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BULLY
THIS IS A GREENVILLE STORY
Preamble Ramble; This story line had been on my mind for some time and I woke up one morning with all the characters, story line and everything I needed by 7am. That's never happened before.
I need to thank Hardaysknight (Like Micheal Jordan teaching a 12 year old how to shoot free throws) and Horst for reading through, editing and offering advice. Having a German edit the story and find so many mistakes in his second language makes me want to sue my old school district for malpractice or something. They made the story better. Any mistakes on completely mine.
I hope you like the story.
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Dan fucking Simmons! I hadn't seen him in twenty-two years. The late time I'd seen him as as I was leaving the high school after graduation. I had hoped to never see him again.
We both went to Booker T Washington High School, but we had met during Junior High at Martha B Scott in 7th grade. He started with the bullying the very first time he met me. I was an easy target for him. I was the only Mexican kid in the whole school at the time. First generation American. I was shorter than most kids my age, showing my heritage from the state of Oaxaca. I had a heavy accent from being around my parents most of the time. We had just moved from Austin, so I didn't know anyone.
Dan was not original in his bullying at first. Calling me Pedro, a name taken from the Napoleon Dynamite movie. Not very original. Pushing me around in the hallway between classes every time he got the chance. And I mean every time. 6 to 7 times a day. He ramped up to pushing my face into food at lunch, taking my food or even throwing it away. He stuffed me into lockers during gym and gave me wedgies. He always had some racial joke about me being Mexican. There wasn't a day I didn't have to deal with him in one form or another. Nothing was ever done about it. I knew some teachers had seen me being pushed, or my food taken or heard a remark he made. But they all turned a blind eye.
I fought back a couple of times. I pushed him once. He was five inches taller than me and thirty pounds heavier. The fight, if you can call it that, lasted three minutes. I got a black eye and a bloody nose. We both got detention, I also got beaten up each day afterwards for a week. I threw food at him at lunch one day after he mushed my face into potatoes. He hit me with the lunch tray. We both got detention and I got the daily beatings afterwards each day.
The worst part was others kids knowing I was the target of his abuse so they stayed away from me for fear of becoming a target also. I had no friends. He made those first two years absolute hell. My parents wouldn't do anything about it. They didn't understand how someone could do the things I said he did.
I thought High School would be better. It wasn't. Everything he did in Junior High he did worse in High School. The only bright spot was that I was able to make some friends, the other outcasts, the ones no one else wanted to associate with, the ultra nerds, the handicapped, the autistic kids, (who at the time weren't yet diagnosed). We were a tight knit group. For the first time we all had friends. We understood what each other was going through. We all had our own Dan Simmons.
I don't know what made Dan tick. Some hidden inferiority complex even though he was very popular. Maybe a mental defect. And that popularity grew as he played football and baseball. Of course he started all four years. He always had one of the prettiest girls every year. As for me, I didn't play sports, not even the chess club. I didn't date during my first two years. Mostly because no one would date me. If they might have been willing, I didn't have the confidence to approach them.
In our junior year some things changed for the better. Some of the group of O's as we called ourselves, for Outkast, were into computers. Melvin Finebaum, who was picked on for being Orthodox Jew, developed a website for small restaurants. We weren't all computer nerds but between Melvin, Kuki Makalya, (African from Benin), and Denver Rinehart, (autistic), we finished out the complete program.
It's one thing to have a website program it's another to get it out. The O's decided to try to sell it to some businesses in the area. Melissa Wall and I were the most mainstream members of the group if you can call it that. Melissa was an outcast only because of her reputation. She had an accident in 8th grade that branded her until she got out of school. She was a nice girl. She never bothered anyone. She just really quiet unless she was comfortable with you. Unfortunately, she got her period one day and wasn't prepared so she bled through her clothes before she realized what happened. From then on, she was known as Bloody Mary. Melissa and I went out to find some business. We were only 16 years old and people didn't take us very seriously. Surprisingly we were able to sell to a small pizza shop offering them the program on a trial basis. That became our business model. Outkast Software was born.
