Seventeen Years Later

Since we had children, my ex and I have to interact frequently. Our youngest was still in college so there were frequent events with him that I didn't want to miss. We both tried to be pleasant and I think I was more successful then she was. A friend of mine was telling me that since he and his ex-wife never had any children, it had been decades since he last spoke to her.

I've seen BTB or burn the bitch frequently and have used it myself. Is there another acronym for the bitch burned herself?

There's no real sex in this story.

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I had just finishing ordering my dinner when I saw my ex-wife standing over by the bar with a group of other women. My wife for seven years and then my ex-wife for 17 years. I went back to reading my e-book. I traveled a lot, way more than when I was married and dinners out by myself were the norm so I always brought something to read. The waitress dropped off another drink and said it was from the woman at the bar. I lifted the glass and nodded to Jesse.

It was seventeen years ago, give or take a month or two while eating dinner one night that Jesse started talking about how we were on the cusp of buying our dream home and would be starting our family soon after. Then she announced she wanted one last fling before she became a housewife and was going out to dinner with another man on Friday and would probably see me sometime on Saturday. She was still talking when I said excuse me for a minute and got up from the table.

Back then I traveled, not as much as now and most of my trips were unplanned. Quickly packing my suitcase was well practiced, just a check to make sure my laptop and charger were in my briefcase and I was walking out the front door.

Maybe the sound of the door shutting alerted Jesse that I was leaving because I was already out of the driveway when she came running out of the house.

And 17 years later, she was walking towards my table. It was time to put on my business smile.

Jesse fought the divorce every step of the way. The biggest hurdle was the court ordered counseling sessions. I wasn't sure before the sessions what was driving Jesse to one last fling so I decided to search her emails. Jesse used the same password for everything so getting into her emails was easy. Yes, I violated her privacy.

Before me, Jesse was in love with Joe. I didn't know a lot about their relationship when we first started dating, only that their relationship didn't end well. Later I learned that Joe cheated on her constantly and he sucked at hiding it. In her keepsake trunk there were a lot of pictures of Jesse and Joe together. I had been in love with other women before I met Jesse but I don't think I had any pictures of them.

Joe is significant to me for another reason. One night, a few years into our marriage, I was going down on Jesse and I had her squirming, coming several times. When she pushed my face away, I moved up and slid my cock into her pussy and was balls deep in one push. Jesse yelled out, "Oh Joe." I looked at her, she looked at me, my cock wilted and I headed off to the guest room. She was apologetic the next morning.

Back to 17 years ago and I'm searching Jesse's emails and there are plenty of current emails between Jesse and Joe, mostly discussing Jesse's last fling and their planned stay at some erotic hotel, a place for married couples to reconnect according to their webpage. Jesse was telling him she couldn't wait to have his cock inside her again. Joe was telling her how he was going to take her ass again.

The email chain went back years, even before our marriage. They met occasionally for lunches with no suggestions it was anything more than lunch. I continued to go back in time and found that Joe and Jesse had gotten together a week before our wedding for her last fling as a single woman. A weekend fuck fest with Jesse complaining her pussy was so sore she wasn't going to be able to enjoy her honeymoon.

Jesse started off the counseling session with the same speech she gave me, we were getting ready to have children and she wanted one last fling before she became a housewife. Then she discussed how her request hurt my male ego and I wanted a divorce. She turned on the tears and went into a sob story how that my request for a divorce broke her heart and what she really wanted was all the things we dreamed about, a beautiful house with a swing set in the backyard and three kids running around. She deserved an Oscar. I had to sit on my hands to keep from applauding.

The counselor turned to me and asked what I wanted out of these sessions.

I said, "The obvious answer is that I want out of these sessions but before I lay out why, let me ask Jesse a few questions. First, this last fling before you became a housewife was with Joe, your lover from before we were married correct?"

Jesse had a look of shock on her face.

"And you had a last fling with Joe a week before we got married, that was a last fling as a single woman. Correct?"

"And that fling made your pussy so sore you couldn't have sex with me on our wedding night or was it really that you had too much wine?"

Jesse was staring at her hands and I think she was really crying now.

"So despite cheating on you dozens of times when you were dating, you still hold a torch for him. The night you yelled out 'oh Joe' while we were making love, wasn't a mix-up between Joe and Jack as you claimed, but you were fantasizing you were with Joe instead of me."

"No, no, no Jack, I swear I never fantasized about Joe when we were together."

"Here's an email Jesse when you told him the exact opposite, that you were fantasizing about him that night and many other nights and here's another email where you tell Joe if it wasn't for thoughts of him, I would never make you come."

Jesse said, "I just want us to be together Jack, like we were before."

"We were never together Jesse because you were still with Joe, I was just too stupidly in love with you to realize it."

I turned to the counselor, "Are we done here because I think her presence is going to make me lose my lunch."

That was our first and last counseling session and the last time I saw Jesse and now 17 years later, she was sitting at my table.

"I am so surprised to see you here Jack, and you look like you haven't changed a bit. The years have been kind to you and before you say anything like that about me, I know it isn't close to being true."

And it wasn't close to being true, the years had not been kind to her. Wrinkles scarred her face and she had put on some weight, mostly around her belly and ass. I'm pretty sure she was hiding bingo arms under her blouse. We were married at 24, add seven years for our marriage and 17 years since we divorced and that made us both close to 48. But Jesse looked way older.

