I could tell by the smarmy condescending way they were treating me that this was going to be my opportunity to say what I had been holding inside for the better part of 3 months I was at the house my former marriage home and just as I was finishing the last walk through to ensure I hadn't missed anything she just had to say Jim you know you are welcome here anytime I sighed looked at her and said well a couple of things about that first the fact that you put a restraining order on me so I
couldn't come here kind of tells me otherwise and second this will be the last time I ever darkened the door of this place at one time it was full of great memories now it's just the scene of the crime to me so no Peggy I won't be back she winced I know that was harsh and we really wanted to avoid it but my lawyer thought it best for the safety of the kids that you weren't allowed to be here until everyone calmed down and everything was sorted out it was as much for your protection as
it was for ours well thank you for thinking so little of me that I wouldn't be able to control myself you know as well as I do I've never raised a hand to you or the kids and barely raised my voice and if it was about me confronting jerk you needn't have worried if or when I take my pound of Flesh it won't be here in front of the kids again you should know me better than that but I guess that's what you get when you hop into bed with a jerk like that and a
man-hater lawyer like you hired just then jerk made his appearance he walked over to my soon Tobe ex-wife and put a possessive arm around her shoulder at least he had the decency to look almost embarrassed but his words bellied his body language Jim with due respect I know you were the best of us when we were in the service but you've been out for over 10 years I was truly afraid you'd come at me in anger when this all started and I didn't want to hurt you I've done enough damage to you and it's the
one part of all of this that I regret I flashed back to 3 months ago when I arrived home after work I was met on the front porch with Peggy jerk a process server and what looked like some hired muscle I was served with divorce papers a restraining order and given a suitcase with a week's worth of clothing I was also told that the happy couple was so kind as to prepay for a week for me at the local Holiday Inn but after that I was on my own she looked at me with a pained
expression on her face and simply said I'm sorry Jim I didn't plan for this to happen Barry and I just I don't know we've always gotten along and while he's been here since he retired we just got closer and I'm so sorry I know this is a shock and it's going to be painful but we want to make it as easy as we can for you I simply picked up the suitcase turned and walked back to my truck I was pretty much nuclear but wasn't going to show them and didn't want to do anything that
would jeopardize things with my kids I hopped in the truck and drove off in the opposite direction of the Holiday Inn I sure as hell wasn't going to accept their charity Petty I know but that's where I was I found myself alternate accommodations and over the next week ignored all the I'm sorry and please reply to me and tell me you are okay texts I consulted a lawyer and found out that I was pretty much screwed because she was a stay-at-home mom and I traveled a fair amount she was sure to get as she had
requested in the petition primary custody with liberal visitation she would retain the house although they would have to buy me out of my half I just wondered how they were going to do that given her lack of income and his very recent entry into the workforce after retire iring from the Army after all these years but I'm guessing that they found some mortgage company willing to give an ex-serviceman a mortgage to thank him for his service she had done everything else pretty much by the book The only thing I balked at was her going after
my pension that was going to get messy I had taken the week off and after I got the lawyer nonsense all straightened out crawled into for a couple of days and out of a bottle I was still white hot with rage but but knew if I did anything stupid it would impact negatively on the access I would have with the kids so I found a nice little three-bedroom house in the kids school area and moved in that brought me to today and the agreed two access to the house where I could remove anything that was
mine once they realized I wasn't going to make a scene Peggy told the courta appointed supervisor that he could go but I insisted that he stay I wanted everything documented so it wouldn't blow back on me later I smiled bitterly when I asked where my kids were and was told that Peggy and Barry thought it best that they spend the day with her folks that it might be too hard for me well I said what was too hard for me hasn't been too much of a concern recently now has it Jim she started I know
I've broken your heart and I'm so very sorry it was never Our intention I know we've no right to ask but would you be willing to sit with us so we can explain you've not given us a chance since this all happened and I think if you let us talk to you it will make more sense and help you come to terms with what has happened yeah buddy jerk added I'm sure you can't see it right now but I really think we can find a way through this I just know our friendship and your love
