just taken early retirement for three-quarters of the level that I would get with if I stayed on for another five years. After taking full advantage of my share options, which I had sold the very next market day.

Every year I would get very good performance bonuses. Instead of taking the cash I had mine deposited by the corporation directly into my company’s retirement account. The Chief Financial Officer after a few heated discussions finally gave into my request and had done it. That way it was never part of my income. The bonus was never taxed, and the full amount went into my retirement.

When setting up my retirement he had to admitt that he personally wished that he could have been wise enough to see what I was thinking because the monthly cheque they would be sending me would exceed my regular pay cheque.

My retirement was now set up to be paid directly into my new account by direct payment. I had set up a new account via the local branch of Bank of America for where I was moving to. On Friday I had deposited my last paycheque into it. It was huge because it included my accrued vacation pay. I held the cheque in hand for the shares that I had sold. Eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars net after prepaying taxes was a nice egg nest for anyone.

The company was thrilled to do it because they could promote someone into my former position for half the pay, but it came with a catch. I had to agree become a consultant when the design team got stuck.

I could not afford to deposit that cheque in the bank until after the end of today. Just in case it was found out about. That way it could not be claimed as part of the marital assets. Those expensive suits I always had to always wear all except for one were now at goodwill with everything else I no longer needed or wanted.

I was downsizing my life in a wonderful way. What I considered as personal items or keepsakes I had packed and loaded. With the difference in tax rate from California to where I was going, I was going to end up being way ahead. Plus, the cost of living standards in the place I was moving to would be a lot less.

The small U Haul truck I had rented for a one-way trip had been leased through my parent’s family trust in my mother’s brother uncle John’s name was loosely loaded with all the things I was bringing with me. He had arranged it for me from his end.

I had paid the fees in cash to make sure there was nothing here that could be associated with my name. I was leaving the west coast, going back to my roots in a small town in the middle of nowhere as my wife would put it.

I no longer had to live with the job I had grown to hate over time. That was thanks to my wife who had made it clear by her recent behavior that my obligation to her was done. I was looking forward to a simple life once again where your next-door neighbor was a mile or two away and not just two hundred yards across the street.

I knew full well that my wife had forgotten that I still owned the farm my parents had left for me. Hell, she had hated the place so much that she wouldn’t even go back for my family’s funeral. A car accident had taken them away far too early. As she put it people like her wouldn’t be caught in an uncivilized place like that. It had been that very thought of hers that had convinced me that what I was doing was being done in the right way.

Yeah, I had married a stuck up self-centered snob who had always believed she was better than anyone else. I thought I had tamed her of her ways as our three daughters were growing up.

Sadly, I learned the hard way in the last few months that I had not. It had me wondering if I ever truly had known Kendra. Had I like so many men who came into her life bought the illusion she created for herself. Did she really know who she really was? It was now obvious to me because of what I had learned that I never had.

Thanks to Kendra’s own conduct I had woke up and seen the reality of our relationship in a new light. As a result, I began putting things in order. My desires, wants, and my future had changed as a result.

Surprisingly, I was filled for the most part with a feeling of contentment I had not felt in a long time. My freedom from the bondage that my life had become was going to have a hell of a cost on a lot of people.

I had left the family estate in my parent's names and had never closed out the family's trust after their death five years ago. I don’t know why I hadn’t done that but considering what was starting to happen it was now a major blessing. It could not be considered a marital asset since I had never accepted ownership.

The only thing I had done with the farm was rent out the ten quarter sections of land to some of the local farmers who deposited their rent cheques directly into the family trust account. I had left it untouched deliberately because at that time I wanted to someday build my wife her dream house. It was now building a nice emergency fund when needed.

With my knowledge, I could make my living repairing the tractors and heavy equipment instead of supervising the designing and building of them. A family relative was working on getting my parent's old homestead ready. I could stay with them until it was ready for living in again if I had to, so I was not worried about anything.

I had called Kendra my wife to remind her that I would be leaving on my business trip before she arrived home from hers. I also wanted to verify that they had not changed her airplane schedule. She said she was looking forward to being home after two weeks of being forced to live out of a suitcase. I had planned everything down to the minute.

My three daughters and their husbands would be arriving two hours before her arrival home to open up the house for the surprise birthday party. We had conspired together to get it all done. One of my daughters had even invited her mother’s boss and his spouse. All it took was me suggesting the idea disguised in an off the cuff remark. His wife had said they would gladly come because her husband was always bragging about her accomplishments. This would give her a face to the lady she had heard so much about.

None of my daughters knew how big of a surprise it really was going to be. Over fifty family members and friends were looking forward to coming for the potluck supper to help celebrate the wife’s belated birthday.

We were celebrating it late because her birthday had fallen while she was away with the rest of the management team, she told us she had been sent with. It was just one of those important things she could not get out of Kendra had explained to us all as she prepared to leave. I had known better but had not said a thing.

I had told my daughters that I had videoed my birthday wishes for my wife and put them on a disk. Although I had to fly out, I wanted to be here with them in spirit so I thought this would be the best way to convey my personal wishes. My only request to my daughters was that they played my recording at the very end just before the party started to slow down. That way all would know what my thoughts were concerning their mother. All they had to do was turn the huge patio tv on and hit play for it to start. I left the time to do it up to them.

It was time to text my oldest daughters’ husband to let him know that I would text him my new number when I arrived at my destination. I also gave him my new email address. We had worked together for a few years. David was one of the newest rising stars with my former employer and he had met his wife my eldest daughter through me. Being an accountant, he had been in on my retirement plans.

As far as he knew I was doing this all because I had found out about my wife and her lover. He had doubts until I showed him the report I got from the private investigators. He was one of those who had to see it to be able to believe it types before he could accept anything. In our state he was a rarity.

I had a bit of regret about what was going to happen tonight. Partly because he, himself would be hit with an eye-opening truth bomb. David did not deserve for it to be revealed like this. The way the truth had to come out had left it impossible to cut out.

It was his suggestion that I wipe out all contact information about me online even going to the point of closing my Facebook page. Which I did when I knew she was on the private plane home. Let her sweat it out not knowing anything he had said. She may be my mother in law, but she deserves it after what she did. Let the bitch try to figure it all out.

I agreed because of our state and its stupid laws she gets half anyway. The last thing I did was send copies of all our current bank balances and a list of any debts to my lawyer which were minimal. According to the last property tax assessment our house was worth about nine hundred thousand. Which I thought was low anyway. Even with that low figure with my half share, I could buy a brand new home as good as what I was leaving and furnish it with cash left over because where I was moving to was in part of the country that was not a happening place.

I took my cell phone and dropped it into the small garbage can beneath the kitchen sink since I was exiting our home for the last time. I looked around to make sure that nothing I had done would be noticeable to anyone until the party was over. It was sad to be leaving Lodi California my home for these last twenty-five years for the last time.

I was headed back home to the badlands of South Dakota as a nobody the same way I had left. I honestly had figured out that there were fewer than ten people outside of the family who would miss me.

It was knowing that my video when shown was going to alter a lot of people’s lives was the reason, I had a big smile on my face. I stopped at the retail cellphone shop of a nationwide company and bought a new cell phone. It took them a few minutes, but the manager was able to get me a local number for the area I was moving to.

Once I was back in the truck, I made one phone call. When the female answered I said this is the new number I’m headed out. She replied I got it. I then shut it off to save the mini charge all new cellphones have in case I had an emergency. I was looking forward to the drive east in the middle of March before the weather got too hot. The country would be pleasant to see as it was covered in the rebirth that comes with spring.

********

Kendra and I had met at an Aerosmith concert back in the day. She was a local girl, yeah, a California girl. I was from out of state having been hired right out of university thanks to a recruiter who saw my potential. We got married a year later, on the same day. My parents flew out for the wedding.

I was employed in research and development. I worked for a company that designed and mass produced farming equipment. Within three years I was the head of the division. Kendra was in importing and marketing. Her expertise was the Asian market. We both had been working for the same firms for years. Even at her current age, Kendra was a head-turner.

She still captured a room when she walked into it. The years had been kind to her as her figure pretty much remained the same as it was when we married. She still dressed in class with clothing that accented her body assets quite well. I couldn’t say the same. I had the typical dad's body pot belly and all. Working behind a draft table while sitting on my ass had taken its toll on me.

********

Kendra Waite was looking forward to returning home after being away with her boss and friend with benefits Eric Hopper for the last two weeks. She was sorry that her husband Colin had been called away unexpectedly but that happened a lot with two powerful people who had careers.

Being away with Eric had been a much-needed break but she was looking forward to getting back to her normal routine. Sex every night for two weeks was very enjoyable for a short period as it helped to keep one feeling young and appreciated. Yet she preferred making love twice a week with her husband on a regular basis.

After their private small jet landed, she cleared the airport and got into her company car heading for home.

Once Kendra got home, she was surprised to see the family all there. All three of her daughters and their husbands had made it. Her eldest was now twenty-three and the twins a year younger. Over the next few hours, the huge celebration was in full swing. Kenda loved the attention she was being given by family, close friends, and some coworkers.

Kendra was surprised that her boss and his wife showed up around an hour into the party, after all he and she had just spent two weeks together. When she asked who invited them her oldest daughter admitted that she had. His wife had said that your boss was always bragging about you, and this was a perfect way to meet you. That comment had made Kendra feel special and proud.

