Taking Care of the Kids

I was truly enjoying this stage of my life -- at least most of the time -- as I interacted with my five year old daughter and seven year old son at a fancy playground near where my wife was on location filming a movie. I was only 32 years old, but didn't work for money any more. I spent my time doing pro bono work for charities, inventing things in areas of technology that struck my fancy, and, as now, really enjoying interacting with my kids. I had made enough money to last several lifetimes as a dot. com entrepreneur so earning a paycheck was the last thing that I was interested in.

As we were playing in the almost empty venue -- it was a school day for most kids, although at this stage I tutored both kids when my wife was on set though they did attend school when we were home and both read three grade levels ahead -- a young woman arrived with a boy and a girl in tow. The boy looked to be about the same age and size as my son, and the girl about the same age and only slightly smaller than my daughter. The woman -- maybe their Mom, but looking too young to be -- was dressed casually with long sculptured tanned legs and long lustrous brunette hair -- not that I noticed.

It didn't take long for the two sets of kids to start interacting with each other. Soon thereafter the young woman pulled a soccer ball out of a large cloth bag she was carrying and walked over toward me. "Mind if I suggest that the kids kick the soccer ball around together -- and with us?" she inquired in a voice as melodious as I had ever heard in my life.

I tried not to stare at the young woman -- she was very striking looking. She wasn't movie star gorgeous, but she definitely well represented the female gender of our species.

Not normally at a loss for words I snapped out of a temporary stupor that the young woman's appearance had caused and with a smile and extended hand said "Not until after introductions; I'm Chance Ballard and my little mini-mes are Jeremy and Angelica," I said pointing to my boy and girl, respectively.

The young woman laughed, shook my hand with a firm grip, and replied "I'm Lucia Templeton and these are my mini-mes, as you call them, Liam and Olivia."

"Hey kids, want to kick a ball around?" I shouted at the four kids.

Given the enthusiastic response I got the feeling that that was a great idea.

We all kicked the ball around -- Lucia was much better than I was, and for a little kid Olivia was very good too -- for about ten minutes before my very competitive son Jeremy asked "How about a game, Dad?"

"Ask Mrs. Templeton," I smiled, "it's her ball."

"Can we play a game, Mom?" Liam and Olivia seemed to ask in unison.

Lucia agreed so we marked out a field in a grassy area of the park using sticks and articles of clothing, and Jeremy, Angelica and I played Lucia, Liam and Olivia in a friendly, though spirited, game. Even though I was a pseudo jock in High School and college -- having been a decent basketball player and sixth place finisher in the State in the 400 meter during High School -- Lucia was a much better soccer player than I was and Olivia was better than Angelica. However, Jeremy carried our team so that after about a half hour -- with all of the kids totally into it -- we were tied eight goals apiece (no goalies and not much defense).

I looked at my watch and saw that we probably needed to get back to our temporary rental in an hour or so, so I challenged "How about whoever gets the next goal wins, and the loser buys ice cream at Baskin Robbins."

Everyone broke out into cheers. Then Lucia made it clear that she had been hustling us by putting a few moves on me that I had probably only seen in World Cup play, and scored the deciding goal.

Everyone except for Jeremy cheered, me with less enthusiasm than the others, so I called out "OK, time for ice cream." I went and shook Lucia's hand as I mumbled under my breath "Nice goal Minnesota Fats," recalling the name of a pool shark from the old (1959) movie "Hustler." Apparently Lucia is an old movie buff because my remark caused her to stick out her tongue at me as she fist-bumped me rather than shaking my hand.

As we walked to the car Angelica and Olivia were lobbying Lucia to ride together to the ice cream shop, and Jeremy and Liam seemed similarly inclined. I got distracted watching Lucia's seemingly perfect bubble butt prance in front of me, but Jeremy finally got my attention. At our cars we decided that the girls could ride with Lucia, and the boys with me. Lucia and I consulted our phones on the exact address of the store we were going to -- only four or five minutes away -- and then took off.

Angelica got one scoop of pistachio and one of strawberry in a cup with plenty of sprinkles, with the idea that I would eat what she couldn't. Olivia got a single cone of chocolate chip, the boys got the same double scoop cones, and Lucia got a triple cone with three different scoops. I wondered looking at her how someone as lean as she is -- I estimated five feet seven, 125 pounds -- could eat that much, but kept the question to myself as I paid for the treats and gave the High School server (I didn't know why she wasn't in school, but found out later for the local High School it was teacher grading day) a $10 tip, brightening her day.

We had some interesting conversations at the ice cream shop; the kids talked mostly non-stop, mostly among themselves but included Lucia and I occasionally, while I tried to talk to Lucia without gawking at her. I confirmed that she wasn't beautiful, but Holy Shit was she sexy.

I found out that the kids were in fact biologically hers -- she wasn't shy in telling me that she was 30 although she could pass for twenty one -- and had in fact been on a Division I soccer scholarship in college. I admitted my situation, although downplaying my wealth. The surprising thing that we learned only a few minutes before we left was that her husband -- Hugh Jepson (she kept her maiden name), no stage name for him -- was working on the same movie as my wife, Ursula Ballard, stage name Chrissy Brite.

As we went to leave -- the girls to get quick naps (they would soon outgrow them) and the boys to get tutored for an hour while their sisters slept -- we made arrangements to meet the next day at a local roller rink.

***************

You're probably a little confused by our circumstances; you have a right to be because the situation is perplexing.

Ursula and I were college sweethearts, and married shortly after we graduated, she with a BA degree in communication and a minor in theater, and me with a BS degree in electrical engineering with a minor in software development. We had a fairly normal life until I hit it big by selling my dot. com company when I was 28 (although I had to stay on for two years to make sure that the transition was seamless). By then we had two kids and since Ursula didn't have to work to help support us she started to pursue her true love -- theater.