for Peggy and the kids is strong enough that we can make this work first I'm not your buddy anymore turns out I never was and second there is no way through this you are dead to me I will have to endure dealing with my cheating woman of assumed to be ex-wife when it comes to my kids but let me be crystal clear you and I are through now if the two of you feel the need to try to assuage your conscience by explaining how all of this just happened I'll sit for a minute it should
be entertaining to see how you can spin this hey I know you are hurting but I won't let you disrespect the woman I love you know it would not turn out well if we got into it Barry answered I looked at him and just smirked oh we will get into it don't you worry just not here and not now just rest assured that I won't Blindside you as you did me your so-called brother in arms so I'll call my soon to be ex-wife a cheating woman if I want cuz at the end of the day
that's exactly what she is Barry jumped out of his chair with fire in his eyes I mirrored him and said oh please give me a reason take your shot come on you coward Peggy leaped up and grabbed Barry's arm Barry stop it this will solve nothing you can't blame him we did this to him now sit down after Barry sat down I considered taking another shot at him for being whipped but thought better of it this was War and the battle we just had was inconsequential in the grand scheme of things after we all calmed
down and I turned down the offered coffee I said it's your show let's get on with it so I can get out of here the cheating woman started Jim first of all I want you to know that this has nothing to do with how good of a man you are and how good of a husband and father you were I've always respected you and loved you and up until 5 months ago I was totally happy with our marriage and was 100% faithful to you I still do love and respect respect you well you've got a
hell of an odd way of showing it I replied Jim please I know I've hurt you you've every right to be upset but being rude like that isn't going to solve anything I can't tell you how conflicted I've been since all this started I knew I was going to hurt you but I had to follow my heart I couldn't live the rest of my life settling for less than what I know is the perfect person for me Barry is my soulmate it's like he's my other half I Feel Complete with him surely you wouldn't want
to deny me that you have to admit that up until this happened I was a good wife and mother I looked over at Barry who was trying fairly unsuccessfully to keep the smug look off his face oh how I wanted to punch that face into next week another time I'll get my chance but first things first time to bring miss high and mighty down a peg or three I'll give you this Peggy for a woman who who has cheated more than once you weren't bad and yes you do a decent job of being a mother
I'll give you that too I answered now it was her turn to LEAP from her chair how dare you until Barry came to live with us I never cheated on you and for you to say that I did is a complete lie I know you are upset but you will take that back and take it back immediately sit down now I'm so sick and tired of your holier than thou attitude it's time you both got a godamn lesson in humility I recoiled Barry let's just humor him we've tried to be kind and understanding obviously he
needs to take out his anger on someone better us than the kids they both just looked at me with these smug self-satisfied looks on their faces and Peggy said well let's get this over with so Barry you're her soulmate are you yeah more than you could ever be he replied well maybe but until I invited you into my home and offered you a place to stay until you got on your feet we were just fine I'll never forgive myself for allowing an immoral guy in my home with a wife that I knew was a cheater
that and only that was my mistake trusting people I know I shouldn't have I'll never make that mistake again Jim you keep saying that I cheated on you you have no no proof of that because you know it isn't true again I demand that you take that back she answered oh I'm getting to that but first Barry back to the whole soulmate thing what was it she said soulmate her other half she feels complete with you fair enough she has a way of making you feel that way for sure but give me a second will
you I pulled out my phone and started tapping and swiping until I found what I was looking for I handed it to him and said hit play Barry another withering glare but he tapped the play button it was a video from about 16 years ago and just happened to be our wedding day I had it queued up to a specific spot I listened as they watched Jim my love I've waited my whole life for you the moment I met you I knew I'd found my soulmate you are the other half of me you complete me
I let that sink in for a bit and then said call me crazy but if I'm her other half and you're her other half doesn't that make her like one and a half person I mean she's put on a few pounds since we married but not that much I could tell by the look on Barry's face that he was not expecting to see that Peggy went into damage control mode Barry don't give that a thought everyone is entitled to make a mistake Jim was mine until you came along and with that she hooked her arm