Finally, around eight pm our three daughters each congratulated their mother for reaching another major milestone. Mom one of the twins said Dad did not want to be left out, so he recorded a special greeting for you. Then they turned the eighty-inch plasma screen on and hit the play button on the DVD player.

The crowd on the patio got quiet. Everybody heard my voice saying Happy Birthday Dear. I went on to explain that I was going to highlight a few things from the last year. I highlighted a few humorous things before getting serious. Like the birth of our first grandson and the marriage of our last single daughter. Our last anniversary and our plans for an upcoming second honeymoon.

“It’s been a busy year,” I said. “I believed that we as a couple were finally heading in a united direction. I was looking forward to doing romantic weekends like we did before the children came along. Then I came home from a trip overseas to find this little gem on our internal security system. It was a revelation for me because what I learned that day changed my whole world. I found out that my wife and I had apparently lived our lives with two different realities.”

The ten-minute clip that started to play was of my wife and three daughters talking about having friends with benefits on the side without their spouses knowing. It got very quiet as the clip was revealing their own comments about the time spent with their lovers. Who they were? What it was like? What they had done with their lovers and when. How each of the others had been protectors when needed by the one.

I guess I must have been a bit shocked the first time I saw it because it seemed so unreal to me. Four women talking about their sexual conquests was not normal for me. I had to watch it more than once to accept my new reality.

It was interesting to hear how easy they thought it was to pull it off behind their spouses back. Kendra bragged that she was in her third friend with benefits relationship in the last ten years. She said that each one had brought to her such different and exciting experiences until she was tired of them. She proudly proclaimed she was already shopping around to see what was available for her fourth.

Though not intentional it was obvious that each of the woman’s husbands came across as being completely oblivious to how these women really viewed them. Keeping their spouses in line was easy all they had to do was keeping them believing that they were the most important thing in their lives.

The details brought up about their playtime as they called it was quite revealing to some of their playmate's spouses who were also in attendance. For many, this would be a night to remember.

I came back on the screen to say, “I had to wonder if they knew they were being recorded by our internal security system. If they had then they had to have deliberately set me up. It had to be the sickest joke pulled on me in my life. The second time I viewed I was prepared. I paused the clip and recorded down any name fully identifying them.”

“If not, it said a lot about their true feeling towards their spouses. Just their words were not enough for me to believe what I had heard,” I said, “but it did create a bit of doubt until I learned the persons named did exist. The next clip will show you what I found thanks to the private investigators I hired.”

The second clip was of my wife and her boss's last business trip. It was taken over the first week of their two weeks stay. It caught it all, the long hours laying naked on the beach at the only beach that allowed it in Vancouver British Columbia. The one hotel suite they shared at the Westin Bayshore hotel. The hotel's registry showing that they registered as a Mr. and Mrs. Their romantic horse and carriage ride around Stanley Park as they whispered sweet nothings to each other. Those romantic dinners, the night boat ride around the cove, and their day of whale watching.

To most who had no clue, it would come across as a couple on their honeymoon. By the time the video was done everyone knew that I had been played like a fool more than once. The last words I had recorded said it all!

“I guess this was your birthday present to yourself my dear. To celebrate your forty-third birthday with the newest love of your life had to be thrilling. Kendra, I can’t prove you made love with your boss Eric Hopper every night during your two-week mini-vacation, but more importantly, I can’t say you didn’t!” I said through the video.

“I do know for a fact that your room only had one double bed. To my three sons-in-law, I must ask do you truly know what your spouses are doing behind your back? As you have just seen it appears that I didn’t. To those who have children are you sure your children are yours? Are mine, mine?” I said before continuing.

“How many of these special business trips have you taken Kendra over the years have been nothing but your personal playtime with your latest conquest? Was I that bad of a lover and husband for all these years? It appears that in your eyes I must have been by the length of time your special relationships have been going on. In this new reality, I saw just how little I meant to you. If you were that unhappy with our relationship, why didn’t you just ask for a divorce?”

“One final question Kendra. Is the reason you are considered such a valuable employee to Mr. Hopper your boss because you willingly spread your legs when he requests you to? I have to ask that because of what we now know what the truth is! Just what is he paying you for? Does he pay you extra to get kinky? Can you tell me, just what is the going rate is for a married man to have his own personal whore at his beck and call?”

“I wish I could be there. I would love to hear Eric Hopper's own answers to these questions. I believe that his wife if she were in attendance, would want to hear his answers too.” I finished as the video screen went black.

The silence on the patio was deafening. No one had a clue what to say or do. My statement had raised a lot of questions and had destroyed the reputation of more than a few.

Even in California where there are no real societal norms, everybody felt uncomfortable being caught up in what was going on. The police officers here won’t even look at thefts under a thousand dollars. That was part of the price we pay to live in California. It’s so bad in parts of the state that many corporations have closed locations because of the amount of brazen daylight thefts in their retail stores.

Many would end up having a heated discussion about our situation with the spouses when they got home that night. What had been a great surprise party was now completely destroyed. One thing I knew for sure this was one celebration all would remember the rest of their lives.

I was later told that my wife Kendra and our three daughters had tears running down their faces. I wondered if it were because they could see the consequences of their conduct or was it because they had just been caught. I seriously doubted that any of them had any concerns or thoughts about me at that time.

The icing on the cake was when Eric Hopper's wife a beautiful woman who was just thirty-seven years old named Carin Hopper pulled two legal envelopes out serving my wife and her husband. I heard later that Carin had taken great pleasure in slapping my soon to be exes face while giving her a bunch of not so polite new names.

My wife and her latest lover where now being divorced by their respective spouses. Each was now being faced with the consequences of being caught and exposed in such a public manner. One would wonder what they thought about their new reality.

Eric was stunned that he had been caught and exposed in front of his wife. There was no way he could ever take what happened back. Both had seen and heard my proof. He had thought his wife had no clue because she had never doubted or questioned anything. That’s when he clued into the fact that she was my lawyer. Kendra had caused all of this. He was going to have to fire the slut if he was going to have any chance to save his marriage.

Revealing the difference between my wife’s and my world had just destroyed five marriages. My three sons in law told their wives not to bother coming home until they were ready to tell the total truth about everything. Even though the younger generation had different views on everything including morals, principals, and standards there were just some things that were a bridge too far. But this is California and its okay. Sadly, it had to take something like this for them to learn it.

********

I drove until I felt tired. I pulled off at a motel six and parked where my truck could be seen from the office. After getting booked in I went back and got one of my suitcases taking it and the new cellphone into the room.

After a shower, I got ready for bed. Then I got ready to charge the phone. Curiosity caused me to turn it on to see if I had a message from the lady who had my number. I did. The text said home from the party call me. Carin my divorce lawyer answered before the third ring.

“Hi, darling,” I said as soon as she answered. “How did your day go?”

“Better than we expected. Eric and I drove over to the house together at about three. There were about sixty there in total. Everybody was in a really good mood. For five hours the party went great. You were right when you said they would not expect a thing,” Carin said. “Your wife Kendra was thrilled being treated like she was the Queen Bee.

“Then just as things were winding down your daughters played your recorded video. As a result of what you revealed, I got three new clients for the firm thanks to you,” Carin said as she paused to catch her breath.

“As soon as the video of your wife and daughters came on, they realized that they had forgotten to turn the internal security system off on that day. It was kind of funny to hear four women say, “shit we are fucked” at the same time.” Carin paused to laugh.

“Everyone was stunned to hear the four women openly discuss their friends with benefits relationships behind their spouses back in such a casual and unconcerned way,” Carin said. “Then the clip with our spouse's romantic adventure put it over the top. Everyone knew for sure that the first conversation they heard was true. As soon as I served our spouses everybody ran for cover. It was like someone yelled fire at your house.”

“Your three sons-in-law asked if I was a divorce lawyer. I said yes that’s why I served them both. I got three retainer cheques on the spot. It now looks like your daughters’ playmates' relationships may be headed to divorce too. I drove Eric’s company car home and left him there,” Carin explained joyfully.

“Did they try to call me?” I asked.

“After the mad rush to get the hell out of there by most of your friends and extended family your wife did try to call you. We who were still there watched as she found your ringing cellphone in the garbage. That act of trashing your cell spoke volumes without saying a word. It was like you were telling your family you were done with them all,” Carin explained. “My husband stood silent not knowing just what to say as he thought he was being so careful.”

Smiling I responded, “the countdown is on. Six months from the day we filed our divorces it can be granted. I can’t say I regret finding the conversation on the security systems because without it I would not have met you.”

“Hopefully, it will go faster than we figure. Maybe they will be willing to resolve it all quickly without a fight. Do you still want everything sold and turned to cash?” Carin asked.

“Yes, unless she can find a way to buy me out. With the exodus of people leaving California that might be a better option for me for if that’s the way she wants to go,” I said. “Even my former employer is now considering making a move because the local council is considering defunding the police. Tomorrow for her the panic will set in.”

“Your right I would love to see her face when she finds out your no longer with your former employer,” Carin said. “I will put my law practice up for sale tomorrow. I told my sister, and her husband is who is like a brother that you’re on the way. He’s looking forward to meeting you. He still believes it was your influence that got him his tractor dealership a few years back.”

“This new reality that they have created for all of us has consequences that have just begun. I wonder if they still will be laughing about it all when we're done.” I replied before saying goodbye.