Not many people knew about it. Most of our parents didn't even take it seriously. They were just happy their kids had friends. As we became more successful. I gained more confidence. Dan was still the bully but it wasn't as bad because of the demands of school and sports for him. He still made it a habit to push me whenever he got the chance. I guess he just wanted to remind me who was the bigger man.
Junior year Homecoming was coming up. I decided to take the plunge and ask out a girl from my history class, Sue Krause. She was girl next door pretty. We were about the same height. She was slightly overweight but still nice looking. I knew she wasn't dating anyone, so I asked her to the homecoming dance three weeks in advance. She accepted and I was over the moon. With the little money I had from OS I rented a limo and made reservations at a nice restaurant before the dance. I even bought a new suit. We would talk before and after class. She seemed excited about going to the dance. Like me it was her first time going on a date. Then, a week before the dance she changed. She stopped talking to me. She didn't return my calls. She seemed to avoid me. Finally, that Tuesday before the dance which was on Friday she told me she couldn't go out with me. She was going with Dan Simmons. I was shocked. I knew he never talked to her. He dated the cheerleaders or other popular girls. Why would he date Sue? I found out Friday when he came up to my locker. "Hey Pedro, sorry to hear about you and Sue. I guess she found someone better to go to the dance with." and pushed me into my locker. I stood there as he walked away laughing.
I went and asked Sue if she was going to the dance with Dan. "I'm sorry Luis. He asked me last week and I've always had a crush on him. I was surprised that he asked me and I said yes. I completely forgot you had asked me and I'm sorry. I didn't say anything because I was embarrassed by not letting you know sooner." I just looked at her and walked away in disgust. I would later learn this would become a trend between Dan and me.
I found out Dan stood her up and went to the dance with Candice Carter, one of the cheerleaders.
Whenever I had an interest in a girl, Dan would step in and take her away. I mean, between a short Mexican kid with an accent and an All-American jock, who would get picked? They always chose him. It happened twice during our junior year. I would date some girl and he would swoop in and steal them away.
It came to a head in our senior year. Outcast Software was doing well for a bunch of high school kids. We were steadily improving our product and sales pitch. We didn't go all out because of time and money. We had about 8 clients by then. We could have more, but we focused on finishing school. We had made a pact to go into business formally after we graduated. We were in a Score program that was teaching us what we needed to be in a real business and to be successful.
I was dating Maria Lopez. More Mexican kids were now in school. It felt good not to be the only one. We had been going out for two months. We had only progressed to a lot of kissing and some feeling. She was very old school and wanted to save herself for marriage. I respected that. Two weeks before prom, she changed. I hadn't formally asked her because I didn't think I had to. Like Sue, she started to avoid me and not return my calls. At first it was taking longer to call me back or saying she had something to do. Conversations became brief and it was as if she wasn't paying attention. I went to her house one day and her mother said she was out with her friend. I asked which friend and she said "some boy". My stomach sank. I had a bad feeling, but had no confirmation that she was out with Dan.
A week before Prom I was able to corner her after fifth period. She said "I can't go to the Prom with you. I talked to my parents and they don't want me to go. They think something will happen and they want me to stay pure for my wedding."
"You know that's bullshit Maria. I know you've been going out with Dan Simmons. So why are you lying?" I was mad, at her and also at Dan. "We've been going out for almost two months. Your parents know me and my family. They know I wouldn't disrespect you like that. At least be honest with me." I wasn't going to argue with her now knowing where I stood, so I left.
The only difference this time is that she did go to Homecoming with Dan. It didn't work out well for her. After the dance they went to an after party where people were drinking. Someone put something in her drink. A few weeks later, pictures of her naked started making it around school. Her reputation was ruined. She tried to say Dan drugged her, but of course he had an alibi. His friends said she came to the party by herself and Dan was nowhere around. She left school three weeks later, and no one heard from her for a long time.