We were in a good place when just as my commitment to the company I sold my dot. com to expired Ursula was "discovered" by chance. Ursula is one of those few people who got better looking with age (not that she was old, only 30 at the time that she was "discovered") so even though she had always been beautiful even after delivering two kids she was even more good-looking, with a rare exotic appeal perhaps harking to her Eastern European ancestry. Her parents are both of Estonian descent (both born in the US after their parents had been here only a year or two), and her mother is a classic Estonian beauty with blond hair (even in her late fifties and early sixties) and vibrant blue eyes from which Ursula has inherited her natural, healthy appearance with just the right mixture of elegance and simplicity. Since Estonians as a group are the third tallest people in the world (169 cm for women, and 180 cm for men, or for those of you who like English units roughly five feet seven inches for women and over five feet eleven inches for men) it's not surprising that Ursula is 5 feet 9 and 1/2 inches tall.

Anyway, Ursula was starring in a community theater production as Anne in "Calendar Girls," considered to be one of the more challenging roles in comedic theater and doing a great job. After the second of four performances she was approached in the dressing room by Hollywood producer Richard Tatum who happened to be visiting his sister's family (his sister had one of the lesser roles in the play). He was very complimentary of her acting abilities (not surprisingly because she was really good) and said that she would be perfect for a minor but important role in a movie that he was producing that would start filming in a couple of months.

Producer Richard Tatum extended his stay and met with Ursula and me at our house -- during which he determined that we were not hurting for money -- and pitched his idea.

Ursula really wanted to do it, and I always tried to be the best supportive husband, so we jointly decided that she would audition for the role. To make a long story short, she got the role and travelled on location for the shoot. Shooting her scenes required that she be away from me and the kids for six weeks, with only one two day trip home to see us, and one three day and two night trip by the three of us to see her on location. That was only possible because my commitment to the company I sold my dot. com to had expired.

The movie got a lot of critical acclaim and from it she got a co-lead role in "Confluence," a big budget movie (also produced by Tatum) that was shooting on location for at least four months. Since the previous time that she was gone was hard on all of us, since I can do what I do from anywhere, and since the kids are really receptive to me schooling them and are far ahead of kindergarten (Angelica is already reading and at second grade level) and second grade (Jeremy is reading at better than fourth grade level) it wouldn't harm them in the least if we rented a house near where Ursula was on location.

That's how we got to our rented house.

Aside from me and the kids missing Ursula there was another reason that I wanted to be near her while she was shooting "Confluence." She seemed somewhat distant when she returned from her first movie shoot, and we had not yet gotten back to the strong relationship that we had before she was "discovered," now roughly two years ago as this story starts.

In my first extended talk with Lucia it seemed that her situation was similar to mine except that this was her husband's sixth movie since they had been married, not his second, and I didn't discuss with her Ursula's "distancing," although from the few relevant comments that Lucia made she might be facing a similar issue. In any event her rented bungalow was only about a mile from mine and since our kids got along so well there was no reason not to spend time together while our spouses were on set.

****************

Lucia and I, always with our kids, got together on almost a daily basis -- at least when our spouses weren't shooting -- after our first meeting. In fact, after a few days of daily get-togethers we thought it more efficient if I home schooled both boys, and she the girls, which all six of us agreed worked out great. We made sure to take field trips, do fun things, have meals together, and almost acted as a family except that aside from platonic touching Lucia and I didn't interact physically.

I did have one problem, as a result of the situation; I was starting to obsess about Lucia. There was zero chance that I would cheat on Ursula, and it disturbed me that I had the attraction to Lucia that I did -- but I couldn't help it.

I thought that I was subtle in my appreciation of Lucia -- not just her looks but her intelligence and personality -- but apparently I'm not the actor that Ursula is. One feature of Lucia's personality is that she is really "out there!" That became clear when one day as we were watching the kids swim in a local pool -- me with wrap-around dark shades on because Lucia was in a bikini that confirmed her perfectly sculptured body, turned to me between sips of a virgin Piña Colada and nonchalantly threw out "I really have to respect your integrity Chance."

"Why is that?" I asked with a little justified trepidation.

"Because even though the thing that you want to do most in your life is fuck me you've never even hinted at anything inappropriate," she casually replied after another sip of her drink.

What does one say to that? In my case, I didn't say anything as my face flushed red. I was about to stammer out something inane -- maybe even try to deny the premise of her statement although I'm sure that I'd look like a liar in doing it -- when she put down her drink, removed her sunglasses, and said "Come on, let's dive in and have some chicken fights." Two seconds later she dove into the pool with a minimal splash; I had no choice but to follow her.

The surprising thing was that after that our relationship didn't change one bit. I just accepted that she "knew," and I accepted that I was going to be a good boy.

I did wish that my relationship with Ursula was back to the way it was before her first movie. While we still had sex at the same frequency as before, and it was really nice, there seemed to be something missing -- and it wasn't because I was fantasizing about Lucia because I never did when making love to Ursula.

Shooting of the movie was probably getting to the point that there was only about a month or two left and the kids and I were really enjoying ourselves (in no small part due to our relationships with Lucia and her kids) when things off the rails.

****************

Lucia wanted to bring a bunch of soccer balls and cones to set up a field for our kids to play soccer with a few kids that were neighbors to either her family or mine and needed something to transport them in. On a Thursday afternoon I went into a storage room in our rental house and got a duffle bag out. While there I looked at the other luggage we were storing including a few smaller pieces of nice luggage that Ursula had bought just prior to us moving to the rental house.