into his and leaned into him kissing him on the cheek and fixing me with a smug grin but I could tell I'd gotten to Barry I smiled and said ah my lovely cheater but I wasn't your first mistake was I she looked totally perplexed and said I have no idea what you're talking about Jim and stop calling me a cheater so jerk I started to say something but she cut me off Jim will you stop calling Barry that grow the hell up so jerk do you remember where it was that I met your other half
on paros when we were on leave what of it he answered exactly right we were on leave and hopped on the cheapest flight we could find and ended up on peros we're sitting in the Mad Hatter bar and in walk these two beauties we just knew were American Peggy and her nursing partner were on vacation from their gig in Riad and came to paros to find some beautiful Greek men for the week well Peggy ended up with this American man and fell in love I honestly was looking for a week with a beautiful Greek woman
but this hot-blooded American Beauty stole my heart the fact that her home stat side was only an hour from my home was a huge coincidence and made us both believe it was meant to be and it was wasn't it my favorite cheating woman would you stop with that please she again pleaded I I ignored her so fast forward a few months I'd rotated home she finally finished off her contract and I was waiting at the airport for the love of my life we're going to move in together and start our new life I'd retired from
the service and transitioned into private life I was ready and guess what Peggy didn't get off the plane about an hour later I got a call from her telling me that she had to delay her arrival for a couple of days but don't worry she'll be there soon I was so in love I didn't care I didn't question it and I just went home and waited Peggy interrupted yet again and said that's because there was nothing to question I ignored her yet again finally our wedding day comes you were there Barry and before we go
any further let's take a look at my wedding video again here take a look at my face as the cheating woman is telling me I'm her soulmate does that look like the face of a man that's sure of what he's doing to you I looked at the two of them and saw the confusion on Peggy's face I've never noticed that before Jim were you having second thoughts on the day we got married well up until 10 minutes before the ceremony I had zero second thoughts you had no idea how close I came to walking out
I replied but why we loved each other we were totally committed to each other we were starting our life together why would you question that she questioned let me ask you why do you think I would question it what possible reason would I have to question your love and loyalty to me Jim I have no idea why you would have question that on our wedding day I was totally and completely committed to you I sighed okay don't say I didn't give you a chance to come clean so I'm standing outside the church with my brother
just before you arrived and this guy I've never seen comes up to me and asks if I'm Jim when I tell him I am he congratulates me on marrying you I ask him if we know each other but he says no but he knows you I ask him his name and he tells me it's Dave rebstock as I say this I look over at Peggy and watch her eyes bug out and she simply says oh hell I look over at Barry and continue so my new buddy Dave proceeds to tell me that up until a
few months ago he and his fiance were busy planning their own wedding and guess Barry who his fiance was almost in a whisper he says Peggy got it in one and would you like to Hazard a guess as to whether or not they were engaged when Peggy and I met let me save you the trouble yeah they were and how about another guess as to whether or not the cheating woman ever thought to mention that fact to me I'll save you the trouble no she didn't and guess where she was was when she didn't get
off the plane she was back home kicking old Dave to the curb I looked over at Peggy with a fierce stare so yeah when you say you've never cheated on me before Barry here I tend to believe you but if you weren't so high and mighty you'd have realized I didn't say you cheated on me but I did say you were a cheating woman which you absolutely are so don't ever look at me with that Superior smug look again because you are a Serial cheating woman I looked looked at the Shell Shocked Duo the way
their mouths were flapping I thought I was in a base Derby and I just pulled the two of them onto my boat I decided to finish off the cheating woman before I turned my sights on the jerk I reached into my jacket pocket and handed Barry three sheets of paper that were neatly folded together so Barry what I've just handed you is what my new buddy Dave handed me at the end of our conversation turns out they were the wedding vows he had written out for your soulmate here when he was supposed to marry her
he had told me that he wished me well I had told him that I had no knowledge of him before today and he believed me he really was a decent sort good-looking in good shape and solid dude in different circumstances I could see that we could have been buddies but not in these circumstances humor me and read the part out loud the part that I've highlighted Peggy protested but it was barely above a whisper Barry you don't have to read it I know what it says with barely contained Fury I hissed read it David my