********

Kendra Waite was standing there holding her husband’s cellphone in her hands. She needed to tell him that Eric Hopper meant nothing to her. She wanted him to know that his three daughters were his. Then it finally sunk in. He no longer cared what the truth was. This was his way of publicly letting everyone know that he was done with them all.

She and her ongoing lies were to blame. She had been so self-centered that she had never thought about the consequences of getting caught. It’s hard to admit to oneself that the fun, the excitement, and sex she had gotten on the side. In the end, was not worth what it was going to cost.

From this, there was no going back. Lodi was still a small town in a lot of ways they may forgive but they will never forget. There would always be whispers behind her back.

Colin with what he had done had sent a message. He had just written them all out of his life at least until he got over his anger. Though it might take him a while he always had forgiven her bad conduct in the past. Perhaps he would again. That was when Kendra began to hold on to the belief that in time, she would be able to get him to come back.

Kendra admitted to herself that she hadn’t planned her lifestyle but had slowly evolved into it over the years. Being progressive-minded it was normal for her to accept no responsibility and blame someone else. She never could see anything wrong in what she was doing. After all, no one was getting hurt. Having gotten away with it once she soon found herself in a second. Eric Hopper was her third friends with benefits relationship.

Until today she had never believed she would be caught. Colin and she had been so busy with their careers than when they were home, they had always focused on each other and in their own way had left the world outside their front door. It had been her own stupidity that tipped him off.

Now because of her conduct, even her daughters were facing divorce. Kendra was having a hard time figuring out why Colin had done it this way instead of dealing with it privately like he always did. For him, this was so far beyond his character. Was what she has done in his eye’s really that bad after all it did not hurt anyone.

********

I thought back to when I had discovered the video of my wife and daughters talking about their extra activities six months ago. I never thought that it would lead to where I was now.

Carin and I had grown up less than twenty miles from each other but because of our age, we had never met. I was out of high school before she even started.

I had booked an appointment with her firm to start looking into the possibility of a divorce. By the luck of the draw, I had gotten assigned her. After retaining her services, I showed her the video clip. That was when she went into shock.

The man my wife was talking about having great sex with she believed might be her husband. It took her going into her personal Facebook page for me to be able to identify for sure that we were talking about the same man.

We both realized that day our marriages were over. We were now bonded together because of our spouse's conduct. We decided that day after a long conversation about her ethics to join forces and work together.

As we investigated together our own relationship with each other had grown. At first, we kept our professional relationship just that, but we found ourselves helping each other in the healing process. In a matter of weeks, we had become friends.

Unless one has gone through it you can’t even comprehend the betrayal, anger, hurt, and hate you go through. We ended up having a lot of phone conversations working those emotional things out. That’s how our relationship started. Out of our own mutual needs, we found ourselves supporting each other.

I don’t know how it came out, about our roots but it helped to draw us together even more. We were both kindred spirits because of some of our life experiences. We both had memories of places we both knew. When you both laugh with each other about what you did way back when it draws you in. Those little things we talked about what we did when we were young lightened our mood at times.

Neither one of us was looking but somehow it happened. It had reached the point last week after dealing with her daughters that we were forced to admit to the other we had fallen in love. So far, our relationship had been strictly platonic. We planned to keep it that way until our divorces were granted because we wanted our divorces kept simple.

It had been twelve days ago just after I had said goodbye to Kendra when Carin called. She had just told her daughters about their father, and they hadn’t believed her. I asked her if her oldest daughter was still there with her; she had said yes. I asked her to put her daughter on.

I told her daughter that their mother was my lawyer and that I had things I could show them but because of our legal relationship, their mother couldn’t disclose or discuss them.

I explained that I had no idea who your mother was when I hired her to handle my divorce. It wasn’t until she first viewed what my evidence showed I had that we learned we both had the same problem. I suggested that before they passed judgment upon what they both heard that they should be open enough to view what I had.

Both Carin’s daughters showed up at my place about a half an hour later. I showed the young ladies the house's security system and how it worked. You could turn the outside off before entering the house and if you forgot to turn the internal one-off it would automatically record any sound or movement. I had thought they needed to understand how the video itself was created before showing what was recorded.

I then had Amber and Meadow watch the discussion between my wife and our daughters. They were shocked. The fact that my wife was discussing her fathers’ private parts had to be disturbing. Even worse for them was hearing her tell where he had put it.

“This is what your mother saw after I hired her. She because of her ethics could not disclose to you how she knew,” I explained. “As we speak right now your father, and my wife are in Vancouver British Columbia on their semi-annual phony business trip. I have investigators getting both your mother and me further proof. When Kendra my wife returns, she will be served with the petition for divorce.”

It ended up that I had a long talk with the two teenage girls about vows and what they mean. I brought out the point that forgiveness was easy. The problem for all concerned will be getting over the issue of trust.

“My daughters,” I said, “have learned that there are no consequences for the long term bad conduct of their mother. She is teaching them to do the same thing. I don’t know if they have or haven’t that will be for others to sort out.”

“As you heard Kendra said she has been doing this for years. I don’t blame your father as much but in the eyes of your mother, he has just as much quilt. Anyone in your mother and my situation must ask themselves were our spouses lying when they said their marriage vows to us years ago,” I explained.

“It’s forced us to look back on our whole marriage with a different understanding. Things now appear to be a lot different than we thought,” I explained. “We were just to blinded by life to see. Looking at what we have found out in these new eyes it appears that they were.”

“Both your mother and I because of their conduct have had our whole existence torn apart. If it was not for our children, everything we knew about our life comes across as if it was nothing but a bunch of lies.” I pointed out.

I was shocked when Meadow Carin’s youngest said “I see both my mothers and your situation has more problems than what we have discussed. If they had any respect for either one of you at all it should have stopped them from doing it in the first place.”

I had never thought about that, and I told her so. I said that I was surprised to see such insight coming from one so young.

As soon as they left, I phoned Carin to inform her how it went. I said I hoped it helped. It did.

As I later found out. Carin told me her daughters found me easy to talk to. “Mom” Amber said, “his manor is much like your father. He listens, then pauses before he speaks and when he does you can see his insights coming out. Like, granddad, he tries to bring out what he has to say in ways that make it easy for us to comprehend. He doesn’t try to complicate things and makes the complicated seem simple.”

“That’s because like me he’s from back home,” Carin explained. “There is still a lot of country in that man. He’s decided to move back to restore his fathers’ home and enjoy life instead of being caught up in this one anymore. Here everything is a rat race. It’s always go go go. Colin is finally realizing like me the quality of the life we left behind as we grew up and we both want that kind of life back. As he says it, he’s done ‘keeping up with the jones.’ He’s going back to a simpler way of life.”

********

At six the next morning I was on my way. I got back on the interstate 80 east by tonight I hoped to be out of Nevada into the northern part of Utah near the Wyoming border. I was taking my time to take in some of the sights I had longed to see. Surprisingly, all things considered I was at peace.

That night after checking into a suite I checked my new email account. I had a message to call my oldest son in law. Thankfully he had provided his phone number.

“Hi, David,” I said first thing.

“Hi dad, glad you called,” he said. “I’ve got a lot to tell you. But first where in the hell are you?”

“I’m on the road licking my wounds,” I said with a serious chuckle.

“I’ll convey those words to the person who asked me to ask if I heard from you,” David said. “It has been a crazy day. Kendra showed up at the office first thing this morning demanding to know where you had been sent to. She had decided to catch a plane and fly out to work things out with you. She still thought she could save the relationship,” he said before continuing.

“When she was told you had retired, she asked for confirmation, so I got called to come down and talk to her. I told her you had taken early retirement and were in the process of moving. She had to ask where? I said I did not know. She called me a lair saying you know where the retirement cheques will be sent to or can find out. I said if I released that information, I could be fired. It went downhill from there. I had to have security escort her out,” He informed me.

I shouldn’t have laughed but I did.

“Oh, it gets better dad, Kerri called and said that her mom got fired right after Eric Hopper got served with your five million dollar alienation of affection suit from some lawyer in Vancouver. She had to call a taxi to get home. Kendra went to a labor lawyer and gave him another one to deal with. Somehow, they got him served around four this afternoon,” David explained. “Kerri wants to come home and to see our son. I told her we are doing nothing till I had confirmed my son is mine and if she doesn’t like that she can take me to court. Kerri claims she hasn’t slept with anyone since we were married. I responded that is not what your own words claim in the recorded chat.”

“Well, at least they are not bothering me about it,” I said with a chuckle.” I’m taking the time to see some of the sights I have wanted to see.” I said with glee in my voice. “This mini-vacation is turning around to be the best thing I have done in a while. I finally taking the time to look at things that I have driven right by so many times before. The question is are you really going to divorce her David?”

“The twins were able to get their clothing and for now have moved in with Kendra,” David said. “My wife is staying there too. All are finding no one wants anything to do with them. Right now, everyone’s too raw to think straight. As for divorce, it boils down to what the DNA proves. If he’s not my son there’s no reason for us to stay together. Right now, it appears that like you, I got sold a package of goods based on what she felt I needed to see to be reeled in like a fish on a line.”

“I have had about six months to work out my feelings. Believe me, it takes about that long to figure things out that you can live with. So, give it time and don’t rush into anything,” I said. “Time has allowed me to get on with my life and has given me the chance to restart my life. It's now headed in a new direction, and I’m actually excited about it.”