The kids ended up having a fun soccer game -- but that wasn't the significant part of my sojourn to the storage room. Friday morning Ursula called me from her set.

"Chance, honey, something unexpected has suddenly come up, without any warning whatsoever," she started out with angst in her voice.

"What's that, darling?" I inquired.

"I just found out that we have to go to another location, a few hundred miles away, this afternoon for a quick shoot at a national landmark near Las Vegas."

"For how long?"

"Well we're leaving this afternoon, and we'll be gone Saturday -- Monday, hopefully back on Tuesday."

"Do you want us to come with you and stay at a hotel?"

"No, I'll be working the whole time, and it would be too disruptive for the kids. Just stay put -- it's not that it's a long time."

"Where will you be staying?"

"I'm not sure that Bethany," the first assistant director, "has gotten all that information yet -- but no worries, just call me on my cell phone."

"Do you need me to bring any clothes or other items to you?"

"No, I have a go-bag that I've had here for weeks. I looked it over as soon as I heard about our unexpected trip and it has everything that I need," Ursula confidently announced. That was news to me -- I had never heard of her having a "go-bag!"

We talked for a while longer -- but I was probably not as understanding as she would have liked because something was eating at me; to paraphrase Hamlet, "something was rotten in the State of Ballard!"

I put each of Jeremy and Angelica on the phone to talk to her for a few minutes before I said goodbye. After I said goodbye my internal skepticism alarm was going off, so I went to the luggage storage room that I had been to just yesterday. Ursula's medium-sized fancy suitcase was gone -- and it had been there yesterday, of that I was certain.

"So why did she lie to me about a go-bag?" I asked myself.

My next call was to the first assistant director, Bethany, since she's in charge of scheduling. When I tried to confirm that shooting had stopped at the main location and was going to be near Las Vegas she had very odd answers -- like she had been coached, and was hiding some things. That made be ten times more suspicious than I already was.

Unfortunately, I then had to interrupt my investigation to do things with the kids, including taking them to a promised dinner, but when we got home I called Ursula -- it went to voice mail with a new message that she was travelling and couldn't talk for a while -- and then I called Lucia.

"What's up Chance," is how Lucia answered her cellphone.

"Are you psychic or do you have caller ID?" I chuckled despite the seriousness of what I was going to talk to her about.

"Wise ass," she laughed.

"Actually, I have a serious question; is Hugh part of the cast that went to the location shoot near Las Vegas?"

"What location shoot -- Hugh's right here."

"Ask him about it," I replied.

The phone was dead for a while, although I could hear some discussion in the background. Lucia came back on a couple of minutes later. "Hugh has no idea what you're talking about. Everyone was given Friday -- Monday off because both the director and Winston," Winston being the male star who was in almost every scene, "had personal issues to deal with. What made you think that there was a location shoot near Vegas?"

I sighed deeply. "Never mind," I said. "I just have something to deal with that is unpleasant."

After a few more words from each of us I signed off.

I sat in a kitchen chair for a few minutes running through scenarios in my mind. Then I called Bethany, the first assistant director again. It went to voicemail but I called back three times in succession because by that time I was sure that she was avoiding my calls. She finally answered with an irritated "Hello."

"Hello yourself, Bethany; you lied to me; there is no location shoot near Vegas, everyone has a few days off. What's going on?"

After uttering a few unintelligible sounds she challenged "Who told you that -- it's just for a few people so not everyone knows about it."

"Give me the names of all of the people who went on the shoot," I snarled.

"I can't give you that..." she started to say when I interrupted her.

"No more bullshit -- give me that information and what hotel they're staying at or you're not going to like what happens next," I said with a low growl that made it clear that I meant business.

"I told you I can't give out that information," she growled back.

"Then suffer the consequences," I replied just before I hung up.

I gave Ursula's cell phone one more try -- it again went to voicemail. I left a terse message. "If I don't hear from you by 8:30 -- it's 8:15 now -- don't bother calling back."

I immediately started packing up all of the things that were important to bring back to our permanent house. About 8:40 my cell phone rang. It was the wayward wife.

"Yes," I tersely answered.

"What's going on, Chance? Bethany called and said that you were very rude to her...."

I interrupted her. "How did Bethany get a hold of you when my calls went straight to voicemail?

That threw her. "Well she called someone else on the shoot..."

Again I interrupted. "Who?"

After a pause Ursula replied with irritation "I don't know her name... one of the staff people."

"What hotel are you staying at?"

"I told you that if you want to call me call my cell..."

Again I interrupted. "Yeah that didn't work very well the last two times I tried. Why can't you tell me the hotel?"

"It's not important..."

"I need the hotel name now."

"You can't talk to me like that," she yelled.

"I just did; are you going to tell me the hotel or not?"

"I would have but you're being such an ass about it that I'll not succumb to your bullying," she yelled some more.

I simply terminated the call.

My phone rang several more times but I didn't answer it -- I just busied myself in getting things ready to return home.

Before I went to bed I checked the messages -- all from Ursula -- on my phone. Most were scree; none gave the name of a hotel.

The next morning the kids were surprised when I told them that we were going home. Even though they would really miss Olivia and Liam -- and Lucia who they had seen more of than their mom in the last few weeks -- that had lots of friends back home that they were missing and anxious to re-connect with.

Any big stuff, and not necessary immediately, I entrusted to a small moving company, and all of the kids' stuff, my computer, and other important items, I loaded into my car.

We stopped by Lucia's house on the way. All of the kids hugged each other; I tried not to hug Lucia because of the effect that she had on me, but she would have none of it. However, by exercising self-control my little friend only got to half-mast.