love I've waited my whole life for you the moment I met you I knew I'd found my soulmate you are the other half of me you complete me I couldn't help myself Jesus Peggy it's got to be getting pretty crowded in that body of yours the look she gave me was less than warm but I wasn't letting her off the hook that easily you sit there all high and mighty and tell me that you can't deny your feelings that you found your so-called soulmate and I just need to understand well forget that you're nothing but
a selfish entitled cheating Woman by the time I got to the end of my diet tribe I was pretty much shouting she looked stunned at the ferocity of my emotion she could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I had raised my voice I had always been able to get my point across with her and our kids in a very calm but very assertive manner I've never liked blowing up to me it showed weakness but if there was any occasion that called for Fury it was this one she tried to fight
back but it was a feeble attempt so if I was so horrible So Unworthy of the wonderful gym why did you marry me why didn't you just walk away she asked I sighed very simple answer ask the jerk beside you or ask your other victim Dave you're good you're very very good you made us all believe that we were the one I know I did and Dave told me the same and I'm sure Barry is thinking he's the one as well but history has shown that that's simply not the case hasn't it I looked over
at him I saw an odd mixture of disappointment and defeat and I thought oh you have no idea I'm just getting started with your disloyal back he however decided to let pride get in the way of being humble and put an arm around her stuck his chin out defiantly and said not to worry babe you just hadn't met me yet the right guy for you I've known all along that you were the one and I'm going to spend the rest of our lives showing you that with that he glared at me and shot me that
self-satisfied smirk oh this was going to be fun so jerk you think the cheating woman is the one do you I asked you're damn right she is and if you don't stop calling her that we're going to have a problem I ignored his childish threat so cheating woman does Barry here make you feel like the one she sighed upset at my name calling yes Jim he does you did too I've said that over and over it's just that Barry makes me feel so incredibly complete like I'm his entire world so yes I believe I am
the one for him by this time Barry had recovered some of his bravado and he looked at me and said I'm sorry buddy but when you find the one you just can't deny what the universe is telling you I know it's hard being replaced like this but I know once you see how happy we are you'll admit it to yourself I looked up at the ceiling like I was trying to recall something H the one the one where have I heard that expression before hang on I think I remember with that I grabbed my phone
and made a big production of searching through it and finally found what I was looking for aha here it is this is from jerk himself from just 18 months ago let me read it for you both well Jimmy boy rip up my bachelor card I've met the one Amy is amazing we are so damn into each other I can't tell you she's smart she gets me she has a body like Silk she works on the base and is just so damn good I feel like the luckiest guy in the world we've been together for about
3 months and I'm already starting to think about popping the question I hope you and the rest of the boys are ready to get together for a bachelor party in a few months cuz I'm going to need one so jerk how many the ones are you supposed to have doesn't the the term the one mean just one between the three other halves the cheating woman here has and the two the ones you have it's going to be pretty crowded in that king-size bed I shelled out for last year old Barry looked like he had just
taken a shot of vinegar he looked at Peggy and said baby I was foolish I got caught up in being lonely and I panicked it didn't last much beyond that email and she's in the past you know you're the one for me oh so Amy wasn't the one Peggy is I asked yes just like Peggy everyone is entitled to jump the gun I smiled and looked down at my phone and started scrolling so just to confirm also let me see here Cindy in Fort Hood isn't the one and hold on ah here it is Donna
at Fort S isn't the one you know Barry I'm confused because I have emails from you telling me all three of these women were the one I'm no math wizard but I think you've now got four of the ones I pressed on look I could not care less about either one of you you Barry as I said are dead to me you my cheating wife I am stuck dealing with because of our kids for basically ever my point is that you two sit here so Angelic trying to tell me that this Romance of yours is
something you couldn't control something that was bigger than you both when in actual fact you're both just faithless persons that frankly deserve the hurt you're going to put on one another I've actually started a pool with the rest of the guys from our unit to guess which one of you cheats first and guess how long you're together before the whole thing becomes a dumpster fire this enraged my soon to be exwife how dare you how dare you try to poison our friends against us they are just as much barries and my friends as they are