A month later Dan came up to my locker and whispered in my ear, "Sorry to hear about Maria. Who's next?"
Everyone knew he had something to do with her being photographed and drugged but no one could prove it.
I didn't date or ask anyone out for the rest of the year. I did my best to stay away from Dan as much as I could. If he would do that to an innocent person, I couldn't imagine what he would plan next. I knew then that he was a psychopath.
We graduated and formally went into business. Melvin was the Chief Technical Officer, Kuki was Chief Financial Officer, I became Chief Marketing Officer and Melissa was head of sales. Denver was the Head of Programming. We didn't have a CEO or COO. We made decisions by committee. We hadn't hired anyone so it didn't make a big deal.
Over the coming years the OS grew by leaps and bounds. Melissa eventually became CEO and I COO. We were the least technically minded of the group, but had better people skills. We both went to night school to learn more about running a growing business. Within two years we had 50 employees. Ten years after, we had 400 employees with offices in New York, Miami, Indianapolis, Seattle and Los Angeles. We ran lean. We could have had four times as many employees. We had competitors pop up but they couldn't match the customer service we offered. Their customers soon found out a low price doesn't always mean a good deal. Almost everything was done in-house and not outsourced over seas. If they a company a good product, we bought them out. We were always being approached by Venture Capitalists and Investment Funds. We didn't need the money and liked the freedom we had.
Life was good for me. I had married Helen Jones five years previously. She had been working at a restaurant I was visiting for business. Talking to the owner I found out that she was single and had a little girl less than two years old. He talked about what a nice girl she was and that she needed a good man. She and I started dating and married a year later. I adopted her daughter Eloise. My family took to both of them immediately, especially to Eloise. Her family was a little hesitant at first. I don't know if it was because I was Mexican or because of her history with men. Eventually they came around and accepted me.
So, Back to seeing Dan Simmons more than twenty years later. He was in line at Bubba's BBQ in Franklin Square with a nice looking lady about our age, and a younger girl who looked to be in her early 20s. I was sitting with my wife and 17 year old son, Hector. Eloise was away at college, attending Davidson, studying computer science. She was going to graduate next year and, in her words, to teach me how to run the business. She's definitely a Daddy's girl. She loved coming into the business with me during the summer. When most kids were out playing, she was hanging with Uncle Denver and Melvin learning to code. Denver never married. He stayed the shy autistic kid we all knew and loved. He doted on Eloise like she was his own.
I'm eating my brisket sandwich and feel a hard slap on my back. "Hey Pedro, how you been doing amigo?" It was Dan standing there with his wife and daughter as I later found out.
"It's Luis and I'm doing great, better than anyone could hope. How about you Dan?" I asked not really caring what the answer was.
"I'm doing great Pedro, I run the new car dealership on Wilkinson. Just moved back from Spencer. This is my wife Linda and daughter Danielle."
I introduced Helen and my son Miguel. "Well, it was good seeing you again Danny, Have a great day." I said in a dismissive tone and turned back to Helen.
They just walked away. Helen picked up on my mood. I had never talked about the Dan part of my life. I told her I would explain when I got home which I did.
All the things Dan had done to me came rushing back over the next couple of days. Years of torment and abuse. How he treated me and people I liked. I thought about what he did to Maria and nothing was ever done to him. The more I stewed about it, the more it ate me up. I had spent twenty years of not once thinking about him and now I couldn't get him out of my mind.
He was living a great life, never having to pay for what he did. If there's any justice in this world he should have to pay. Balance needs to be restored. Not just for me but for others. That day I decided to make Dan Simmons life a living hell. I started making my plans.
A couple of days later I had my plan prepared. I just needed some help. The first was to make him uncomfortable. I didn't plan on this being over quickly. I wanted him to suffer, and suffer for a long time. How to go about that? Easy! I messed with his car. It was easy to find out where he lived. It was in nice little neighborhood off Robinwood. I drove through a couple of times. I noticed several houses had Ring cameras on the door. I wouldn't be able to do something to his car directly. That would get me caught, so I tried a different tact. I spoke to Denver. "Hey, Denver, is it possible to hack into a car's computer?"