I also met Lucia's husband Hugh for the first time. First impressions aren't always right, but he seemed like kind of a jerk.

We were about an hour out from Lucia's house when my phone rang; since it was Lucia and not Ursula, I answered.

"Didn't I just see you?" was how I answered the phone.

"Yeah, but you don't expect me to believe that bullshit story you laid on us for why you're moving back home -- especially immediately after your interrogation about some supposed shoot near Vegas."

"You're too smart for your own good," was my reply.

"Are you going to tell me the real story or am I going to have to track you down and bitch-slap you?" Lucia giggled into the phone.

I sighed -- I knew that she would pester me until I came clean -- and besides I wanted to get her take on it so after a pregnant pause long enough for her to ask "Earth to Chance -- are you still there?" I replied.

"I can't talk now -- I promise to call you tomorrow."

"What time?" was her quick response.

"Pushy little vixen, aren't you; 1:43 p. m.," I answered, trying to be funny.

"Make it 1:41 -- and not a minute later," she laughed, and then terminated the call.

I looked at my crotch. How could I be half-hard from just a quick phone conversation with that manipulative little bitch? Oh, well!

**************

By the time that we got home the kids were ready for dinner. I got take out from their favorite place. Just before the food arrived I accessed the powerful computer in my home office which had a program on it that my wife didn't know was capable of tracking her phone -- she knew enough not to have tracking from my phone to hers. After determining that she was staying at the Bellagio I called the private eye that I used for many different things in my home city, sent him photos of Ursula and Richard Tatum (in case you've forgotten him he's the producer who "discovered" Ursula) and told him to have a P. I. in Vegas get the goods on them.

I didn't wait until 1:41 the next day to call Lucia. I called her as soon as my kids were asleep -- I knew that hers would be too since we had virtually exactly the same schedule.

After her opening of "It's not 1:41 tomorrow yet," I replied "I couldn't wait to hear your melodious voice so I had to call you now. I assume that the kids are asleep but do you need to be with Hugh?"

"Yes, the kids are asleep but Hugh is off somewhere with his buddies so I can talk. I probably already know what it is."

"You do? Well tell me then."

"I don't want to steal your thunder, Chance."

"Well, then, I'll be blunt. I'm quite sure that Ursula went off with Richard Tatum to a long weekend in Vegas."

"You mean the producer Richard Tatum?"

"That's the one!"

"But he looks like a toad and you're a stud -- what gives?"

"Maybe he can get her more roles in movies -- I don't know but I don't give a shit. The way I feel now, we're done."

"What affect will that have on the kids?"

"They don't see her much now -- they've seen you more in the last few weeks than they've seen her, and as far as I can tell, they like you more Lucia."

"You shouldn't say that?"

"Why, it's true."

"You still shouldn't say that. Maybe a divorce will be harder on them than you think, however; maybe you shouldn't be so precipitous."

"What would you do if you caught Hugh cheating?"

"I'd give him his walking papers in a second, but my situation is different than yours."

"What do you mean Lucia?"

"I'm almost ready to give him his walking papers without me knowing that he cheated. We came with him for this picture primarily for me to see if I still had feelings for him. So far, I'm still undecided. However, you seem to have had a good relationship with Ursula until this situation -- maybe you shouldn't be so hasty."

I was a little surprised about her comment about her marriage -- she had never really indicated anything like that before. After thinking carefully about what to say next I decided to "go for it!"

"One question; you seem to be quite sure that I'm lusting after you, which I neither confirm nor deny. However, I have no idea how you feel about me. Can you give me a hint?"

Lucia laughed for more than a few seconds; then re-gained her composure and answered my question -- well sort of, anyway. "I like you as well as any man I've met in my life except for my father and paternal grandfather; but I'm not willing to say anything further because you need to decided what to do about Ursula with ONLY your kids, yours, and your other family members in mind -- I shouldn't be in the equation and I'm specifically taking myself out of it."

I smiled when she said that. That was enough for me. "Thanks, Lucia. You're as smart and practical as you are sexy. I'm signing off now."

"Wait -- you have to promise to tell me how things pan out."

"I promise -- I will," I replied and then cut off the connection.

**************

Ursula called the next few days -- while she was still in Vegas -- but I didn't talk to her. I did let the kids talk to her, but declined to take the phone when they said that she wanted to talk to me, instead simply pressing the red button. I told the kids NOT to tell mom that we were back home -- that I wanted to surprise her. I listened in on their conversations and neither spilled the beans.

On Tuesday morning the Vegas P I's report came in. It was as I expected. She was sharing a room with Tatum and there was no location shoot. I didn't need intimate photos. The only question I had in my mind was the scorched earth response that I was planning because I hoped for a future relationship with Lucia -- or was that the proper response without factoring Lucia (since a relationship with her wasn't close to a sure thing anyway) into the equation.

When Ursula got back to our rental house Tuesday evening -- having gone right from Vegas to the set Tuesday morning -- she immediately called. This time I would be talking to her.

As soon as I saw her name on caller ID I answered the phone "Have fun with that frog Tatum in your long weekend in Vegas?"

"What do you mean?" was her startled reply.

"It's a simple question."

"I was on location near Vegas; while Tatum was there it was in his professional capacity."

"You mean he's a gigolo, pimp, or trafficker?"

"You're not making sense. I'm calling because it's clear you just took off with the kids and only my stuff is in the rental house."

"You're much more perceptive than you are moral, aren't you Ursula dear -- I'm sorry, Chrissy Brite, which what I'll be calling you from now on since your stage life is much more important to you than your real one."

"Would you stop throwing shade at me, Chance?"