“So, you’re not coming back,” David said.

“Only if one of my lawyers needs me for court,” I said. “The place I am moving to because of the tax difference and the cost of living difference I will be way ahead financially. Besides, the CEO wants me to work as an advisor from time to time. I can do that from my new home with a secured line and my computer. So, I’ll never be truly out of it. I told him I was willing as long as I didn’t have to wear a monkey suit or a tie.”

“Well Dad they are already saying that they wish you were here,” David said. “I learned that most would throw their ideas at you, and you would point out what would be good about it and what could be wrong. Is this your new cellphone number?”

“Yes, it is but for now keep it to yourself for now,” I said. “Last thought, the next time you talk to Kendra, and she asks about me tell her I said she can always go back to one of her other friends for benefits, after all, they all had accepted her used goods before. If she argues about it just say well for the last ten years you have proven he was nothing but your back up plan.”

I didn’t know it, but David had recorded our conversation and sent it on to my wife and my three daughters. I would learn later that Kendra had not been impressed. She thought I had no right to advise my son in law in anything. After all, I was just a man.

My daughters were beginning to realize the cost of their following their mother's lifestyle choices. Each of their husbands wanted as little contact with them as possible. They were beginning to turn on their mother.

The next call was to Carin who was excited to hear from me. She and her staff had been swamped with another five wronged parties because of my wife’s surprise birthday party. It seems that because of what happened one or two of Kendra's former partners had been discovered. She knew about Kendra termination and said it was an attempt by Eric to try to get her interested in reconciliation, but she wasn’t going there.

He doesn’t realize it but the board of directors of his company had already talked to her this evening explaining everything. Kendra would be hired back and elevated in her position, and he would be demoted for using company assets for personal reasons. She was just that good at what she did.

Carin had broken the news to her daughters that she was moving back to South Dakota after her divorce was final. That if they wanted to stay in California, they would have to find their own place to live or move in with their dad. Carin said I’ve reached the age where I want a simpler life.

Meadow asked, “is it because you have fallen in love with Colin Waite?”

Carin said, “I told her that I had but neither of us had acted upon it. I had to explain to her how It had happened. I had to tell them our whole story from beginning to now.”

Meadow said, “I hope it makes you feel young again.”

Carin had said, “it did.”

Then she told her daughters that they were both wanted in her life and were welcome to come with her when she moved back to be with me and her family.

Carin said, “I told them that you are old enough to decide for yourself what kind of person you will be and what kind of life you want. Learn from what I am dealing with.”

That’s when it hit me the odds of Kendra ever finding another man like me again because of the publicity of our breakup was highly unlikely. As long as she remained in the area anyone who knew of the situation would pass on her because of her history before they got serious. Her own conduct had ruined forever the chance to have an honest loving relationship with any man. I wondered how long it for her to have that reality sink in?

********

It was about lunchtime when I pulled into my hometown. I had taken over three days to get here. I found a ma and pa dinner and had gone in to eat lunch before heading out to the farm. During my last week at work, I had arranged for the electrical to be hooked up. I was waiting for my burger and fries drinking a coffee.

“Son of a bitch is that you Colin Waite.” The old-timer said as he walked in and sat his big ass down at my booth. “it’s good to see you, son, you're looking good.”

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

“Uncle John where’s the wife of yours,” I responded with a smile.

“She and our daughters are out at the house getting it ready. I had to go over and solve some minor plumbing problems. The house for the most part is basically move-in ready. They cleaned up the house got the refrigerator repaired and working. Replaced the fuses on the old stove. You will most likely want to update and modernize,” Uncle John said. “We now live in town as Robert and his wife have taken over the farm.”

“Good order some food on me and we will get caught up on things,” I said.

It was nice to be back with my family.

Before heading out to my childhood home I stopped at the local grocery store and started picking up the basics. It was surprising to see how much cheaper food prices in general were. Here they were not taxed to death and the price of things reflected that. I had filled two carts up by the time I got to the checkout. The cashier and I had gone to school together, so we got caught up a bit as she ran me through.

When I got to my family home, I was surprised how good it really looked from the outside. It had been a long time since I had lived in a completely brick home. My aunt and cousins came out to greet me. Then they helped me bring in the groceries. As soon as we put them away the coffee pot was turned on.

After they left, I took a close look at the house. Uncle John was right. I would have to have some major updating done. I called him to get a couple of names of good construction crews that he would use. He did better than that two hours later he brought one of the managers of them to the house. It gave me time to unpack some of my stuff.

After going through it from head to toe we decided that it would cost less to build a brand new house. The old house would have to be stripped to the bones. All the electrical wiring would have to be replaced because they were so old, the lead pipes once standard because what they were made of had to go.

The barn was still in good shape with a new roof and a few boards replaced and a paint job it would be as good as new. The only major thing I would have to do in it was electrical. The stalls would be taken out so I could use it as my shop when I worked on tractors and heavy equipment repairs. It would be easy to rig up a system for when I had to pull out to repair or replace engines.

I called Carin that night and told her what I had learned. We decided we wanted a one-floor house with a small cold cellar for storage built on a four-foot crawl space that would be completely doubled insulated for the cold winters. I had to promise to go to her brother in laws dealership to introduce myself the next day.

I called the contractor and told him what I wanted. He said he had a few samples of plans that he would bring over for me to look at after the workday tomorow.

I drove the truck rental back to the nearest rental shop. They gladly drove me to the nearest car dealership. I bought I nice slightly used ford truck that had almost no mileage. Got it transferred and insured. Before returning the rental, I had hit the bank and made a deposit picked up a few blank checks and ordered some. The dollar and seventy-five cents difference a gallon for gas shocked me. Here it was a lot less.

I then drove over to introduce myself to Carin’s older brother in law. It turned out I’d gone to high school with him. He offered me a job right on the spot. I could start when I was ready. That was when I told him of my plans and the relationship, I had with the corporation going forward. He had to do a little teasing about his sisters and my relationship. He told me he had never really understood his sister's in laws first husband. He wasn’t alone with that thought neither did I.

The contractor and I worked out a price for the building of a four-bedroom home with an extra-large two-car garage to be built behind the old house and decided to put in the newest septic system. Gas for heat, water, and cooking. With a large gas generator for electricity when needed. It would have an open floor plan with a laundry/ mud room at the back which would have a door to the big garage. The entry to the cold cellar and the furnace room would be off the side of the garage going down beneath the house. The four-foot crawl space would be double insulated, including the underneath the main floor. Access to it would be from the furnace room. It was nice to know that what I should get out of the divorce would more than cover the cost.

I had just finished talking to Carin letting her know that I’d touched base with her brother and that I had signed the contract for the building of the new house. When David called.

“Kendra has hired a private firm to find you Dad,” David said. “She still believes you two can work it out.”

“There’s nothing to work out. There is nothing left that I want. If we got back together, she’d just do the same again in a different way,” I said. “It’s sad that someone so intelligent is incapable of seeing that simple truth. No wonder this country is so screwed up.”

I was surprised because David got very quiet. I had to ask if he was still there.

“Yeah, I am,” he said. “It’s just that your statement has made me look at things with a different view. Your statement is so simple that it is so profound. We have a lot of so-called brilliant people who can’t see a simple truth. That’s why we have so many problems in our government they focus on what is in front of them. Being so intelligent they cannot see what created the problem in the first place. The result is that whatever they do it makes it worse and it's always the other guy's fault.”

“David your mother in law will never see what she did as the problem,” I explained. “I am the problem because of the way I am looking at it. My views are too old fashioned for her to comprehend or understand. I’m not progressive and not keeping up to date with what's now considered acceptable by those who are with it.”

“She has allowed the changing views of what liberalism is in California to change her. I didn’t. Like many of their kind she just believes I need to be retrained to think the right way. She couldn’t handle me having an affair, but I’m just supposed to accept the fact that she has hers and live with it. She not sorry for her conduct she just sorry that she got caught,” I said.

“Damn dad! Your right.” He replied. “I’m going to have to have a long talk with your daughter Kerri about this because she has got to see it from your side. She’s got to learn that marriage means equality in all things. My own father used to say what's good for the goose is good for the gander. The way mother was acting it is now obvious that she viewed you as nothing but a means to an end.”

“David, may I suggest that you demand that the two of you go for marriage counseling before deciding to divorce. If she agrees to go that route, try to find one that has a conservative point of view. By exposing her to the other side in a personal way may be the only thing that will counter the progressive view she has grown up with,” I said. “She was exposed to it with me but her mother it appears has countered any effect I had on her growing up. Unless she is willing to find that balance you guys don’t have a chance. For your own sanity, you will have to walk away.”

********

I started working on the barn tearing out the stalls. It kept me busy. The physical work was demanding but it was good to be working muscles again. I found myself enjoying it. The added plus that each day I worked manually the better I began to feel about myself. There is nothing like stopping after calling it a day and being able to see what you had accomplished. It develops a sense of pride inside of oneself that I had not experienced in a long time.

Although we talked every night it was on a Thursday night that I got a call that surprised the heck out of me. It was from Carin.

“Daughters felt I needed cheering up,” she said. “They had called my brother in law to inform them of our divorcing. They didn’t know he already had known for over four months. Meadow explained how I had found out about their fathers cheating and mentioned how they had met you. Joseph told them that he had gone to school with you and explained why he believed you had gotten him the dealership years ago. He told my daughters I owe that man a lot. It came out that you had moved back to take over your family’s farm that you owned. They ended talking about us for about an hour. Slowly everything came out. They were surprised that their favorite uncle approved of our relationship as it is.”