"Yeah, piece of cake usually. Why do you want to know?"
Now comes the tricky part. Can I trust Denver and can I get him to help me out?
"You remember Dan Simmons don't you?"
"Yeah, that asshole that used to pick on people? How could I forget him?"
"Well, he's back in town. He's running that new car dealership on Wilkinson. You remember what he did to Maria Lopez with the pictures and stuff?"
"Of course. Everyone knew that bastard had something to do with it. I still can't believe he got away with it. Do you know what ever happened to her?
'No, not after she moved away."
"No else knows but she moved to her aunt's house in El Paso Texas. She had a nervous breakdown and ended up hospitalized for a while. She never fully recovered. She's dealing with alcoholism now. She was a nice girl." Denver said sadly.
"I need your help, Denver. I want to make Dan pay for everything he did. Will you help?"
"Hell yeah! What can I do? I can't beat him up even though I would love it if I could."
"No, you can't but you can do something better. We can use your specialty, which is Software. I need you to hack into his car's computer."
"Wait, I'm not going to make it crash or anything. Even though he might deserve it I don't think I could hurt someone."
"Slow down Denver, I would never ask you to hurt him. Just make his life uncomfortable. I'm thinking of messing with his car. Make it so that it doesn't start in the morning for a couple of hours. When he goes home have the warning lights come on at different times. Maybe the radio stops working or changes channels and volume randomly. Like I said, he needs to be uncomfortable but not in danger. No breakdowns while driving or anything. Can you do something like that?'
"Yeah, I can do it. I just need to be by the car when its running so I get the info I need."
So that's what we did. For the first month we messed with his car. Denver really got into it. Finding different things to do. His car wouldn't start one morning. When they checked it, of course they didn't find anything. A couple of days later, when it was time to go home it wouldn't start. His radio stopped working for several days. Then it came on really loud and there was nothing he could do to turn it off or down. Then it started working but changing channels for a week straight, always to one of the ten Hip-Hop stations in the area. Denver did everything from making the wipers come on to the hazard lights. The alarm would go off all times of day and night. There were a couple of nights he had to pull the fuse to get it to stop. He took it to his shop 6 times and they never able to find anything wrong with it. People were starting to think he was crazy. He even changed cars a couple of times and it still happened, but only when he was driving.
Was I starting to feel better? Yes I was. But I was far from done. He had abused me for almost 10 years. I was paying him back not only for me, but for Sue and especially for Maria. He would pay a high price for that. Helen spoke to me one night. "Luis, I'm starting to worry about you. You're becoming obsessed with getting revenge for something that happened so long ago."
"I'm okay honey, I just hate the fact that these bullies get away with abusing people and living life like they never hurt someone." I told her the story about Maria. She didn't know as she went to Greenville Central and I was at Booker T.
"I understand how you feel, but look at your life. You're a part owner of a multi-million-dollar company. You could retire any day that you wanted You have two kids who love you like no other and if I can say, a very beautiful wife," she added with a smile and laugh.
"I do have not only the most beautiful wife I could ever hope for but also the smartest and most caring. I'm not going to lose myself. I'm almost done with him. It will only be a couple more months. I just need him to know who did it and why."
"Please don't do anything that will get you hurt or thrown in jail."
"Now you're being unreasonable. I can do one or the other. You pick." I said with a smile showing I was joking. She seemed to feel more comfortable after the talk. At least she never brought it up again.
Phase two was a little bit more devious. I recruited several people within the company. They were young ladies. The only thing they did was make calls once in a while. They called his home when his wife was at home and also to his job. They always asked to speak to Mr. Simmons. Some left messages that wouldn't arouse suspicion. At first, it was only a couple of times a week. There might be a week we didn't call. Eventually we increased the number of calls and the types of messages. When they called his the dealership they would ask for him and hang up. He had to stop whatever he was doing to answer the phone. Sometimes they would ask for Danny Poo, or something of that nature. They really had fun with that.