"No, actually, I won't; the divorce papers will be served tomorrow on the set -- have a nice life," and I terminated the call.

Of course Chrissy tried calling many more times in the next few days but I never answered the phone unless it was from someone I knew and was sure wasn't calling for Chrissy, or letting Chrissy use her phone.

Chrissy was served Wednesday at her lunch break on the set, just as I promised. With the petition for divorce, though not part of them, I included the Vegas P I's report. I was slightly surprised when Chrissy arrived at our house on Thursday while the kids were back in school. She had a forlorn look on her face -- but by now she was a skilled actress so I paid no attention to her demeanor.

"Chance, I'm sorry that I lied to you," were Chrissy's first words when she came into the house. "I knew that you wouldn't approve or understand, but acting is really important to me now and Richard can insure that I can get almost any role that I want. It was only one long weekend and it won't happen again."

"You're right -- it won't happen again when we're married because we're getting divorced. I don't really give a shit what you do in the future -- you can fuck all the toads that you want to for any reason that you want to. Go back to your set -- and get an attorney because only our attorneys will talk about it, I'm not talking to you about it."

With that I went into my large office in our house (which I guess I have to reluctantly admit is more than a mansion than a house) and got on my computer. She followed me and kept talking. While I wasn't listening carefully some of the shit coming out of her mouth included "fragile male ego," "it meant nothing to me [her]," "we can get past it," "you're the love of my life," "I'll get custody of the kids," and the normal other horseshit. At my desk I kept printing out copies of her photos with Tatum, handing one to her every couple of minutes but not otherwise reacting at all. Finally after about a half hour she started swearing at me and got verbally abusive and even said "I'll tell the court that you sexually abuse both kids."

When she said that I looked hurt and looked up at her and in a meek voice said "You know that's not true."

"So what, I can get people to believe me; you forget that I'm a great actress now," Chrissy snarled.

"Yeah, but you're way too stupid to convince anyone. Now get your skanky ass out of here or I'll call Linda and ask her to come over."

[P. S. I took that approach because in my office -- at one time Chrissy knew it but apparently had forgotten it -- I had complete video and audio coverage which automatically was sent not only to the cloud but to several devices including one in my attorney's office. If she ever tried that heinous trick in court I'd crucify her; of course I'd never let her know that I had the video and audio until the time was right.]

Linda is my brother's wife. I've never really liked Linda -- although I've never showed or said that to either her or my brother -- but she has one trait that formerly was undesirable but was now desirable. Chrissy hates her, and she hates Chrissy. We keep them out of the same room the best we can when we have family functions although Linda sometimes tries to interact with Chrissy because Linda's a mega-bitch and loves to yank Chrissy's chain.

"You wouldn't dare," Chrissy snarled, "you know that I told you that she was never, ever to come into our house again."

I dialed Linda's number. Fortunately she answered. "Hi Linda; I'm calling because I'm divorcing Chrissy Brite, formerly known as Ursula Ballard, and wondered if you could come over and talk to her with me to convince her to get her skank ass out of here."

I could tell that Chrissy didn't believe me because she folded her arms and snarled "You're not really talking to her asshole; how stupid do you think that I am."

After a few more words with Linda I said "Chrissy wants to talk to you -- now that she's no longer family you can tell her what you think of her in great detail," and I handed the phone to Chrissy. As soon as Chrissy heard Linda's voice she threw the phone and stormed out.

I had paid an arm and a leg for a top-of-the-line Sonim cellphone, which has military grade durability standards. While the call had been disconnected, Chrissy's hissy fit had done nothing more than minor cosmetic damage to my phone. I called Linda back and thanked her for helping me get rid of Chrissy.

"Are you really divorcing her?" Linda asked.

"Bet your ass I am," I laughed.

"About time," Linda grunted as we mutually terminated the call.

**************

What kept me sane the next couple of weeks, besides doing everything with the kids, was talking with Lucia every day. After a formal separation notice was entered by the Court -- the first real stage in a divorce proceeding in our state -- I told Lucia about it. She seemed to be very interested.

What I was dreading was when Chrissy was done shooting her movie -- which would only be in about three more weeks -- because according to my attorney I couldn't kick her out of the house.

I was trying to devise an effective plan for when Chrissy returned when during my musings Lucia made her daily call. After our normal greetings and updates she asked "I need a favor. I want to talk to your attorney -- on your dime -- and ask some questions."

"What questions and why my dime?" I chuckled.

"The questions are not your concern, and your dime because I found out a few days ago that you're rich as shit, bozo."

"I didn't know that shit was rich; you mean for fertilizer?"

"You are so impossible I don't know why I associate with you," she cackled. "Can I call your attorney or not?"

"Since you obviously have a burr in your saddle and I won't have any peace until I agree, I'll call Sally Orca as soon as we hang up."

"Her surname isn't 'Orca' you bozo."

"I know, but she's more formidable than a shark so that's what I call her -- though not to her face, I'm too smart to antagonize an orca."

"I'm hanging up now," Lucia said in a stern voice, "make your call!"

I wondered what that was about but I called Sally, got her personally on the line, and told her to answer all of Lucia's questions and to bill me for her time.

On a Saturday, three days after that phone call with Lucia -- with calls every day in-between -- I couldn't get ahold of her and she didn't return my calls asking her to call me. The kids and I had just finished dinner when there was a knock at the front door -- there stood three smiling faces: Lucia, Liam, and Olivia. "Got room for three vagabonds?" Lucia chuckled.

Jeremy and Angelica ran to the door when they heard Lucia's voice, and the four kids engaged in a lovefest for the next five minutes. I looked at Lucia with a puzzled expression on my face but she wasn't giving anything away by word or action -- except for mouthing "We need to talk!"