“Wow please make sure that they don’t let that information out. Kendra has hired a firm to try to find me,” I said. “She’s convinced herself that if she can just talk to me, she can get me to forgive and come back.”

“How did you find that out,” Carin asked?

“I call my oldest son in law at the office, he’s keeping me informed,” I said. “Plus, in talking to me he’s starting to get a focus on how he is going to approach things going forward.”

“No problem with that,” Carin said. “My daughters won’t tell anyone after what they have done.”

Being curious I asked, “What did they do?”

“Used my credit card and booked me a flight. I arrive at the regional airport at eight pm on Friday night. I return on Sunday evening. Carin explained. “Quit panning about him and start living the dream mom they said, you both deserve it.”

********

I was there waiting for her holding a dozen roses. Red of course. Filled with anticipation and hope. This weekend, after all, would be our first official time together. I had to laugh. The last time I felt this young and foolish I had been a teenager.

I watched a goddess walking towards me. A total brunette whose hairstyle accented her face letting its natural features shine. I had to smile, it was the first time I had seen her dressed casually in blue jeans with a yellow blouse and a soft Demin like jacket. She had a wholesome look to her which was a delight to see. You could tell that she was comfortable in her own skin.

I knew she wouldn’t have time to eat so as soon as we got her suitcase, we were off to the local location of Ruby Tuesday’s where I had a surprise waiting. After parking the truck and locking her suitcase in behind the front seat we headed in. Her sister and brother in law were waiting for us.

By the time dinner was done Carin had agreed to become her brother in laws lawyer when needed when she moved home. I didn’t know what to expect when I dove down the driveway to the house, I had grown up in. It was just like every home built in the sixties. It was closed in and tightly built for the times. Carin smiled as soon as she stepped inside. It’s just like what I grew up in she laughed.

“It’s so refreshing to be able to go from the airport drive through town to the restaurant and not run into a homeless person or a beggar asking for spare change,” Carin said. “Not one made up tent structure, no human waste on the street and no boxes large enough that people could crawl into to sleep. Is that because California has a democrat and South Dakota has a republican governor?”

“There may be a lot of truth to that,” I replied. “History shows that when California was a republican state it had the highest middle-class population of all fifty-two states. Now it has the smallest and is one of the highest-taxed. Looking from the outside in its giving me a different view of things. In California, we ban plastic straws but don’t require the recycling of all glass and plastic. We can’t use pesticides to kill rats, yet they carry the diseases that can kill us. It’s the homeless this kind of law has put in the greatest danger. California has the twelfth highest population in the country and has fifty percent of the homeless in the United States. Yet they spend millions trying to deal with the situation without doing anything. I’m just one of many that have found a way to escape. The true believers in equality are finding their own way out. They can’t accept the extremes of either. The liberals blame everyone else but themselves. A glass of wine or a cold Keystone Ice.”

“If you got a beer mug the Ice would be fine,” Carin said.

After getting us each a beer, I pulled out a couple of my parents’ old 33rmp records and put them on. It was nice listening to Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, and old blue eyes himself as we snuggled like teenagers on the couch. Those were the songs our parents listen to as we were growing up. We were taking it slow as we both wanted to be sure we were headed in the right direction.

********

Kendra Waite was not happy. She was used to getting her own way. She needed to talk to her husband Colin and was getting nowhere in her attempt to find him. There was no recorded flight of him leaving, no recorded car rental, or anything. Even the private investigators were finding nothing.

She had found his Facebook page closed. His credit cards canceled at his request by the Bank of America. Everything she could think of was leading to a dead end.

Every day this week his lawyer had called asking for the name of her lawyer. She hadn’t’ got one because she felt their marriage could be saved. He had removed all of his contacts out of the old telephone log they used when they had a house phone. She knew he had relatives but couldn’t remember their names.

His side of the family had never been important to her so she never paid much attention when he would mention them. He had been so careful in removing all traces of himself that she couldn’t even get his social security number.

Even her daughters were starting to get worried about him. He had always had daily contact with them. Since he left no one had heard from him except for David and David wasn’t telling. He had told her oldest Kerri no contact until he proved that Little Colin was his son. Yet he did not seem to be in any hurry to get that done. Kerri had confronted him about it he had laughed at her. That was not how a husband was supposed to act.

Colin wasn’t behaving like Colin, and it was frustrating her. Colin had always done what he should. It was the one constant that she could rely on and did. It frustrated her because now she had to hire someone to do what he had always done. The problem with that was that the hired help did not do it with as much care and love as Colin did.

This whole situation was causing a strain on everyone. If Colin had just done what he always had done her relationship with her three daughters would not becoming unwound.

The three of them in part were blaming her for the problems in their relationships and that was just not right. Colin was not doing what he should. It’s each woman’s own responsibility to keep the men in their lives in line. Every man in a relationship with a woman has to learn that it's them that are the boss.

When she found her husband Colin, she would make him pay dearly for his improper conduct towards her and their children.

********

There is nothing more simple or beautiful than sitting on the porch drinking a cup of coffee watching the dawn of the day come alive. I know because that was what Carin, and I were doing.

“Until now I could never see why my parents would start their day like this whenever they could,” Carin said. “Being here feeling loved and appreciated by the one you’re with leaves in you an assurance that you can face anything that comes in front of you. They could sit and watch without saying a thing aloud because they saw their world the same way.”

I took her hand and held just the same way my dad would for my mom. I could tell that without saying a word I was speaking volumes.

“While driving back home I realized that I was coming back to what I always was and leaving behind what I had become. I see the changes already starting in me. I feel more secure and at peace than I can ever remember,” I said softly. “I saw that same cloud leaving you last night as you stepped down towards me. It’s a feeling that you can’t express until you experience it yourself. Your words express quite clearly that it's affecting you as well.”

“It’s a cultural shock at least for me. Nothing seems phony here it’s all real. Here you can hear yourself think. The silence of the morning allows it. I had forgotten how beautiful and calming it is,” Carin said. “Moments like this reinforce the quality of life that can only be found when two hearts are ready.”

It was an eye-opening weekend for both of us. We began to learn about ourselves. Although we came close, we did not get sexually involved because both of us wanted more to the relationship than just sex. I met her parents for the first time. It was a good visit and I got put to work fixing the timing on his tractor, and a few minor things using the tools that most farmer would have. It took me about four hours to get it done with Carin’s father watching me but when I was done it ran smooth and steered straight. Carin saw me dirtied up from oil, grease, and dirt for the first time.

She watched me clean up in her parent’s mudroom smiling the whole time. Mudrooms my mom would say were created for women, so their husbands didn’t tract the mess they carried into the house. I could remember her bringing a clean set of clothing to wear after he showered so the dirty clothes were not dragged through her clean house.

Her dad said that his tractor would have been in the shop for a week if I had not been here. Her mom was thrilled about the prospect of having her only daughter coming home.

It was sad to see her off at the airport on Sunday evening.

********

It had been three months since I had left California and things were moving along Kendra had finally gotten a lawyer. A fifty/ fifty split had been approved by the court. Carin’s husband was still being an ass. Trying to save every nickel he could. David and Kerri were seeing a marriage counselor as the baby was his. They were seeing him weekly and were making slow progress.

Kerri was looking at the whole situation quite differently as she was forced to see the other side. Little Colin from what I had been told was growing like a bad weed. I was looking forward to seeing the little tyke.

Kendra and my daughter's Faith and Hope were both going through a divorce. Their former husbands had told them they would never be able to trust them again. Sadly, I understood fully why. The relationship between my ex-wife and her daughters had forever been changed.

I was back in Lodi having been flown in by private jet. I would be spending a week or two going through the company’s newest test model to see if it would pass the final inspection before going into mass production in two thousand and twenty-two. Having been head of the team that designed it, I would be spending the next two weeks putting it through a list of things to ensure durability, strength, ease of movement, and repairability. I had been booked by the firm into one of the town's Hampton Inn suites.

Amber Hopper had decided to take her mother for supper at one of the restaurants in the hotel I was in. They were already seated when I walked in. Amber saw me and smiled as I walked towards her. We had met earlier that day for coffee to make sure it was going according to our plans.

“Mom I hope you don’t get mad at me, but I invited a friend to join us, so you might want to slide a little further into the booth,” Amber said. “I think you’ll be delighted to see them.”

Carin said. “What are you up to.?” As she slid over to allow more room for someone else.

“It’s just somebody I ‘ve gotten to know over the last few weeks and both Meadow and I agree that we're looking forward to spending a lot more time with him in the future,” Amber said as I sat down.

Carin turned her face towards me breaking out in a huge deep smile once she realized who I was. Over the last two months, I had grown a mustache and a goatee. I appeared to have lost a lot of weight, but I hadn’t, the soft body fat had just changed to muscle.

“Wow, what a surprise.” Carin said, “I love your new look, but what are you doing here?”

“First of all, I’m going to have a nice dinner with my girlfriend and her daughter. During the meal, I will explain,” I said. “Amber thank you for helping me pull off this little surprise.”

Just as we were starting to order our dinner when Meadow showed up.

“I hope I’m not too late,” Meadow said as she sat down. “Ended up having to work a little bit longer than I planned.”

