We had Done Everything Perfectly

Like most of my stories, there is no sex in this story. My friend was telling me about a podcast she listened to where people who divorced because of infidelity discussed how they were caught. One gentleman said he still couldn't believe they were caught because they had done everything perfectly.

I have found some of my stories published on Facebook and U-Tube which is a violation of copyright law. Both platforms have an easy to follow procedure to report copyright infringement.

For those commenters concerned with spelling and punctuation errors, I apologize. But I finally have an editor, and I am thankful that ADKOldLibrarian has volunteered for such an onerous task. If there's any errors in this story, like using passed instead of past, they are my fault from changes I made as I uploaded the file to Literotica.

EOUL jsps

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

We had done everything perfectly. That was the thought that replayed in my mind as I tried to quell the terror I had been feeling since the front desk called and said I needed to sign for a package. It was the first time they called with that message in fifteen years, usually they called about a visitor I needed to escort upstairs. I didn't like the way my Monday was starting.

The terror rose to another level when my affair partner happened to step in the elevator with me. I told him I had a package I needed to sign for. He said he did too. Simultaneously we said 'but we did everything perfectly' to each other.

There was a young couple chatting with each other, about ten feet away from the front desk. As we approached the front desk, they stopped their conversation and came over to us. The woman asked if I was Abigail Cartright and I said yes. She took my picture and handed me the dreaded manila envelope. The man repeated the process with my affair partner, 'are you Robert Fletcher?' Rob nodded yes and was served a manilla envelope. The servers left as Robert and I stared at each other in the lobby. My mind was stuck on the idea that we did everything perfectly, how could this have happened.

Robert spoke first, "We need to leave and discuss a plan. Let me hold your envelope while you go upstairs and make some excuse to your boss that you need to leave. Grab your purse and whatever else you need, laptop, phone, charger or whatever else you can think of. Then meet me back here in fifteen minutes. I'm going to hide in the men's room until then."

I nodded agreement but still kept thinking that we did everything perfectly.

After gathering my things, I told my boss that my mom had fallen and was on her way to the hospital. I added that I would update him once I knew more. He didn't respond how I expected and instead just stared at me. "Okay Abby, but something has come up that we need to discuss when you get back."

Robert came out of the men's room a few minutes after I returned to the lobby. He handed me both sets of envelopes and we made plans to meet at a diner in twenty minutes. I arrived early and waited until after the waitress served my coffee before opening my envelope. Even after reading through it once, I couldn't believe Jack was divorcing me, I couldn't believe Robert and I had been caught, we did everything perfectly. The worst part was the scorched earth feeling of the divorce papers. Jack kept everything including custody of our two kids, a 15 year old boy and a 17 year old girl. There was another letter from his lawyer telling me I had seven days to vacate the house along with my possessions. I think legally he had to give me seven days but I really had no clue. I couldn't imagine spending seven mornings and nights facing my children and husband. I was on my third read when Robert sat down across from me.

"How bad," Robert asked.

"I'm not sure if it could be any worse," I said.

Robert sipped his coffee and started to read his divorce papers. I stared at him and for the first time in our seven month "situationship" (intimate for the last three), the sight of him repulsed me. And if he made that same slurping sound on his next sip of coffee he was going to be wearing it. I saw a tear escape his eye and I had a momentary feeling of compassion. Robert's kids were much younger than mine, still in single digits. Both sets of divorce papers were prepared by the same firm and I was sure his wife wasn't being any kinder than Jack. My compassion was erased when he slurped his coffee again.

"I have seven days to vacate the marital home," Robert said.

"Same," I said.

"What are you going to do, Abby?"

"I'm going to find an extended stay hotel for tonight and the rest of the week. There's no way I could face Jack or my children every morning and night for the next seven days. My kids are older than yours and I'm sure Jack has sat them down and calmly explained why he was divorcing their mother. And I'm sure Jack will win any popularity contest."

"Maybe we can share a place," he asked. There was a hopeful look in his eyes, that same look he gave me when he first suggested that we head over to a hotel one afternoon. But I wasn't going to get fooled again.

"That's not going to happen, Robert. This has been a stupendous mistake. I can't believe I risked my marriage and family for..."

I paused there, knowing I just sucker punched Robert.

"I'm praying that there's a small chance that Jack may forgive me or at least hold off on the divorce until after the kids have turned 18. That will never happen if he thinks you're still in the picture. My plan is simple, find a lawyer, hold up in a hotel somewhere and beg Jack's forgiveness. You may want to try the same."

I got up and left him there. Heading to my house, or what was once my house, I called Jack on the way. The call went to voice mail so I left a message:

"Jack, all I can say is I'm sorry. I'm going to find a hotel to stay at for a few days and I need to swing by and pick up some things. Is that okay?"