We offered the kids food, but they had stopped at a fast food restaurant an hour before so they only wanted dessert. Lucia joined them -- I refrained. We had a pleasant conversation with the kids getting up-to-date with each other. Then, with the kids still at the table, I asked Lucia "Do you guys have a place to stay tonight?" which she had no chance to answer because Jeremy and Angelica said in unison "Can't they stay here, Dad, please!"

Liam and Olivia joined in the lobbying and Lucia looked at me like a lion might a gazelle as she ran her bare foot over my leg under the table. I gulped and asked "Would you like to stay over tonight, Lucia?"

"I thought that you'd never ask," she grinned.

After Jeremy and Angelica showed Liam and Olivia their rooms -- with trundle beds that pulled out from underneath theirs -- and I showed Lucia our three guest bedrooms -- which she barely looked at but dismissively mumbled "nice," I asked if they had any luggage.

"A little," Lucia grinned.

All six of us went out to the driveway in front of our four bay garage when I got another shock. There was a trailer behind Lucia's SUV that appeared to be loaded. The kids grabbed their most important possessions, a backpack and suitcase each, which Angelica and Jeremy helped them with, and tore back into the house. After they disappeared Lucia slinked up to me, gave me a kiss that would have set off smoke alarms if we had been indoors, and then said "I can just unload my small suitcase, briefcase, and laptop computer for now, and we can get the rest of the stuff tomorrow. Tonight I intend to make your wildest dreams come true," and followed that with another kiss, maybe even more passionate than the first.

My crotch looked like a circus tent had been pitched, as like an automaton I carried Lucia's suitcase into my house. When we got inside she whispered into my ear "Be a dear and put my suitcase and briefcase in your bedroom would you Chance?" followed by a kiss on my ear.

It was a miracle that I didn't cum in my pants.

The other five people were boisterous and bubbly for the next few hours; I was shell-shocked. From the looks and air kisses that Lucia was giving me it seemed that she was planning on hauling my ashes tonight -- but I didn't know how that would play with my divorce, or how it would affect her marriage. I assumed that we would be talking once the kids went to bed.

It was hard getting the kids to bed before 11:00 p. m. they were so wired. We did get them in bed by about 10:30 though, and they seemed to be asleep shortly before eleven when Lucia grabbed my arm and hustled me into the master bedroom -- which is remote from the kids' rooms.

When we got into my bedroom she opened up her briefcase and handed me two documents. The first was a letter from my attorney addressed to me. While it was a few paragraphs long and had some legalese, the bottom line was clear. "Any sexual relations you have with others as of now will have no adverse effect on your petition for divorce, and while you cannot keep Ursula out of the house if she returns there is no requirement that you share the same room."

Once Lucia was sure that I had read that letter she gave me a copy of a separation agreement between her and her husband; paragraph 6 was highlighted in yellow magic marker, and although also in some legalese notably said that any sexual relations either party had with others as of the date of the separation had no adverse effect on the party's position in the divorce."

Once Lucia could see that I had read and understood her separation agreement she put both documents back into her briefcase, gave me another quick, though passionate, kiss and rhetorically asked "What would you like to do more than anything else in the world right now?"

I kissed her back and when I broke the kiss mumbled "You conceited, obnoxious, haughty bitch -- I'll answer your rhetorical question but with action, not words." I then proceeded to literally rip her clothes off as she was doing the same thing to mine. When I had trouble with her bra and she with my belt, we stopped ripping the other person's clothes off and removed our own.

As soon as we were both naked -- except for a stubborn sock on my right foot -- we probably had the quickest copulation in the history of human relations. I picked her up and literally threw her on top of my bedspread, she moved her legs apart, and I jumped on top. I buried my rock-hard cock in her leaking pussy in one stab, she wrapped her legs around me, I started sucking her left tit as she nibbled on my ear, and I pistoned while she bucked.

There was nothing loving, intimate, romantic, or emotional about our copulation. It was pure animal lust that drove us both. While I didn't have the mental wherewithal to count the number of strokes it couldn't have been more than a dozen before I started erupting like Mount Vesuvius and she started wailing like she was being tortured. Despite how quick my trigger was, she was writing in orgasm right along with me.

I know that I lost consciousness -- or at least lucidity -- for a while, and I could tell that she had too. When we both regained clarity my cock had just started to soften in her pussy. I slowly withdrew amazed that in our copulation that took no more than two minutes we both were soaked with sweat, and when my cock was clear of her vagina a combination of sexual fluids gushed out.

As we stared into each other's souls we seemed to come to a mutual understanding; tonight was not the time for talk; there was plenty of time to talk tomorrow. Tonight was for fucking -- and maybe even making love -- but for actions, not words.

We slowly got out of bed, pulled the wet bedspread off the mattress and tossed it into a corner, showered with plenty of groping and massaging, went under the covers into a sixty-nine until Lucia started orgasming, and then fucked doggy style to another almost simultaneous crescendo.

By the time that the kids woke us up with their noisy gleeful play at about nine o'clock the next morning to the best of my recollection I had eaten Lucia to three orgasms, and had made four sperm deposits in her "bank," an all-time record for me.

We took a leisurely shower together -- our perfectly mating parts too sore to fuck again in the shower -- got dressed and went down to the kitchen.

The kids seemed to have no reaction to seeing us together, holding hands, as they proudly explained how they had made their own breakfast. We lavished the appropriate amount of praise on them, and then sat down to eat ourselves, promising to take them to the zoo if they went and played outside for a while.

As we munched on English muffins and sipped coffee and orange juice Lucia stroked my left cheek and with a smile asked "Want to know what my plan is?"