After a couple of weeks, it was 'I need to talk to Dan" or 'Dan said he would call me back but he never did'. Dan probably had the most problems with "Tell Dan I'll be there at lunch time," or even better, "Tell him I can't get away this weekend so we have to reschedule."
How about "Oh you must be his sister that he told me about." You could hear his wife yelling from fifty feet away.
This had been going on for almost 2 months. We cut back on the car issues but made sure they popped up now and then. For phase three I wanted to ramp it up. Physically he was still bigger than I am. I had never been a fighter and still wasn't. The closest I've come to a fight was playing the Street Fighter video game. I had a couple of things to do before I confronted him. I hired a couple of hookers and had them go to the dealership and ask for Dan. They were supposed to make a scene about getting a deal on a car for services. This happened 2 weeks apart. Next, I hired an actor. He was supposed to act like a pimp and go in and demand that Dan pay for the services he was given since he wasn't giving them a deal on a car. I couldn't risk hiring a real pimp. I had someone there each time videoing what was going on. The look not only on Dan's face, but on his employees was priceless. You could see the bags forming under his eyes from the stress. Dan tried to fight the "pimp" but was stopped by a couple of the salesmen. I knew he was getting to his breaking point.
Phase four was where some of our employees went into the dealership to buy cars. Word had spread about what Dan had done to people and they wanted to help get revenge. They did the test drive and everything. When they were at the desk with the salesmen they would appear to spot Dan. They would ask if that was Dan Simmons. When the salesperson confirmed it, they said they can't do business with a place that would employ him. One employee played it to the hilt. She screamed when she saw Dan, started yelling "no it's not him. It can't be him," as she pointed at Dan and ran out. They didn't know what to make of it. No matter what he said no one believed he hadn't done something to her.
An employee knew someone who worked at the dealership was giving me inside info. Word was that Dan was hanging on to his job by his fingernails. He was also having marital issues. His wife was calling at all times to check on him to see if he was at work. I felt it was time to make my move.
Phase Five was the confrontation. I went to the dealership and asked to speak to him. He walked into the showroom and saw me standing there. He went to greet me like we were old friends. "Hey, Pedro, it's good to see you again. Stopping in to get a new car?"
I ignored the hand he had out for a shake. "For the last time ass wipe, its Luis, not Pedro but Luis. Should I write it down?" I responded with the anger I've held in for decades. He looked bewildered for a minute.
"Oh, I'm sorry Luis. You're right. How can I help you?" He seemed a little less confident now, but still with that fake salesman's smile plastered on his face.
"I'm wondering what it was like to be the biggest bully in school all those years ago. Did you get a hard-on picking on me and others? Did it make you feel like a big man pushing around kids smaller than you?'
With each questions caused him to look around to see if anyone else could hear what I was saying.
"No you were so smug back in school. The big man on campus. I studied people like you. People bully other people because deep down they feel insignificant. Was that you Danny?" Maybe your father didn't love you. Was that it, Danny? He never told you he loved you, or that he was proud of you?"
"What the fuck are you talking about Pedro, I mean Luis. What's your problem?"
"You're my problem Danny. All those years of picking on me when I never did one thing to you. All because it made you feel good."
"Jesus that was 20 years ago. You need to let it go!" He was sounding exasperated and irritated. By now people were starting to notice our interaction.
"Some things are forever Danny. Let me ask you this. How does it feel to be bullied?"
"Again, what the fuck are you talking about? I haven't seen you since the restaurant."
"Yeah, you see Danny, that's the difference between you and me. I'm a lot smarter than you will ever be. Let me ask you. How has your car been running lately?'
His eyes got real wide. "Has the missus gotten any calls lately? Why don't you pay your hookers?"
