I don't know what bothered me the most the fact that I was a failure as a husband or that I was a failure as a father I don't know if I was depressed or just angry it was a bit confusing to say the least I spent my whole life trying to make things better for my family and all I ended up doing was providing them with things and money that just doesn't work it quickly became very apparent that my only function was to keep the well full I loved my wife and I loved my children
please note that that was all past tense I have my own business Enterprise welding Associates Terry Martin and I grew up together we were best Pals from grade school on up Terry and I started the company right after we finished trade school and it grew faster than we ever imagined so technically I should say that we have our own business a few years later both of us married our high school sweethearts life was good for the first 15 years years or so everything was great the company was doing well Terry and I were both pulling
down nice salaries and we had over 30 full-time employees Terry and his wife Myra had three sons Allison and I had twins a boy and a girl we both had modes siiz mcmansions we enjoyed dining out nice vacations and expensive cars Terry and I were very business orientated the business came first we figured out early on that it was important to keep our customers happy and our employees happy a third of our best workers were excon we had hired them directly out of the prison trade school in 8 years only two of the excon workers
turned out to be a problem and it was quickly taken care of by the other cons they had it good and were not going to let any dead beats screw things up for them we supported several Community programs and even sponsored a softball team unfortunately my home life was not fair as well somehow or another my wife became socially active with several Progressive causes I wasn't nuts about it but she let me do my thing so I let her do hers politics had never been a part of our family but all of a sudden we
started to have talks about current events and political things that were happening I tried my best to avoid such discussions but it was to no avail the more I tuned her out or ignored her the more determined she became it was as if CNN and fox news were playing at the same time I started trying to avoid her but it was difficult as my wife and I became more distant so did my children and I I had tried for years to get my son Jacob interested in some type of activity I didn't care if it
was Sports hiking or hunting and fishing all he wanted to do was play video games and as I discovered later enjoy a bit of marijuana now and then all of my efforts were rejected and finally my wife told me to just leave him alone and mind my own business I would have put up more of a fight but my son was smirking at me as she said it my daughter Jordan was a clone of her mother she used to be daddy's little angel but now she didn't even seem to recognize me as her father at
all I couldn't begin to count all the piercings that she had even though she was on birth control it didn't keep her from getting the clap twice she loved to accompany her mother to all sorts of political Gatherings and social meetings but wouldn't even think of going with her father for ice cream or pizza I gave up trying with her also one of the biggest downhill slides came when I refused to donate company money to one of her causes they wanted to provide needles to drug addicts so that they would not get infected by shared
or dirty ones Allison didn't talk to me for a week it was hard to Envision that things could get worse the company Christmas party was coming up Terry and I insisted that Al and Mna take care of it Mna was more than happy but she had to drag Allison Kicking and Screaming to help her Allison had been staying out more and more the past few months she was also going on overnight trips to participate in various Progressive functions I don't know if they were protests rallies or seminars it didn't matter Jacob had progressed from grass
to pills I don't know what kind but that didn't matter either Jordan now had her own video cam website Mna did a great job at the Christmas party she tried to share the credit with Allison but Terry and I knew better we did have beer and wine but no hard stuff we had 100% employee participation and I think the annual bonus checks had something to do with that Allison and the kids were there of course but they didn't seem to be enjoying themselves as much as everyone else there was no sitdown meal but there was
plenty to eat John I need to talk to you for a minute Terry was trying not to be conspicuous as we wandered over to the side what's up I tried to keep it casual to put him at ease Jorge Martinez needs to talk to you but he is a bit anxious what do you mean I questioned well he doesn't want to ruin the party and he doesn't want to make you angry but he does feel that there is something that you need to know Jorge was one of our ex-cons he had been with us for
6 years and we didn't want to lose him okay bring him over it isn't going to be a problem is it Terry gave me a slight Grimace Jorge and his wife Elena seemed a bit anxious I smiled and tried to appear casual to put them at ease Terry quietly walked away Mr Terell we don't want to cause any problems but when my wife saw your wife today she felt that she had to say something I tried to talk her out of it but she insisted I looked at his wife and nodded my head as a