"I'd love to hear it," I smiled before taking another crunchy bite.

"The kids and I move in today. When Ursula gets back we let her know that there is no hope for a continuing relationship with you. Once our divorces are finally you either knock me up, marry me, or both, and I try to make you the happiest and most sexually satisfied man on the planet," Lucia announced before taking a sip of orange juice.

"Do you care whether or not I love you?" I asked, then taking a sip of orange juice myself.

"I know that you do love me; and I love you way more than I ever did anyone else in my life -- except for my kids, and that's a different type of love."

"Would you mind if I told you -- and would you tell me?"

Lucia smiled at that, held my hand and said "Please."

I quickly kissed her and said "I love you."

After I broke our kiss she kissed me and replied "I love you." Then she continued, "Oh by the way if you do ask me to marry you we sign a prenup with a mutual no cheating clause," followed by another kiss.

"Sounds like a plan," I grinned, chuckling to myself "the easiest decision I ever made in my life."

After we exchanged smiles I pretended I had a Eureka moment then said, "Damn, I forgot one thing!"

"What's that?" she asked.

"No trying to fuck me to death," I replied trying to maintain a stern expression.

"Sorry, that's a deal-breaker," she laughed.

**************

The next three weeks were heaven as far as I was concerned. The kids were getting along great and were begging us to make our arrangement permanent. My relationship with Lucia couldn't have been better either; not only was the sex beyond compare but we -- simply put -- were extremely compatible.

We did not live the life of the entitled rich, however. When the kids were in school both Lucia and I were working on projects that made the lives of others better. We also involved the kids in volunteer projects on Saturdays as long as they didn't conflict with the sports or musical activities that all four of them were engaged in. Since both girls were on the same teams, as were both boys, things weren't as difficult as they otherwise would have been.

The only kicker was the apprehension/pessimism I felt about Ursula coming back. Even though in her once every three or four days phone conversations with the kids they didn't reveal the details of our living arrangements I think that she sensed what was going on. On a Friday I was informed that she was due to arrive about noon on the next Monday. Lucia and I talked about it over the weekend and decided that the direct approach was the only feasible one.

Any angst that I might have had evaporated when Ursula arrived about 12:30 p. m. on Monday in a chauffeur driven limousine with Richard Tatum. I saw them coming up the walk so I went outside before they got to the front door.

"Tatum -- get your fat ugly ass out of here. If you're not off my property within thirty seconds I'm going to use self-help and beat the shit out of your worthless ass," I snarled.

I'm not normally aggressive, physical, or violent, so Ursula was taken by surprise -- as was Tatum -- so she didn't react immediately. After about five seconds, however, she regained her poise and started to say "You can't talk to Richard..."

I assume that she was going to conclude her statement with "like that," But I interrupted her. "Shut the fuck up, Ursula you cheating bitch. I'll talk to this piece of shit any way that I please. If you don't like it you can leave too."

"You can't talk to your wife like that," Tatum harrumphed.

Apparently he thought that I was kidding, but I wasn't. However, I was smart enough not to do enough damage to him that there would certainly be repercussions so I grabbed him by the lapels and threw in onto the grass next to the stairs, rather than down the stone stairs, so that he only lost his dignity and not his consciousness.

After that Ursula was yelling at me and despite the fact that I've never laid a hand on a woman in anger I might have thrown her on top of Tatum when Lucia got in front of me and with her powerful body stopped my motion toward Ursula and then she smiled at me and said "It's not worth it."

I calmed down immediately. With Ursula's help Tatum picked himself off the grass, swore at me, and returned to the limo. By then the chauffer had unloaded Ursula's suitcases from the trunk and put them at the bottom of the stairs.

Ursula and Tatum talked quietly and then she picked up one of her suitcases, while Tatum got into the limo, and asked "Can you get my suitcases, Chance?"

"No," was my surly reply but when I turned to go back into the house Lucia said "Yes we can help her, Chance."

Since I could now fool myself into believing that I was doing Lucia's bidding, not Ursula's, between Lucia and I we carried Ursula's other four suitcases into the house.

When all three of us were inside Lucia pleasantly said "Chance, would you please apprise Ursula of the living arrangements while I take the suitcases up to her room." We have pre-planned this so it was no surprise.

"Why don't we sit in the den," I entreated, motioning to the room to the right of the foyer.

"What's this about, and why is that woman here?" Ursula snapped as soon as we sat down.

"She's not 'that woman'; you met her twice on location so you know that her name is Lucia. She and her two kids have moved in and we're sharing a bedroom and once our divorce is final she and I will very likely get married soon thereafter."

"You have the nerve to call me a cheater when you're living with that bitch?"

"Apparently you haven't carefully read the court orders in our divorce proceedings..." I started to say when she interrupted.

"There isn't going to be any divorce. Richard was going to explain things to you before you so rudely threw him down."

"As I was saying before your unenlightened interruption, the last Court Order -- entered before Lucia moved in -- makes it clear that any activities after it was issued cannot be considered adultery since the separation is permanent and the rest of the divorce is only a formality."

"You took advantage of the fact that I was working on the movie set and couldn't give the proceedings the attention that you could. I'll get the court to reconsider."

"Bullshit; you had an attorney and she could have done anything that you needed. You've replaced me -- and the kids -- with your career. The sooner you accept that, the better."

We talked for another half hour. I remained as calm as possible even when she got snippy, so by the time that Lucia popped her head into the den and said "I have a lunch prepared if you two are interested,," Ursula was on her way to realizing that things were over between us.