yours just because your ego is hurt and you can't understand what true love is doesn't give you the right to put our friends in the middle of all of this she turned to Barry and said don't worry baby once they see how happy we are at the wedding everything will be fine and Mr bitter over there will just have to deal with it on his own Barry tried unsuccessfully to sound conciliatory when it was obvious that he was trying to rub more salt in the wound yeah Jim I know that the wedding will be the
first time that the whole crew will be together and you won't be included Peggy and I kicked around the idea of inviting you to the wedding so you could see the kids and also be around the gang but we figured it would be too painful for you to be there maybe some of the gang can drop in to see you the next day they might be a little hung over though you know how they like to party there was that smug smirk again time for that to be wiped off I picked up my phone and
simply texted go ahead in a group text box oh don't worry about me I have PL plans that are going to keep me quite busy that day I replied within seconds both of their phones started buzzing with incoming mail if the phones had been sitting on the table I'm sure they would have been spinning with all of the notifications well what do you know speak of the devil here are a bunch of replies from the gang about the wedding Jim enthused and immediately opened the first one he frowned and opened the second one and the
third pie seeing his pained expression opened up her phone and started looking at the replies they were all the same her head snapped up and her eyes bored into me if looks could kill well let's just say I wouldn't be writing this tail what the hell did you do she asked what do you mean cheating wife you know godamn well what I mean what did you say to our friends no one is coming every reply is the same she shoved the phone in my face I didn't know what the exact words were going to be
but I had a pretty good idea of the message I laughed right out loud when I read it sorry won't be there we have a barbecue at gyms that day PS don't throw garbage where you eat Barry was crestfallen I can't believe my guys would abandon me like this there's no way they would have done this without some coercion what did you say to them well first things first I don't give a Thing If you believe me but I had zero to do with this if they wanted to go that was up to them I
would not have been upset or disappointed I would not have taken it as the gang choosing the two of you treacherous people over me I've actually spoken very little to anyone in the group about this I was that embarrassed but as soon as your invitations went out I got a call from Dennis asking when the housewarming was going to be I told him that I hadn't made any plans yet and he told me that the group had decided it was going to be on the same day as your wedding I told him that they didn't
have to do that that it wasn't fair to make them choose and I was fine with them going to your wedding but they insisted again I couldn't care less if you believe me but that is exactly what happened so I guess yours is going to be a smaller Affair than you planned guess it will save you a bit of money on the meal they both looked like they'd lost their best friend which in some ways they had I truly had not done anything to try to torpedo their wedding day I honestly didn't care however the
rest of the gang took an extremely dim view of what they had done and wanted nothing to do with the nuptials they contacted me and informed me that they would be coming from far and wide to Christen my new house and support me the best way they knew how truth be told I knew I'd be pretty deep in self-pity that day so having the gang around me and more importantly not around them was going to be a tonic for my severely bruised Soul Barry was fuming well that's just great I show up at every one
of their weddings and when I want them to come to mine they turn their backs on me the cheating woman tried to soothe him baby don't worry about it we knew that there were going to be awkward times I can kind of understand their thinking on this while it's a wonderful day for us it's going to be a very difficult day for Jim and we made them choose between us I think it's admirable that they chose the person that's going to need the most support you'll see at the next get together things will be almost
back to normal and Jim will just have to accept our presence there and deal with it the best he can I fought valiantly to suppress a smirk and said yeah I'll have to figure out some way to get by thankfully the next party is on my weekend so the kids and I will have a fun road trip and I'll have them to keep my spirits up how do you know when that is I haven't seen an invitation I've been expecting it Jerry and Anne always have it sometime in July yeah it's the weekend after the
holiday weekend I mapped it out on the calendar so that's how I know it's my weekend with the kids invitations were sent out 3 weeks ago the two of them were madly scrolling through their phones the reality slowly Dawning on them Barry looked like he had been kicked in the stomach which figuratively he had been I can't believe my guys turned their backs on me we've been like brothers for almost 20 years he looked like he was going to cry and Peggy put a sympathetic arm over his shoulder and glared at me you might not