Jesse was trying to smile as she asked me about my job. I told her how I spent several days just touring whatever city I was in as I wondered why she was sitting across from me. My steak had been delivered along with some appetizers that Jesse had ordered while she was out the bar.

Jesse mentioned my condo, she wasn't really asking about, just confirming I still had it I think. We were divorced before I bought it and I wondered how she knew about it. I told her I did but only so I have a place to store my shit. She laughed, a real laugh.

I talked about my upcoming vacation where I was going to spend two weeks touring Spain.

"Who are you going with Jack, I hope you found somebody."

"Nope Jesse, I like going by myself. It's hard to travel with people and I get along with me very well, very few arguments." Jesse laughed again.

I saw the wedding ring on her finger.

"My mom, who still lives for social media, told me you remarried Jesse and you have two little girls. Congratulations."

The smile cracked, I mean completely cracked as her eyes watered. I started apologizing.

"It's okay Jack. I still wear the ring to keep the wolves away. I married Joe as soon as our divorce was final and we had two girls in the first few years we were married. I was a fool thinking he had changed as he grew into his 30's, but he continued to cheat on me constantly. I even tried to pretend he wasn't after our second was born and then he announced he was divorcing me for his latest girlfriend who was barely 18."

"I am truly sorry to hear that Jesse. Tell me about your girls, they must be teenagers by now."

Judging by Jesse's face, I stepped in shit again. Who doesn't like talking about their children?

"When Joe announced he was divorcing me, I had a little trouble coping, really a lot of trouble coping and had a nervous breakdown. As a result, I lost custody of the girls. They live with Joe and their stepmother who is only a few years older than they are. I am only allowed to see them once a month and the visit has to be supervised."

Jesse pulled up her sleeves and showed me the scars on her wrists.

"I am sorry Jesse, I keep asking the wrong questions here."

"Jack, you're only asking the normal questions people who haven't seen each other in years ask. It's not your fault that I fucked my life up every chance I got."

My steak was finished and I was trying to find a way to exit this conversation without stepping onto another landmine.

"It looks like your posse is getting ready to leave Jesse."

"My divorced women's club. Most of them work in my building but mostly for other companies. We get together once a week, sometimes for dinner, sometimes for drinks like tonight."

"What about you Jack, no divorced men's club to go out for drinks with?"

"No Jesse, I am content with going solo."

"I bet you're out there, wining and dining a different woman in every city."

"I was never a wine and dine type of guy and that hasn't changed Jesse."

Jesse was staring at her glass, I had a feeling she was going to ask me something and was trying to get up the nerve, something I would probably say no to. I was rescued or we were rescued when her posse came over at sat down with us.

"We were just getting ready to leave Jesse but wanted to meet this handsome man before we left," said a woman who would be introduced as Rose.

As the other women pulled up chairs, another round of drinks were ordered.

Jesse introduced me as Jack, her ex-husband and a few women said they thought her ex's name was Joe. Jesse had to tell them I was her first ex-husband. Then they wanted to know what I did for a living. Before I could answer, Jesse explained that I worked for a consulting firm and traveled around the world. She also told then I was vacationing in Spain at the end of the month.

"Jack speaks five different languages or have you added another," she added.

"I'm working on German," I said.

"Plus he can read Mandarin, Korean and Japanese, right Jack. And how's Arabic coming along."

"Like Spanish, there are many variations of Arabic."

I didn't learn how to read Mandarin Korean or Japanese until a few years after our divorce and my attempts at Arabic only began in the last year.

Rose said, "All that traveling must have been really hard on your marriage Jesse."

"Oh no, Jack was always able to keep his travel down to once a week and rarely more than a night or two. He didn't start traveling like he does now until after our divorce."

It was weird sitting at the table, several women asking questions about me and Jesse, who I hadn't seen or spoken to in 17 years was answering all their questions. It was like we were still married.

Rose asked, "What was your favorite place to go Jack?"

"Yes Jack, which was your favorite, Norway or London?" Jesse asked and I was surprised that she knew I was at either of those places.

"Well Norway gave me the chance to see the northern lights, which was priceless. I am a big fan of British crime dramas so I enjoyed turning a street corner in London and realizing I am standing on a street I saw on TV the week before. But in Spain, I'll get to walk Roman ruins among other things so maybe that will be my new favorite."

"Your pictures of the northern lights were amazing Jack," Jesse said, "Here let me show you guys." Jesse called up a bunch of pictures from my Norway trip on her phone and was passing them around to her friends. There were the appropriate oohs and ahs from the women. How did Jesse get the pictures I wondered.

"Are you going to snatch him back up Jesse so you can see the world too," asked Rose.

Rose realized she fucked up before she was finished talking.

"Nope Rose, that chapter is closed," Jesse said with a smile on her face. It looked like a real smile.

Rose was clearly embarrassed and decided she was ready to leave, the rest of her posse agreed and so did I.

Being the gentleman, I waited with the women for their rideshares to come. They offered me to join them but I declined.

Jesse pulled me in for a hug before she got in the car, "Jack, I guess it's pretty clear how I fucked up my life. It pains me that you were collateral damage and haven't moved on. I had hoped you would meet someone new, someone who deserved you. Call me the next time you're in town and maybe we can do dinner. I'd love to hear about Spain." She gave me a kiss on my cheek.

I asked Jesse for her number without any real plans to call her, who knows maybe I would. Our conversation this evening must have been very painful for her so I wanted it to end on a positive note.