When we left the den it was clear that Lucia had carried all five of Ursula's suitcases, and valise, to one of the guest rooms. Ursula at least ate, even if she didn't enjoy the atmosphere, the nice lunch that Lucia had prepared and all of the verbal exchanges were at least not vile, even if not particularly friendly.

After lunch I showed Ursula around the house, including the bedrooms that the two girls, and two boys, shared, which rooms had been fitted with bunk beds per the kids' requests. She spent a lot of time looking at the posters and photos that the kids had put on the walls. "Apparently you let the kids decorate the rooms as they saw fit," Ursula chided at one point.

"Yes; Lucia and I are teaching them independence as long as they act responsibly," I smiled in return.

After our tour, and Ursula's sullen demeanor when she saw that all of her clothes had been moved into our largest guest bedroom, with all her toiletries in the en suite bathroom, we went back downstairs.

When we got downstairs Lucia approached Ursula in a friendly manner and asked "Would you please take a walk with me in the gardens out back Ursula?"

Ursula shrugged her shoulders, and off they went.

**************

After Ursula and Lucia came back from their walk Ursula was pensive, and went to the guest room and closed the door. I asked Lucia about it -- she gave me a passionate kiss then mumbled "later" as she looked me in the eye.

*************

The kids got home from school about an hour after Ursula retired to her bedroom. I told the kids "I have a surprise for you; Jeremy and Angelica's mom is here -- I'll get her."

Jeremy and Angelica jumped up and down while waiting in the living room. I knocked on Ursula's door and when she answered I informed her that the kids were home and badly wanted to see her. "Let me wash my face and I'll be right down," she said in an unusually friendly voice.

The kids were happy to see Ursula and everyone made their best effort to be nice and behave for the next few days. It wasn't lost on Ursula, however, how well all four kids responded to Lucia, or how Lucia and I had goo-goo eyes for each other. During this time Lucia had not yet told me the substance of her conversation during her walk with Ursula the first day that she arrived.

Six days into Ursula's return she asked me to go to the local park with her to have a serious talk. Not that I needed it but Lucia gave me her blessing with a vigorous "yes" head shake. When we got to the park Ursula didn't waste any time.

"It's obvious to me, Chance, after observing you Lucia, and the kids over the last week that you're more compatible with her than you ever were with me -- and that she's an excellent mother who has the respect and love of all four kids. During the last week I've reflected on my life and finally admitted to myself that I'm a better actress than I am a wife or mother, and enjoy acting and the celebrity that goes along with it more than anything else in the world."

While Ursula had often been direct in the past, this explanation knocked me on my heels. My trite reply was "I'm glad that you were able to properly examine your feelings."

"What I suggest is that we work things out as amicably as possible. I'll want the kids to visit me at least four weeks a year, not all at once, when I'm not on location, but obviously you are in a much better situation for both legal and physical custody. There's so much money between us I can't see that as an impediment to reaching a resolution." Ursula continued.

I don't know why her words had such a powerful effect on me, but they did. I started to tear up, and then pulled her into a tight hug. After a passage of a couple of minutes and with my tears finally dried I held her at arm's length, stared into her soul, and said "You know that I did love you, don't you Ursula?"

"I know that you did, Chance. I sometimes wish that I could have loved you as much as you loved me -- but I know that I failed at it. Am I shallow for wanting celebrity more than anything else?"

"That's not for me to say, Ursula -- I'm very happy for you that you are honest with yourself; and I assure you that everything will go smoothly with our breakup and that I'll never say anything bad about you to the kids."

We talked for an hour more, reminiscing, talking about plans for the future, and how we saw things working out. Then we kissed, and rode home.

*************

Fortunately, the pessimism that I initially had about how things would transpire the first day that Ursula got "home" was unfounded. Ursula and I amicably worked out an agreement with our attorneys in two three hour meetings; it almost seemed like we were falling all over each other trying to be the most accommodating. When all of the papers were signed Ursula gave Lucia, all four kids, and me big hugs as she left in a limo to go to her next movie location, a wealthy and satisfied woman. That night I finally made Lucia tell me about her talk with Ursula the first day that she was back.

"It was simple," Lucia said as she pulled down my zipper and fished out my already half hard cock. "I truthfully explained to her that she wasn't a bad mother if she admitted that celebrity was more important to her than raising kids, that I would be a more devoted wife to you than she could possibly be in view of her need for celebrity, and that I would see to it that the kids always loved and respected her. I was as genuine as I could be, and she took what I said to heart. Now no more talking about the past -- get your big uncut cock into my pussy and tomorrow we'll talk about maybe making another kid or two."

While we had made love many times before, that night our souls merged along with our bodies -- and we knew that we would never be apart.

***********

Epilogue

Ursula, now officially Chrissy Brite, became one of the top three actresses in the US for popularity, earnings, and fame. All four "original" kids loved to see her movies that weren't R rated, and to tell their friends about her. Since Jeremy and Liam were more like brothers than 99% of biological ones were, and Angelica and Olivia were just as close, when Chrissy's biological kids went to visit Chrissy and her latest beau (fortunately all good --looking guys, no more toads like Richard Tatum) four times a year all four kids went, and usually had a fantastic time. When they visited Chrissy she spent more quality time with them than she almost ever had before.

Two new kids joined our family -- twin girls, so Lucia only had to go through one pregnancy to make her family as complete as she wanted it to be. Their older siblings doted on the twins, but we somehow kept them from being spoiled. Ten years after we married Lucia and I were still the happiest we had ever been in our lives and more in love than we ever thought possible, and we don't expect that to ever change.

As far as I know Chrissy never said anything bad about Lucia and I to anyone, and I know for a fact that we never said anything bad about her even to each other let alone to anyone else. We all got what we really wanted out of life, and were better for it.