have anything to do with this but you can sure as hell fix it and I expect you to Barry and I have just as much right to be there as you do again I laughed out loud you know just when I think you can't be more delusional or self-absorbed you prove me wrong I have neither the time nor the inclination to Lobby on your behalf you two are completely nuts you have no idea how much of a storm your so-called love affair has set off and how many people it has affected the gang from the
unit is one thing but Peggy your family is devastated my family is devastated and all of that pales in comparison to the kids her head shot up oh no you don't you don't get to hold my kids against me I am an outstanding mother and I have done the research I know that divorce while tough on kids no longer defines them in fact in lots of cases children from divorced families end up much happier and better off after the chaos of the divorce has eased so don't you go telling me that following my heart is
bad for my kids because there is nothing more important to me than their happiness well I countered we know that's not true don't we if it were true true you wouldn't have done this for that pathetic excuse for a man sitting beside you Jim she shrieked I just got through telling you that kids from divorced homes more often than not Thrive after the divorce is over I've done my research I just shook my head you stupid cow of course kids from broken homes recover and feel safer and on a more solid footing when they're Waring
parents finally split up but that's not what Emma and Liam have experienced is it we had a happy and loving home full of support full of laughter and set on a really solid foundation now they don't know what's going to happen and if you had just sat and talked to them really talk to them instead of telling them how great it's going to be you'd realize that they are for the first time in their lives scared and unsure about the future this had really hit home with Peggy for all of her faults that had become
evident in the last last three months prior to that I couldn't have named a better mother she was the perfect combination of parent and friend and she knew when to be both who this new person was I didn't know but this statement had really struck at the core of who she was and I could tell that she was rattled I pushed on I'm telling you right now every a that becomes a b is because you are a cheating woman every time one of them comes home and is Sullen and withdrawn and just goes to to
their room it's because you are a cheating woman every time they see someone smirk at them at school or walk by a group of their peers and hear the Snicker it's because you are a cheating woman you've taught my son that no matter how good of a husband he is no matter how wonderful of a father he is and no matter how honorable of a man he is if his wife decides she wants more everything he has worked for can simply be pulled out from underneath him he has told me himself that he now can't
ever see himself get married when I said that a look of horror came across Peggy's face oh God no he mustn't feel that way I gave her a withering glare give me one good reason why he shouldn't the most important female role model in his life has just thrown away the most important male role model in his life for what some strange guy give your head a shake what other conclusion is he going to come to and what have you taught Emma you might ude Yourself by thinking that you've taught her to never accept anything
but exactly what you want but what you've really shown her is that it's okay to blow up a perfectly happy home for something that is shiny and new and exciting congratulations Peggy you get my vote for Mom of the year she was clearly rattled now she certainly didn't like what she saw in the mirror I had just held up to her face it was time for jerk to come to her rescue or at least try to don't pay him any attention babe he's fighting a losing battle once Emma and Liam see how truly happy their
mama is and how much better their home will be everything will be fine Jim I have to say I know you are hurting and as much as you don't believe me I'm truly sorry for that if there was any way it could have been avoided we would have done it but that being said you are kind of shocking me here I've known you a long time and I've never seen this crazy vindictive side of you give us some credit here we have nothing but the kids best interest at heart I spoke oh I'm sure you
believe that I will never forgive myself for allowing a Serial home wrecker Into My Sanctuary I was conflicted between my duty to the unit and my duty to my family in my defense I thought bringing you here would allow me to control things a bit and keep you from destroying lives my mistake was trusting in the one relationship sh I thought was safe I warned Neighbors about you I warned the people where I got you your job about you the one person I didn't warn was myself and my kids will ultimately pay the price for