During the meal, I explained that I was in town to test out a new model planned for release in one to three years. The biggest change was that the huge tractor was designed to run off natural gas. If it worked to our expectation the farmer would be able for the cost of labor build a refill station right on the farm. We had planned the cost needed to purchase the equipment to include the fixtures for the refill pump. Since natural gas was cheaper and cleaner than regular gasoline, we thought we had a very marketable product. If the test model were a success, the company would be offering it as part of a whole new line.

It was just before we prepared to order dessert when Carin’s daughters asked the question. “Do you two hope to be settled in South Dakota before school starts in September?”

Carin said, “pretty much yes. Why?”

“How far is Vermillion from your new home Mom,” Amber asked?

“About forty miles from the farm, why?” I asked.

“I start working for an MBA at the University of South Dakota this fall if you’ll allow me to live with you guys. If not, I can stay at Uncle Joseph’s. I chose that one because the yearly cost is one of the cheapest in the country and I can cut down my cost of living,” Amber explained.

Carin was smiling while trying to hold in her tears. I reached down taking her hand into mine. Holding it tightly.

Carin said quietly, “you were right.”

“We are building a new four-bedroom house. It will be finished sometime next month.” I said “We wanted to be prepared in case you both decided to come. So, you will have to let your mother know what color scheme you will want for your bedrooms.”

“You were both planning on both of us coming,” Meadow said.

“More hoping, “Carin said, “We both had to let you make the decision on your own. If I had of forced you to, you both would have blamed Colin. He would have ended up paying for it in the long run because of the resentment you two would have carried.”

“How did you figure that out, Mom?” Amber asked.

“Colin asked me point blank if I trusted you two to make the right decision about what's best for yourselves. I said yes,” She explained. “He said then let them because on what I have seen and learned about your relationship its stronger and more vibrate than what they have with their dad.”

Amber and Meadow looked at me with puzzled eyes.

Then Amber spoke, “That first night you had sized us up by the time we left you had a good idea what we would end up doing didn’t you Colin.”

“I knew you were going for further education Amber and understood that it could be anywhere. Meadow was the one I concentrated on. It was when she brought out the point of respect that I knew how it would turn out,” I explained. “The hardest thing I had to do was keep reminding your mother that it would all turn out aright. The hardest part in any situation is the unknown and the time to allow what is needed to come out.”

We had just finished dinner; Carin and I were going to a theatre to see one of the latest releases. Amber and Meadow were heading home. That was when I was spotted by Kendra she was driving in as I was opening the car rental door for Carin.

It took her a few minutes to realize it was me because of the change in my appearance. My lifestyle was different as I no longer made my living sitting behind a desk looking at a computer. By the time she did, we were gone.

I had gotten slimmer working on the barn, installing a wood stove for heat in it while doing a general clean up. I had formed firmness to my muscles that I hadn’t had in years. The old potbelly I had carried for years was long gone. I now had a slenderer build and looked younger than I had in years as the stress I carried was gone. In a lot of ways, I had been reborn. Parts of my soul that had been hidden by my relationships over time were coming out as if they had been set free.

I dropped Carin off after the movie and returned to my suite after leaving a request for a wake-up call in the morning.

*******

Security recognized me and signed me in so I could get my first look at the finished new design. It was this that I had enjoyed the most. Seeing the finished product ready for final approval before mass-producing. Research and development can be quite boring but seeing the finished product in its glory made it worth it.

I got at it and was already into testing it before the rest of the team showed up. I had already discovered a couple of minor things that needed changing and had rerouted the metal fuel feeding line so it wouldn’t be affected by the direct heat. I had even written them up for the final report. Everybody was surprised and pleased with how good I looked.

The President came in when I was using the test tractor to haul then push back two thousand lbs. It handled and maneuvered with ease. Especially through the mud bed, we had formed for this test.

He had to laugh seeing me in a pair of blue jeans wearing a white t-shirt and a blue baseball hat on backward. Working that huge tractor liked I owned it. The gears changed smoothly. The tractor's arms could hold the weight we required it to. I tried to tip it numerous times but failed in every attempt. I even drove it on two wheels off a ramp and it came back down on all fours just like it should. The balance in this piece of equipment was excellent.

“Colin you’re still the man,” The President said as I approached him. “If you could turn this tractor on your head, you would. What's your first impression of this beast?”

“If it can take what I will put it through it's going to be in the top five that we have ever designed. So far besides a couple of minor adjustments, it's passing with flying colors. An added plus is that it appears to use less fuel than a normal diesel engine,” I said as I offered my hand. “Good to see you again Pete.”

“We would give you your old position back if you wanted,” he said with a smile. “But by the way you look I understand why you moved on. Where did you find the fountain of youth?”

His words were like a fresh compliment. We discussed a few things about this model I was testing out. He liked the fact that the cover over the seat could be removed and re installed in minutes if needed.

Little did he understand that he had yet to discover the secret to my evaluating a new product. I treated it the same way I did my first truck. Like the piece of shit, it was. If it could survive what I would do to it then it became a good truck. By the end of the day, I said it had held up good, one down nine to go.

It was almost seven before I got back to my hotel. As I entered the lobby, I spotted my daughter Kerri and her husband David waiting. Kerri was holding little Colin. I walked in looking like I needed a shower as I was covered in dry mud from head to toe. Kerri spotted me and walked towards me.

“Hi dad,” she said. “You’re looking really good. Do you have time to talk to us or not?”

I looked over at David and caught his signal, so I said yes but let me have a shower first. Then David joined us.

“Look you two can wait here or come up and wait in the suite that has a kitchen,” I said. “We can order food to be brought up or we can eat down here. Either way is fine by me.”

“Let's go to your suite and order the food while you are showering then we can have a private talk that’s long overdue,” Kerri said.

So that’s what we did.

We ordered what we wanted through room service then I went for a quick shower. As I was getting dressed Carin called so I told her what was going on and promised to call her back when I was done.

I cracked open a bottle of Crown Royal and poured us all a drink. The kids wanted coke in theirs I added just a bit of water in mine and gave it a stir.

“Dad, David and I have been going through a lot of issues these last few months. It took the conversation you found to bring it to the forefront,” Kerri said in seriousness. “I just moved home last week. Mom had been talking about her outside relationships for years. We all thought you knew and had approved. Mom had justified her conduct by saying the two of you had completely different sexual drives. David and I were getting nowhere so with his approval I had a polygraph done to help verify for both of us what I had or had not done. Until I did that we were headed for divorce.”

“I see,” I said. “I hope you both realize that because of the damage done to both of you by all of this that it’s going to take time and complete honesty to rebuild a new relationship going forward.”

I took my grandson into my arms and held the little tyke next to my chest with his little head resting on the shoulder. I asked David to take a picture of me holding him with my cellphone.

“I learned that in a lot of ways I was behaving like my mother who was justifying everything she did by her point of view. She can’t see that it still does not make what she did right,” Kerri went on to say. “I was doing it without thinking as it was so natural. I now find myself stopping to think a lot before doing anything. To be honest it’s been quite a shock to me to learn how much of what I was doing because I gave it no thought.”

“Dad,” David said. “I’m seeing a side of her that I didn’t know was there. It has led me to believe that we have more than a fifty/ fifty chance of making it.”

“Just remember it takes time, honest communication, and a heart and mind that really listens,” I said. “You are both young so remember that it is not unreasonable to seek independent help or advice. Kendra allowed the views of society to interfere with our marriage until she justified to herself the throwing of her marriage vows away. I bet she still is blaming me for it ending.”

“Dad, your right!” Kerri said. “I told my sisters that I was done listening to her justify herself. I had a marriage I wanted to save. We got into an argument, and I told them that when they got their heads out of their asses we would talk. Until then don’t waste my time.”

With that said our food arrived. It was nice to share dinner with them. Kerri asked if I had been following some diet plan. I laughed and explained that I had just been working physically instead of mentally and my body was responding favorably. I no longer spend my days sitting behind a desk or on the couch. It was ten before they left. As they were leaving Kerri hugged me and whispered, I like this new dad I’m seeing. I laughed and explained that since the divorce started parts that I had kept hidden were coming out because the long term relationship with your mother had affected me in ways I could not see.

I texted Carin to see if she was still up. She was so I called her and explained how the evening had gone.

Time heals all wounds is a favorite saying but that’s not true. It just means that acceptance of what happened has come. Nothing more nothing less. You have trained yourself to adjust to it and accept what you cannot change. Still does not make it right although the progressive will claim it does.

Faith and Hope learned that the hard Tuesday night. It was again about seven when I walked into the lobby of the Hampton Inn. My two young daughters were waiting for me. My first thought was that Kendra had sent the double barrel shotgun at me. Boy was I, ever right! My twin daughters decided they were going to lecture me on my treatment of their mom. In their eyes, my conduct towards their mother was nothing but cowardness.

I had taken the young ladies back to my suite for privacy before they went after me for walking out of my marriage with their mother. They admitted that both their marriages were over because their husbands like me could not handle them being a totally modern-day liberated woman.

I had enough of their crap, so I called security. When security came, I asked him to remove the young ladies because I was not interested in what they were offering me.

My daughters were escorted out the back door and told not to ever return. The Hampton Inn security staff told them both that they did not appreciate high-class hookers trying to pass on some social disease to their unsuspecting guests.