"Wait, that was you? You been fucking with me for months!" he said louder then he intended. "You tried to ruin my marriage. What the fuck Pedro. Get over it. It happened 20 years ago."
"Get over it? GET OVER IT?" Now I was yelling. "Do you know that Maria Lopez had a nervous breakdown over what you did? That she's now an alcoholic. She will never be the same all because of you. I haven't begun to get over it. You think I've been fucking with you now, just wait to see what I have planned.' I lowered my voice again,' Right now the loving Ms. Simmons is having lunch with a handsome young man who will take her to the Motel 6 and fuck her brains out."
It wasn't true, but he didn't know that. "Why do you think she calls you all day? She wants to make sure you're at work so she can meet her new friend. I picked this guy out because he knows what he's doing. He's been working on getting her in bed for weeks. When he's done with your wife, she'll never be the same again."
I leaned into him and whispered, "He'll turn her out and she'll do whatever he asks so she can get some more of his cock. You'll be stuck jerking off for the rest of your life." I could see the veins in his neck bulging and cheeks turning red.
Very quietly I said "I've only begun Danny. Maybe I'll have him talk to your beautiful daughter. How old is she now?" He screamed and rushed at me.
"You no good bastard. I'll kill you!"
He grabbed me around my neck and started choking me. I flailed my arms like I was dying but I knew people were close enough to pull him off me before he could do any real damage. He was screaming bloody murder as several people grabbed and pulled him off me. I had enough witnesses to press charges. Once he let me go, I demanded someone call 911. I lay on the ground like I was really hurt.
Someone called the police and an ambulance. I didn't need to be transported but they noted the scratches on my neck. The police handcuffed Danny and took him in for assault and threatening bodily harm. They took reports from all the people who witnessed what happened. They all said basically the same thing. We were talking when he suddenly attacked me.
The cop asked me what set him off and I said "Officer we were talking about high school. He used to bully me. He kept calling me Pedro, which isn't my name. I told him not to call me that again. We argued a little and he went off and tried to choke me. I was surprised. In school we all thought he was a psychopath. He raped some girl in school and posted the pictures online. But nothing was ever done about it." I made sure I said the rape part loud enough for others to hear it.
"Okay, Mr. Chandler. If you want to formally charge him you need to come down to the station on Main St. He won't see a judge until tomorrow. I don't know if he will get bail."
"I'll be down today. I want to be at his bail hearing to let them know he made serious threats against me." We talked some more and I went to the station and filed charges.
Dan ended up being charged with assault in the second degree and threatening bodily harm. He was released on $50,000 bail since this was his first offense. He got a decent lawyer and was able to plead guilty to assault in the third degree with no time served, but five year's probation. It helped that he had a spotless criminal record.
He lost his job of course. They contacted me to see if I was "okay," meaning they were terrified that I was going to sue them. I just told them if they fired Danny, I would forget it ever happened. They told me it was already done and that he would be blackballed in the car industry in the area because of what was happening before the assault.
I didn't know what happened in his happy home until later. I did feel bad for his wife and daughter. They were collateral damage. Just like Maria and Sue.
Was I satisfied with the outcome? Nothing can ever make up for all those years of abuse. But it felt good to get a little bit back. I knew I was the better man. Not just because of my money or being a founder of a successful company. Because of the way I treated people. Knowing I never once disrespected someone was important to me. I treated people the way I wanted to be treated. Helen was afraid I would lose myself in the pursuit of revenge. That was never going to happen because I reminded myself of who I was every morning when I looked in the mirror.
Now I had one more thing to do. I already had the information I needed. I told Helen what I planned and she was all for it. Two days later I landed in El Paso Texas. I got my rental car and drove to a part of the city that had seen better times. I pulled up to a house where the yard needed some cutting and the house a good paint job. There was an old car sitting in the yard on blocks. A couple of bicycles were on the porch. The neighbor's dog was barking by the fence announcing my arrival. As I walked up the walk-way, I saw a curtain move in the front room.