my mistake I will spend the entire time between now and what I know will be your ultimate breakup protecting them from you two morally bankrupt jerks my only hope is that at least one of you does the inevitable and messes around before Emma comes of age in 5 years because if not I can pretty much guarantee jerk will be coming after her once she does talk about your dropping a turd in the pool with a roar he leaped from the table and came after me with molten Fury in his eyes I was totally expecting it
and calmly sidestepped his attack and after a short time of him flailing around I had him cinched into a very tight and very painful armar when we served together I was basically in charge of showing him the ropes and while I may have taught him everything he knows I sure as hell didn't teach him everything I know he screamed at me you jerk I'm going to mess you funny how bending someone's arm right to the point of breaking it stops them from talking shut the hell up or I'll snap this thing off and shove it
up your back Jim Peggy shrieked stop this right now you let him go immediately I mean it I hissed in Barry's ear are you going to calm down if I let you go give me your word whatever that's worth and I'll think about not making you have a cast in your wedding pictures forget you I clinched it even tighter he squealed in pain Barry just tell him you're going to calm down he's not worth it I'll step down just let me go say please I asked forget you he shrieked oh now you have to say
pretty please I pulled it tighter I swear I could hear bones cracking I had to hand it to him he was handling the pain pretty well but everyone has their Breaking Point let me go pretty please he said weakly with an evil grin I let him go and pushed him away from me so I didn't have to worry about him trying to swing at me turns out he was a little smarter than I gave him credit for he turned around and glared white hot Fury at me but he stayed back Peggy was beside herself with
rage Jim I swear I have no idea who you are anymore this man saved your life you saved his I know you are mad but to accuse him of such a sick hideous thing is beyond disgusting how dare you say these things I can't properly put into words how disappointed I am in you I just shook my head at her you think this is just my anger coming out that I'm just throwing this to anger you off sit down and sit down now I won't we tried to be understanding of your feelings and we tried
to allow you an opportunity to vent but this is totally unex acceptable she pleaded suit yourself but you are going to hear what I have to say before I go I roared I looked over at jerk who was still staring daggers at me while he was shaking out his arm trying to get some feeling back in it hey Jerk help me out here I've got three figures of speech I need help with care to help me understand what bagging a brace scoring a hat trick and hitting for the cycle mean his eyes widened but he
didn't want to face what what he knew was coming so he tried vainly to put off the inevitable I have no idea what you are talking about probably some more madeup stuff like you've been spewing since you got here Barry recoiled really denial is what you are going with suit yourself and don't say I didn't give you a chance to come clean I looked over at Peggy well my dear cheating wife let me give you a lesson first in most countries bagging a brace means getting two of something like scoring two goals in a hockey
game or catching two fish it means being with two women in the same family in fact he stayed with the last the one before you just long enough for her daughter to turn 18 so he could take a chance on her I don't know if poor Amy knows about it but it was only a couple of weeks after that that he dumped her that can't be true Barry tell me it's not true good old jerk did his base inbo impression again and his mouth was just flapping open and closed oh it gets better I enthused
scoring a hattick instead of what we think it means scoring three goals in old Barry's World means getting three women in the same family he did that one a couple of times now don't worry dear I've already alerted your dad about old jerk's charms and he's told me that he'll never let your future hubby near your mom even I have to admit for an older lady Donna's still got it going on at this point I I think my former buddy Barry would have paid to have the world swallow him up his face was red and
he suddenly had an almost obsessive interest in some lint on the floor and finally the ultimate hitting for the cycle in baseball terms it means getting a single double triple and home run all in the same game hey old buddy why don't you handle this one with your fiance no cat got your tongue okay allow me that's girlfriend her daughter her mother and her sister now In fairness to my knowledge he's only accomplished that once yep managed to wreck three families in one Fell Swoop I got to hand it to you buddy you are a
master home wrecker oh and Peggy don't worry Darren knows all about Barry's pensant for going after his women's sisters he was how would I put it less than impressed let's just say I wouldn't count on the annual family trip to the Jersey sure with Leanne and him and the kids happening this year one last thing I suspect you don't believe me and I suspect that old Barry here is going to deny it and try to spin it so he doesn't look like the bad guy I held up my phone if you want proof just ask