Carin thought what I did was a hoot. She said those young ladies will be doing a lot of thinking tonight because without love someone is always paying for the sex in some way. Can I tell Amber and Meadow about this she asked? I said yes.

If one wanted to light a stick of dynamite without a match, I couldn’t have done a better job. Kerri called my room about two hours later.

“Bravo Dad! Well, done,” Kerri said. “My two sisters have just learned that their shit stinks just like all others. They just left here still in tears.”

“I couldn’t resist the opportunity,” I said in laughter, “because neither of them would give me the chance to explain anything. Their conduct made it clear they did not want to hear my explanation of it all. Finally, I made the only call I could.”

“Security ran a background check on both of them they came up clean. Faith and Hope tried to explain. With you all having different last names they didn’t buy it,” Kerri said. “I told them when their friends with benefits were wining and dining them weren’t, they, in fact, being paid for it in advance. By the look on their faces, I think they finally got it. I’m so glad now that I never went down the road. I’m ashamed now that I talked about it.”

“Was David in on the conversation,” I asked.

“He heard it all and was pleasantly surprised by how I explained things. It helped us a lot because we now are both seeing what happened with clear eyes,” Kerri explained. “How could our mother have convinced us that what she was doing was all right?”

“Faith and Hope are really hurting; it's going to be a while before they will work it all out. They until that moment did not see that their conduct made them no better than the street people they had looked down upon for years,” Kerri explained. “I said think about this you trashed our father for what he did. Did you ever think what our conduct and Mom did to him, or did you only care about yourself?”

“That my dear is a question I’m still trying to answer for myself,” I said.

“Mom painted our world with rose-colored glasses. Using her progressive views to make everything and anything acceptable. It took her getting caught for your daughters to see the reality of their world for what it was,” Kerri said. “It's sad that most of our society is still wearing there’s and are so blind to the truth that is staring them right in the face.”

“Kerri, you learned something that a lot of adults will never understand in their life,” I said.

“What’s that dad?” my eldest daughter asked.

“The skill, ability, and knowledge to think even about the simplest things in a logical way,” I replied. “That is what makes your mother and my walk-in life so different. Welcome to my world. Too bad you had to learn it the hard way.”

Wednesday night I went to Carin’s for a family dinner. The girls wanted to start planning for the move and how we were going to get it done. I told them what I had learned from Kerri the previous night. After dinner we did the dishes up, I washed the girls dried and put away. The girls finally caught us kissing seriously. They kept teasing us about it for the rest of the evening.

Carin and I were out getting ready to enjoy a private dinner at a restaurant down by the pier on Friday evening. We were sitting across from each other looking into each other’s eyes having a drink before ordering when the twins walked in.

The Hostess approached us. Your daughters noticed you Mr. Waite and were wondering if you would allow them to join your table. I hesitated but Carin said yes, we would like them to. I stood up and moved over to sit down beside her.

“You can’t leave things the way they are with them. No matter what. I know you don’t like them right now, but you still love them,” Carin said. “So, you have to hear them out.”

Whether I liked it or not Carin was right. We watched as the hostess brought my daughters to our table. By their look, we both realized they had a lot on their minds. I waited until they sat down.

“Faith and Hope let me introduce you to Carin who not only is my lawyer but now my girlfriend,” I said firmly. “If you’re here to berate me some more please just leave.”

“Dad we deserve that,” Faith said. “We had a long talk with Kerri Tuesday night. She was brutal with us and pulled no punches.”

“We went there expecting some support,” Hope explained. “What we got was the truth shoved down our throats. By the time she was through with us we knew just what our own conduct had shown about ourselves.”

“It really does not paint us in a good way,” Faith added. “Kerri showed us that we were getting paid for our services like a hooker but in a different way.”

“We talked about our conduct between ourselves and came to the understanding that a lot of street people do it for money to survive not by choice. Yet we were high and mighty and judged them for it,” Hope explained “We did it because we thought it was fun and believed that we were doing no wrong. It makes our actions a lot worse.”

“When we got home, we confronted Mom about it. We ended up in a huge argument. Mother ended up saying we had been listening to too much of your conservative bull shit,” Faith said. “Mom in one of her rants said so what if others got hurt, they should learn to grow up. In our society, the only wrong is getting caught. There are no consequences for social crimes.”

“Look at our federal government we have some of the biggest politicians making money illegally and nothing happens to them. It shows the laws only apply to some. Nothing is black or white,” Hope said. “Each of us has the right to live our lives as we see fit. Mom still has no remorse or guilt. That’s when it hit us. We teach our students what is right and wrong, but we have blurred what that is by our own conduct.”

“We are down here today because we found a two-bedroom furnished apartment nearby that we have rented for six months,” Faith explained. “It’s reasonable and close to the school we both teach in. We both figure it’s the first step in rebuilding our lives. It’s time for us to stop living mother lies and find out who we are without her influence.”

“Hope and I will be moving in tomorrow since Mom is going to be busy with some political party thing,” Faith added. “When we saw you, we both realized we had to apologize to you because we were so wrong.”

“Dad you really had no choice but to do what you did. We see that now. If you had faced us directly it would have been four against one,” Hope said. “You knew we had to work through it in our own way.”

“Sometimes, you just have to allow things to work out on their own,” I said. “You were already forgiven because I saw your behavior as being influenced by your mother. Kendra, I will forgive but will never give her a second chance again. Her actions have always been self-centered and deliberate.”

With that said I handed them my cell phone and asked them to add their contact information in. They did and added my new number in theirs.

“What area is the phone number for?” Hope asked.

“South Dakota,” I said.

“Omg you moved back to grandpa’s farm,” Faith said with a huge smile. “He would be so proud.”

“You know the farm?” Carin asked.

“Yes, Dad made sure the three of us spent every summer there growing up,” Hope said. “Until we started high school and developed the typical teenage attitude. We all learned to drive on Grandpa’s tractor.”

“Dad always drove us out and brought us back. He talked to us every night while we were there. We never heard from mom the whole time we were gone. We learned that with her it was out of sight out of mind,” Faith said. “Grandma used to say mom was the shallowest person she had ever known. So, dad why are you in town? Carin, can we get your cellphone number?”

Dinner turned out to be a bit of a celebration. The twins learned about the new house we were building and the reason I was in town. Learned that Carin had two daughters of her own just a few years younger.

While we were eating Hope got a text from her older sister asked if they were doing okay. Hope texted back having dinner with Dad and his girlfriend Carin. Faith and I will stop by afterward to explain everything.

We were walking the pier taking a relaxing stroll kind of in awe how things were slowly working themselves out.

“I’m surprised,” Carin said. “You’re moving away from them forced them to work most of it out on their own.”

“My dad said, give a person enough rope and they will hang themselves,” I said. “It’s a true statement. It was their own conduct pointed out by their own gender that exposed what they really were. If I had of been here like the twins said it would have been four against one. This way they were against themselves. Their own sense of honesty and morality, when faced with it, brought them down.”

“Evil itself does not exist if it’s not supported by someone carrying out the desires of others,” Carin said. “To many in our society blame the object, not themselves. In many ways, you were their object.”

“For the simple reason that I could not go along with what they did,” I said, “because in my eyes it would never be right.”

“In Kendra’s eyes that was a sign of weakness to be used against you,” Carin said. “I see it as one of your enduring strengths because your conduct reinforces who you are. You could never be a snowflake being carried by the whims and wishes of those with no morals. Your country to the soul and it shows by your conduct to all that you're able and willing to stand your ground.”

********

Kendra came home expecting to see her twin daughters. The political planning event this Saturday had taken longer than she had expected. She was going to suggest the three of them go out for the evening. She had thought about her last blow up with them and realized she had gone too far. It had gotten particularly nasty because she saw some of their fathers’ traits coming through and she couldn’t allow that.

Conservative views were ruining this country holding it back from what it was always meant to be a true democracy. Every liberal had to keep the African Americans and other minorities dependent on the handouts from the Federal government. In doing that it gave the democrat party the means to gain power and control over the whole country. Republicans because of Trump were doing their damndest to destroy the power base that they had spent years building.

She had just thrown her purse on the counter to get a coke out of the refrigerator when she saw the two house keys sitting on the counter on top of a short note. We have moved out. We don’t like what you helped us to become. Good luck with your life. We have blocked your number. It was signed by Faith and Hope.

Dam Colin anyway. He walks out on me. Stays away. Files for divorce because she was getting a little self-pleasure on the side. Everybody important in the circles she associated with she knew was doing what she had been caught doing. Why can’t he get it? She should never have never married a narrow-minded piece of shit like him.

Because of his principle’s he had destroyed her personal life. Kerri should know where they are. So, she picked up the phone and called her. She had been pushed to the limit by a worthless piece of shit who had done nothing but walked away. Kerri answered on the third ring.

“Where in the Fuck are Hope and Faith?” Kendra yelled into the phone in anger.

“I haven’t heard from them since Tuesday night when Dad had security throw them out from the Hampton Inn,” Replied Kerri wanting to feel her mother out.

“Why did he have them thrown out?” Kendra had to ask.

“They went to give him their two cents worth on how badly he had treated you. They went after him like they were trying to cut his balls off. Dad said to himself I had enough of this shit and called security. When they showed up, he told them that he was not willing to buy what they were trying to sell,” Kerri said. “Security escorted the two of them out the back door because of what they believed they were. Faith and Hope are banned forever because the Hampton Inn doesn’t want high-class hookers working their hotel.”