sign for her to continue she looked at Jorge elbowed him and motioned for him to speak Elena works at the Hampton Inn she is in charge of housekeeping on the fifth floor and has been there for 2 years now your wife and a Mr Franklin have been using room 511 once or twice a week for the last year they usually only stay two or 3 hours and always in the same room I was speechless I had a million question s but I didn't think now was the time or place to bring them up Elena looked
relieved that it was all out but Jorge was very anxious because he could not figure out how I was going to react I simply took his hand in both of mine looked into his eyes and said thank you I smiled at Elena and motioned for both of them to return to the party Jorge relaxed as I walked out I passed by Terry give Jorge arise next month Kyle Franklin ran the parking authority for the city I didn't know him well but I did know that he was a civil servant for almost 20 years he had
aspirations to someday run for mayor he was married to Nora Franklin who owned one of the top real estate firms in the county she was a good-looking woman and liked to put her ads on the side of the city buses I wonder if she got a special rate I got a royal chewing out from my wife that evening for leaving the party early the kids were not too happy either I just smiled and went back to my reading Mickey Spain was still good reading after 70 years on Monday morning I was waiting comfortably in the
Franklin real estate office for Nora Franklin to arrive the secretary had a pot of hot coffee going and I brought the big kill with me she sauntered in about 10: stopped and paused for a moment to look at me I wondered when you were going to show up Mr Terell it took you long enough I followed her into the office and took my coffee with me I guess when you own the company you can make your own hours why didn't I think of that John can I call you John I nodded approval to her John
I am not going to rehash all of the drama I just want to know what you are planning to do I have a lot of irons in the fire and I don't want you to screw things up that was not what I was expecting I had figured that I was going to be doing the great reveal boy was I wrong I began Miss Franklin it appears that I am way behind the power curve here I didn't even figure it out for myself I just got clued in by a friend I have no idea what to
do next and have no one to confide in or discuss it with to be honest I figured that you were unaware just as I was John I've known about it for over for 6 months now I guess I should have contacted you earlier but I had a lot of things that I had to do and didn't want you screwing up the work by doing something rash oh by the way call me Norah she answered what do you mean something rash I questioned oh you know like going Rambo on Kyle out in public maybe exposing them
in some embarrassing manner it is hard to tell what you Macho men are going to do when something like this happens I think it is a lot more effective if you approach it calmly I never thought of myself as Macho I answered well anyhow what are your plans how can I help you I slumped down in my chair and let out a big sigh I think we are going to need more time over the next two weeks Nora Franklin and I became good friends Norah had systematically been setting her husband up for the past few
months the IRS was very interested in his taxes nor had carefully kept her personal and business taxes separate from his the State's Attorney's office was looking into the way he was redirecting State funds meant for roads and transportation into other non-descript projects the city was checking into his use of City funds for Motel rentals and restaurant bills what made it really interesting is that she was able to get all of them to cooperate in their investigations so that they would all come together at nearly the same time none of these efforts however were any help
to my situation she did however set up a deal to sell her real estate business that I found interesting I could make something like that work my big problem was the house and family I no longer had a close relationship with my wife or either of my children I hated to leave the business but it would be necessary Nora had that solution about a month later I announced that we were going to move to a new house Allison's ears perked up but but all I got from the kids was a moan they loved our mcmansion
Jordan got interested when I mentioned the pool and Jacob thought the three-car garage might be neat the trip to look at the new house went well it was twice the size of our present one and also cost more than twice as much the kids each had their own bath Allison commented on the fact that we didn't have enough Furniture to properly fill the new place but seemed happy when I told her she could get all new stuff she loved the professional kitchen to top it all off I informed them that we would all be getting
new cars for once in many years I was a great dad and husband Nora did a good job finding the new house for me it only took two days for her to get all of the papers ready when I informed Allison that Franklin real estate was handling the transaction for us she grimaced a bit but then seemed to resign herself to it Nora already had a cash buyer for our old house I thought it was interesting to see my wife wife and my wife's Lover's wife sitting down at the same table to sign the documents