it's all in here I looked at the two of them that smug smarmy patronizing attitude that they came at me with was totally gone if this was a prize fight it was the point in the latter rounds when I'd landed so many body blows their hands were down they'd spit the mouth guard and they were ready for me to finish them off with one more punch but I knew there was no need for that they would do it to themselves I'd had enough of the two of them I just wanted out I looked over at
Barry I'm done here once I pass through the front door consider me dead because you will be dead to me if you see me at the soccer pitch stand at the other end if you see me at the school concert sit on the other side of the auditorium unless one of my kids is in real danger never contact me again do I make myself clear he didn't even have the courage to look at me I looked at the cheating woman for you I have an apology I'm sorry I didn't protect you better from this jerk
I know you think you're happy but I will 100% guarantee he will break your heart if you don't break his first I loved you with all my heart at one time and will state unequivocally that you were a good mother until he led you astray I let him into our sanctuary and for that I will forever be ashamed you are a big girl you will recover but he will make you a less effective mother he already has when you come to that realization just know that I will have been doing everything I can to minimize
the damage you've absolutely gutted me I have put aside any personal happiness for the next 7 years until our kids are both old enough to fend for themselves it is my Penance for losing the plot I loved you for 17 years for the last 3 months I hated you now I feel less than nothing I acknowledge you as the mother of my children but that is it I'm forced to deal with you because of our children but that is the only interaction you and I will have goodbye I turned and walked into the living room
and suddenly realized the court appointed Supervisor was still there he was sitting there with a totally incredulous look on his face I had totally forgotten about him oh I'm so sorry I have totally wasted your time and put you in the middle of something I'm sure you didn't want to witness I'm done here I have everything that matters to me I should have just let you go earlier I truly apologize can I give you some money for your time and trouble we were walking out the door and he looked totally shellshocked he just looked at
me and said sir this isn't my first rodeo I've done a number of these and they are generally pretty unpleasant but I've got to say that was the most epic Beatdown I have ever witnessed that was Next Level mad mad respect for you you owe me nothing good luck moving forward and with that he shook my hand hopped into his vehicle and was gone I hopped into my truck the few things I really wanted safely stowed in the box and headed down the road to my new life dignity fully intact 10 years later later Peggy
and I were twirling around the dance floor at Emma's wedding my God she's beautiful I enthused yes Peggy replied she seems to have inherited all the best features of both of us and managed to avoid the bad stuff so how are things going with Greg he seems like a decent guy where did you guys meet again work was it I asked yes we did meet at work but you don't have to pretend to care I know I made my own bed as you predicted Barry was as you had advertised and to my shame so was
I I traded in a Cadillac for a shiny new sports car that did nothing but break down and cost me everything for what it's worth we weren't his first victims and we weren't his last he still has a little contact with a couple of the guys from the unit and to my understanding he's still up to his old tricks leaving havoc in his wake leopard can't change his spots I guess I answered Peggy replied I know but I can't believe I lost sight of what was most important and thank you for not rubbing my nose
in it after he and I split or even after Bill or Ethan I know you could easily have done that I know you think that I haven't changed either and my history with men sure wouldn't lead you to think otherwise but I like to think in my heart of hearts that I'm simply looking for you and if I don't find it I move on I know now what I had and I'll go to my grave regretting losing sight of that I smiled at her oh don't be so hard on yourself I am all but impossible
to replace she laughed and slapped my arm humility was never your strong suit I nodded in all seriousness I hope now that the kids are well on their way you can find happiness again you did a great job with them I know I had my doubts but you proved me wrong and I will be forever thankful even Lori is impressed and coming from a broken family like she did she really related to them Peggy smiled you know I tried really really hard to hate Lori but come on how can anyone she's terrific she makes you
happy and the kids love her thank you for choosing someone like that as the song ended I looked across the floor to see the love of my life smiling at me and I knew I had to be with her like right now thanks for the dance Peggy I wish you happiness but I need to get back to my wife 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 I bring you fresh captivating stories every day so click that subscribe button and turn on notifications so you never miss out thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next one