A woman who looked older than me but I knew she wasn't, came out and stood on the porch. She was very thin. Her hair was uncombed and her skin had a reddish hue from too much drinking. Her clothes had seen better days. She had a cigarette in her hand like it was part of her body.
"Help ya?" She inquired with a suspicious tone.
"No, you can't. I can help you though." I responded with a smile. I knew that statement would throw her off balance.
"How can you help me? I don't even know you," she returned with a defiant tone.
"You do know me, Maria. At least you used to know me, like I know you. It has been almost 24 years so you probably forgot the little Mexican kid in high school you dated." I could see her searching her mind. She closed her eyes and her arms dropped to her sides. "Luis" It was a whisper. I almost didn't hear it. "You're Luis from school. Why are you here?"
"Yes, it's me. I'm here for you. I'm here to help you, to repay a long overdue debt." I took a few more steps towards her.
"What debt, what do you owe me? You never did anything to me."
"I'm here because of Dan Simmons."
When I mentioned his name, she collapsed into herself. She fell to her knees and started crying.
"Oh God, I haven't heard that name in decades, but he's in my mind every day." I went to her and held her as she cried.
"Maria, I'm here because you will never have to worry about him ever again. He will never bother you again. And it's time Maria. It's time you started living and I'm here to help you. If you let me," I said trying to reassure her.
"What can you do Luis? Why would you want to help me?" she questioned.
"What happened to you was because of me. I don't know why Dan hated me so much. What he did to you he did it so it would hurt me also. It took 20 years, but he finally paid for what he did. It's time for you, like it was time for me, to move on from the past and start living for the future. Would you let me help you?" I stood and held my hand out.
Epilogue:
It took a little convincing her of my intentions. I was finally able to get Maria into the top drug and alcohol treatment program in Carolina. That was another issue. Getting her to move out of Texas. I visited her weekly at the center. Helen started coming with me in the third week. She felt Maria needed someone in her corner besides me. We talked about her future and what she wanted to do. In Texas she was barely making it. Living off of welfare and part-time jobs when she wasn't high or drunk. I got her a job at my company cleaning the offices when she got out as well as a little one bedroom apartment with the rent paid for six months. She reconnected with friends from school who worked at Outkast and started having a social life that didn't involve drugs or alcohol. She and Helen became best friends.
After the first year she talked about doing something more with her life than cleaning toilets. We enrolled her in Belmont Abbey College. She took finance and business classes. When she graduated two years later, she went to work under Kuki in the finance department. Turns out she had a head for numbers.
She eventually met a nice guy that Helen approved of. He was six years older than us with two married children and three grandchildren. His wife had passed away from cancer five years previously. We joked, calling her Granny. She loves it and is truly happy since he treated her like a queen.
As far as Danny, things didn't go so well for him. Not only did he lose his job but his wife left him. He accused her of cheating and she did the same to him. All those phone calls took a toll on her trust. The fact that he got arrested was the final straw. She took their daughter and moved back to her hometown.
He found that he was blackballed in the car business in the area. He didn't get a good reference from the dealership. So it was hard to get a job in the auto industry. Because he was on probation he couldn't leave the state. He finally found a job as an assistant manager of a Jack in the Box out in Lumberton. It's so small that it's only him and one other person working the overnight shift. He's living in a trailer. No disrespect to people living in trailers.
Maria and I got the best revenge possible, a life well lived.
The End
Greenville being a small city maybe we'll hear more about Denver or Kuki, maybe Melvin. Yeah, Denver needs to find love.
This story was inspired by Rhettherat's story Sacrifice in Loving Wives. Its about a guy that was bullied during school. Its the kind of story that makes you mad because the OP never got redemption against the bully. I'm not a tenth of the writer Rhettherat is, I hope I conveyed the feeling that my guy got some revenge even though it took more than 20 years. Living a good life is always the best revenge.
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