there were no phony greetings we just sat and started in on the papers the first stack to be signed took care of the sale of the old house Allison and I both signed everything as it was presented by Nora and then notorized we cleared $450,000 on the sale and had it electronically deposited Allison was feeling pretty good about things and was not paying attention just signing the papers for the new house were next Allison smiled when Nora mentioned that the price was $900,000 she smiled again when I mentioned that I was putting the new house
in her name for tax purposes she thought that was a great idea what she didn't notice however was that it wasn't a sales contract but an option to buy if she had read the fine print she would have seen that the option was for 120 days if the actual purchase was not made by that time the price would reverse back to $1 million and the $40,000 option would be forfeited I hated to lose the money but it would be worth it in the long run after everything was signed and notorized Nora handed her the keys
to her new house and congratulated her it seemed sincere and I had a hard time keeping from laughing Allison was bubbling all the way home she had not expected me to actually put the house in her name she also didn't expect the $10,000 gift card card from our local high-end furniture store sometimes you have to spend money to make money the next day was car day Jacob opted for a Mustang which I expected Jordan surprised us all by picking a lime green Kia Soul Allison went with a white Lexus I explained to both of the
kids the importance of getting their line of credit established they seemed to understand and that made it easy to have both of their cars put in their names and of of course fully financed what they didn't think about was the fact that that also meant that somebody would have to make car payments I did the same thing with Allison's new Lexus I put 90 days of insurance on each of the new vehicles the total cash outlay for all three cars came to just under $600 most of that went to tags and titles another good investment
on my part one week later we were all settled into our new home the more that Nora and I worked together the closer we got we were getting together daily sometimes I would be helping her on a project and other times she would be helping me we seemed to be getting very comfortable with each other Terry was taking care of our welding business and Nora had enough staff to operate the real estate office all of our efforts were directed toward the termination of our marriages Nora was planning on waiting until Kyle had been brought up
on charges by one of the organizations that were investigating him she didn't know which one would get there first she seemed to think that it didn't matter my situation was a bit different somewhere along the line I decided that I didn't want to get a divorce I had too much to lose but I knew that I had to do something I just wanted it to be all gone Nora came to the rescue again John have you ever been to Aruba she questioned just as a Port of Call while we were on a cruise but I
never actually stayed there did you like it she asked I wasn't there long enough to make a decision why do you ask I have an option to buy a condo in orad West for 1 million too would you be interested in something like that she answered that might be a little tight for me I probably don't need anything that elaborate I was thinking that we could go half and half I am sure that you could do that she asked I am sure that I could but you have enough to handle it yourself why would you
even think of including me in something like that consider it a partnership an investment so to speak I imagine myself to be a shrew businesswoman I like to use other people's money and besides I enjoy your company that got my attention would a half million get me a buyin I asked I'll draw up the papers there will be papers you know absolutely I answered I found sounded amazing that I had agreed to live with a woman that I hadn't even had intimacy with I was now more enthused about the whole project Terry and Mna were
both fully aware of my problems with Allison and the kids they were willing to help in any way that they could without being intrusive Terry I decided that I want to sell my half of the business to you and Mna that's real nice John but there is no way in hell that we can afford to buy you out I'd like to but you know that is not possible Terry answered how does $1,000 sound do you want to explain that Terry questioned Terry you don't need me to help you run the business we both know that
at this point it will almost run itself I am going to leave soon and it will all be on your shoulders you will be the sole proprietor and you will make all the decisions all you have to do is call me periodically on a Consulting basis ah I see said the blind man and I suppose that there will be a consultation fee attached to that phone call said Terry smiling think of it as sort of a life annuity don't worry too much about it just make it easy on yourself we had our company lawyer draw