“But they’re not hookers you and I know that,” Kendra said showing some concern.

“When they showed up here in tears, they told me their story. Do you want to know what I said to the two of them mother?” Kerri said seriously.

“Yes, perhaps I do,” Kendra said.

“I told them when their friends with benefits were wining and dining them weren’t, they, in fact, being paid for it in advance,” Kerri explained.

Kerri laughed because her mother's phone went dead.

Kendra was lost to her tears. Kerri’s statement had hit her in her soul. She knew instantly that she could never speak to her husband Colin again directly. She could never allow herself to be alone with him ever.

What Kerri had said straightforwardly was her father’s truth. Kendra realized that as soon as she heard it. Colin without saying a word directly to any of them had destroyed them all.

No one who had a bit of honesty in them could argue that simple comment because everyone who heard it would recognize it for what it was. A simple direct unbiased fact.

All those weekends away with her friends with benefits that had been romantic adventures were, in fact, nothing more than the way he was paying for her services. Colin had just refused to put any embellishments on the raw truth.

It had taken her twelve weeks to understand what he had said on the video the night she had come home from Vancouver. She had by example had turned her twins into what she had become in his eye’s a high-class hooker for over ten years. No man could accept that. No wonder he walked out on all of them.

She by her own actions had left him no choice. She had never seen it from his side until this moment. If his truth came out publicly, she was destroyed, and he knew it. By walking away, he had left her something that she hadn’t left him. Her dignity.

She had not only destroyed herself but took her whole family down with her. She like so many, had taken her progressive lifestyle to the extreme. She no longer had a relationship with her husband or her daughters because she could never admit that truth about her conduct to any of them. It wasn’t the progressive way to admit responsibility for anything or to be completely honest.

For the first time in her life, she had no scapegoat to blame. This one was on her. She had fucked herself without a kiss. One repeated statement from a conservative point of view had forever destroyed the illusions she had about herself.

Kenda looked around at the house realizing that if she was going to move on and get over what she had done that she had to sell the house that held so many memories. There were just too many memories here that would remind her constantly of what she had thrown away. The reality of facing the truth sucked.

She would use the excuse that it was just too big for herself because all would believe it. Eric Hopper would be pleased to learn what had happened because until now he had thought she had gotten off lucky. She would be like him totally alone.

********

Carin and I had come back to her house after an evening of drinking and dancing. We had fallen asleep together on the couch. Meadow and Amber took advantage of it. Using Carin’s cellphone, they sent pictures of it to my two youngest daughters, who called back. Between the four of them, they started planning. One of her daughters got a blanket and threw it over us.

I awoke to a vision of a sleeping angel in my arms. My cell phone showed it was after seven am. We had gotten in about one. Meadow was already up just sitting in the chair watching us.

“I guess I will have to get used to seeing this on a regular basis,” Meadow said with a smile. “Mom looks so happy and content, I’ll go start making coffee for all of us.”

About an hour later the four of us were all sitting around relaxing and talking at the kitchen table. When the girls sprung the news on us. At three this afternoon my side of the family would be arriving for the first family get together.

Off Carin and I ran, I checked out the fuel needed for the barbie it was good while she got redressed. After making the grocery list out, we went. We went to my suite so I could have a quick shower and shave. After getting dressed it was to a local grocery store. Just as we were headed in, we ran into Kendra as she was coming out. She paused right in front of me.

“Colin please let the girls know I’m selling the house,” Kendra said. “If they want anything Kerri still has a key. Since they’re no longer speaking to me, they can take what they want while I’m working. The same goes for you.”

“I’ll pass on the message and give Carin power of attorney to act on my behalf,” I said. “As for me, I took what I wanted when I left. I’m only in town again for another six days.”

She nodded her head and walked away. We continued in.

We were loading the vehicle up with the groceries we bought before we started talking about our awkward meeting with Kendra.

“Something serious has happened in Kendra’s life that we don’t know about. Kendra seemed out of it today,” I said.

“Do you think that the twins moving out might have caused that?” Carin asked.

“No, she was used to it being just us,” I said. “Something else must have happened that sent her a message that she trying to sort out or come to terms with. She loves that house. So, whatever happened came out of the left field and has taken her down in some way.”

During the barbie, Carin, and I both learned what the twins had written to their mother and what Kerri has said afterward. All five of our daughters got along great. David and I, for the most part, stood on the sidelines while the five females interacted. Amber and Meadow dotted over little Colin.

I told my three daughters about what their mother had said to us at the grocery store. David said he wanted the huge plasma tv. Kerri just rolled her eyes. I just chuckled to myself. Our first two families get together could not have turned out any better. After my daughter left for their respective places with the cleanup done. We were relaxing with a cold beer.

“So basically, if we got it right Faith and Hope have ended their relationship for now with their mother because they want to find out what kind of person, they are without their mother's influence,” Amber said. “Why would they do that?”

“They followed their mothers’ example and got caught up with the concept of having as they called it “friends with benefits.” It’s cost them both their first marriage. It took me leaving Kendra for them to begin to see their own situation in a new light,” I said. “Last Tuesday they confronted me because of my conduct towards their mom. I ended up throwing them out. Later that night in a heated discussion with their older sister Kerri said: when their friends with benefits were wining and dining them weren’t, they, in fact, being paid for their services in advance.”

Amber was in total shock.

“Amber and Meadow your mother and I were taught when we were very young that it was not important how we viewed ourselves in the world. What was important was how the world saw us,” I said. “Every individual will see what you do or say in a different way. It taught us that our own conduct said more about us than anything we could ever say!”

“Colin’s right, I couldn’t have explained it any better,” Carin said as she leaned against me. “That’s why your father's conduct raised so many questions. It contradicted everything he ever said.”

“As a result, the twins have decided to remove their mother’s influence out of their lives for now until they discover for themselves who and what they are. In order to do that they had to take responsibility for what they did,” I explained. ‘I’m very proud of them for that. For them, the healing will have started because they were honest enough about their own conduct.”

I guess our words hit home because for a few minutes the sound of silence was deafening.

Then Amber said, “You’re going to make a great dad, Dad.”

Carin lost it.

The rest of the week went by quietly. Carin and I spent as much of our spare time together as possible. The new tractor passed with flying colors the President was ecstatic. I had given the tractor its name, I called it “betsa.” The family decided on a family gathering before I left. I noticed that the twins were getting closer to Carin's daughters.

We couldn’t pry little Colin from Carin’s hands. The mothering instinct in her was still strong. Eric and Carin finally came to an agreement on the asset split when she offered him the house if he wanted it. He went for it figuring it was his chance to get his daughters back into his life. Carin saw me board the plane as I headed home.

********

It was the last week of August. The homestead was ready. The old torn down, the new one built. The barn improved where needed. Even the yard had been cleaned up. The last thing I had done was to rebuild the driveway into the house and the barn. Uncle John had driven me to the airport because I would be driving a U Haul back. Carin had sold her practice and an associate was going to finalize the divorces early in September.

Over the last month, there had been multiple deliveries to the farm. Uncle John had been a great help setting the new furniture up and hauling what we no longer needed from mom and dad’s household stuff to goodwill if he couldn’t find someone who could use it. It was nice to see neighbors helping neighbors again.

Carin met me at the airport that Friday afternoon around six with the biggest smile I’d ever seen in my life. Amber and Meadow were there with her. After taking her into my arms giving her a long-overdue kiss. I stepped back, got down on my knee and officially proposed to the delight of both her daughters. Both captured a video of it all which included me sliding the ring on her finger.

Amber and Meadow having been in on my surprise had arranged a huge celebration dinner in a restaurant that had dinner and dancing with all our daughters and David in attendance. Between David and I, the ladies kept us on the dance floor most of the evening.

When we got to Carin’s home Meadow told us to wait in the car for a moment. Amber and she ran in and right out carrying a large overnight bag filled for her mother.

“Mom, Dad we booked you a suite at the Hampton Inn for the weekend. We don’t want to see the two of you until Monday,” Amber said.

When we got to our suite, we found a huge basket filled with two bottles of champagne, chocolates, strawberry, two glasses, balloons, and roses. The card said congrats from your five daughters.

I don’t think we left the suite for the weekend.

After a wonderful breakfast Monday Morning, we went to pick the U haul up. The one we picked up was bigger than I expected. I asked about it, but all Carin said I’d have to wait till this afternoon when it would be revealed.

At two o’clock that afternoon Faith and Hope showed up and broke the news they were moving east too. It seems when they learned that I had moved back to my father's farm they had begun applying around the area in which I would be living. They both had been hired by the Vermillion School Board.

Carin had given them some furniture and we would be hauling what they got out their mother’s and my house. It was in a rental storage unit. Through a real estate agent, they had rented a three-bedroom house. That way when the weather got bad Amber could stay in town with them.

I dropped the suit against Eric Hopper as he agreed to cover all my court costs in Vancouver. With British Columbia socialist biases, it was moving at a snail’s pace. We received our divorce certificates at the end of September. On the last Saturday in October Carin and I said our vows in front of all of the blended family. Kerri and David had flown out with little Colin so they could attend. It was Carin who gave me the ultimate surprise in front of everybody.

“To my darling husband Colin and our family, I wish to inform you all that there will be a new Waite coming into the world sometime in May. Our doctor has informed me it’s a boy.”