up all the papers needed Terry and Mna were a little concerned that I was screwing myself but I assured them that I had it covered it was nice to have a friend that you could trust it seems funny but I never bothered to verify Allison's affair with Kyle I never felt the need to get incriminating photos emails or phone messages I wouldn't need them I was not going to get a divorce I was going to do what 21% of deadbeat dads do just leave two weeks later Kyle Franklin was arrested I don't even know who
got the honors he wasn't a BigTime crook or embezzler he was just a small civil servant who had his hands in too many pots and messed around with my wife Nora and I were long gone before all the dirt came out she had sold her company along with 32 rental properties and three apartment buildings she was set for life I was her designated boy toy that was how she referred to me and I didn't find it offensive we did get to consummate our relationship after arriving in Aruba but never did go through any kind of
courting phase it was like it was all agreed to beforehand I did not miss my kids does that make me a bad dad under the circumstances I do not think so I did not miss my wife does that make me a bad husband I don't think so Nora became a regular golfer she tried to get me interested but there was no spark she had a regular bunch of girls that she played with 3 days a week we got together with them and a dozen other expats several times a week to socialize I adapted to that
very quickly it was a new Carefree life lifestyle and it was truly enjoyable I decided to take up painting to fill my time I always wanted to do that every morning I would wander down to the docks and set up my easel I really sucked at it I would get back to the condo later and the first thing that I did was scrape off all the paint on the canvas so that I could start over the next day it has been 3 months now and I still don't have anything to show for it Nora thinks
that it is quite funny I had been avoiding contact with anybody but I felt that I should call Terry John it's about time I was beginning to give up on you are you settled in yet he asked settled in and feeling better than ever it was the best decision that I ever made for the next 10 minutes we chatted about my new life in Aruba with Nora I had no trouble convincing Terry to bring Mna down for a week or two the business was doing well Terry apologized for not forwarding any consultation checks but I
neglected to give him an address or a bank account number I didn't need the money anyway Terry I hate to bring it up but can you update me on the status of my wife and family I questioned I don't know everything but I'll give what I can things don't seem to be going well without you first of all Jacob has been arrested he got busted with a couple of hundred PB of fenel in the trunk of his car the car was of course confiscated and since he was now over 18 he was locked up Allison
couldn't get him out on bail don't know anything else about that sorry to hear that I know I am his father but to be honest I really don't give a damn what happens to him I tried and I failed I answered Jordan's situation is not much better shortly after moving into the new house she doubled down on her webcam site from what I heard she was getting a lot of subscribers and then one day she told her mother that she was going to California to meet some producer Guy 2 weeks later they found her Kia
abandoned in Memphis Allison has not heard anything about her or from her since I take it that you are getting most of this information from Allison I asked yeah she comes into the office regularly hoping to catch you I can tell that she doesn't believe me when I tell her you are gone she was Furious last week when she got the notice to execute the option on the house or vacant the premises by the end of the month very clever John she was totally confused right now I don't know what her intentions are I think
some of the utilities have been turned off she couldn't even afford to pay the electric bill did you help her out I asked don't get mad John I gave her $1,000 and told her to use it as a deposit on an apartment someplace I am sure she will blow it on something else Mna felt sorry for her I was snickering a bit bit okay Terry I understand just take it out of my next commission by the way can't her Paramore help her out now Terry was laughing he is in worse shape than she is all
I know is what we see on TV he is old news now but little tidbits pop up now and then I think he is going away for a while oh before I forget Alison's car got repossessed since all her credit cards are dead she can't even use an Uber I don't know how she is getting around we chatted a bit more about the business tentative plans were made for their upcoming Aruba vacation it was a good talk I signed up for an online painting course with some guy in the UK two months later one of
the guys at the marina asked me to paint a picture of his sailboat Norah is worried that I might cut my ear off life goes on and so we've reached the end of today's story was it what you expected or did it take a Twist you didn't see coming I'm curious to hear your thoughts share them in the comments below and let's get a conversation going if this story kept you hooked make sure to hit that like button and if you're new here or just haven't subscribed yet now's the perfect time to join our community
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