In a text he said, "Sure, that's fine. No one is home right now anyway."

Jack's response floored me. The guy who was screwing me over in the divorce was being kind! I felt utterly confused. I thought about asking him if we could talk but decided not to push it.

Unexpectedly, my tears started flowing as I walked in the house. The knowledge that it may be one of the last times struck me like a hammer. I had a plan of what to get when I called Jack but the plan wouldn't stay with me. The family pictures just sent me further into a tailspin. I managed to get my suitcase out of the hall closet, turned and ended up facing a family photo of us on a beach vacation last summer.

I had been so smart. I did everything so perfectly. I lost everything that was important to me. The tears came harder and I slumped to the floor.

Jack was kneeling over me, asking if I was okay. I must have fallen asleep judging by the length of the shadows on the hallway. Jack helped me up, led me into the kitchen, and put the kettle on. When the tea was poured, he sat down across from me.

"I'm sorry, Jack."

With almost a smile, he said, "You've said that. Do you need help packing?"

"What I need is a way to earn your..." Jack put his hand up before I could finish.

"What you need, Abby, is to be out of here before the kids come home. It won't be pleasant for you. Maybe after a few days, they may have calmed down a little."

"What did you tell them?"

"The truth, that there mother had been having an affair with a coworker for the last three months, maybe longer and that I was divorcing you. The strangest thing was they didn't challenge that at all, like they already sensed it. But you should give them some space."

"How, how did you find out?"

"We don't have time for that. My patience is wearing thin. Please get what you need before the kids get home. You can come back tomorrow for other things but call first."

Jack tried to help me pack, he might have been helpful if I had a clue of what I needed. I started with some business clothes but wasn't planning on going to work so I settled on a bunch of casual stuff and one pant suit for the lawyer. Then I went through socks, shoes, underwear, bras, and pantyhose. Jack reached into my bottom drawer where I kept a bunch of old hoodies. Instead of grabbing the hoodies, he grabbed the lingerie I had hidden underneath them, lingerie I had bought for Robert.

"You may need these," he said with an indescribable look on his face.

"No, I won't!" And then tossed the lingerie into the trash.

Jack carried my suitcase to the car as I packed my toiletries. That's the way he was wired, always the gentleman. Except when you fuck him over, my conscience added. I turned to look at Jack as I was getting ready to walk out the door, the thought of dropping to my knees crossed my mind. Maybe Jack sensed that thought as he held up his hand again.

"You should go," he added.

I couldn't think of a response so I turned and left, tears streaming from my eyes.

Then to add to my embarrassment, I plowed into the mailman, sending letters flying. I bent down to help pick up the mail but Jack was already there, telling me to go. It wasn't like I could see anything anyway. It took a few minutes to collect myself before I could drive away. I kept thinking Robert and I had done everything perfectly. How did I end up fleeing my home in shame in the middle of the day.

I thought back to how it had all started.

Robert joined my company about five years after I did. Our tenure at the company overlapped for the last ten years. We weren't in the same departments; I worked in the internal audit group and Rob's department was one of the groups I audited. We also worked on a few projects together, the biggest was when I was assigned as a liaison to his group when they were installing a major software package. I was really just an advisor but could force his group to hit the brakes if something was amiss, like who had administrative rights.

Even before the software package job, Robert and I had developed a friendly sort of banter, absolutely nothing inappropriate. Robert was funny and personable, which was very unlike many of my other audit clients. He once joked, keep your friends close and your enemies closer and I always assumed that was his goal. He would join me if he saw me eating in the cafeteria. We never went out to lunch together, until once in a group when the software project kicked off.

The project quickly fell behind schedule, we were all feeling the stress. In a project meeting, a young member of his team named Pat Jensen started complaining that I didn't understand their processes and I wasn't raising my concerns in a timely manner. I let him vent for a few minutes and then reminded him I had been reviewing their processes while he was still in school, had helped write their procedures and I believed I was raising my concerns timely but they were ignored until it became a crisis. The jab about when he was 'still in school' was low but I wasn't taking shit from some wet behind the ears college kid.

Before anything else could be said, Robert adjoined the meeting and asked to see Jensen in his office. The team got back together after lunch, Jensen wasn't present. Robert asked me to meet for dinner after work. He wasn't being jovial when we sat down.

He said, "Obviously I disagree with my young associate's perception of your knowledge level based on the years we have worked together. I only wish you hadn't completely emasculated him in front of his peers. I'm not saying he didn't deserve it. I should have stepped in before you cut his balls off, but I underestimated your tenacity. I've removed him from the team. It will have some affect on his employment status but he should recover over time."

Nothing else was said about the event and no one else complained about my involvement after that. The project slowly returned to schedule I think because the rest of the team started taking my concerns seriously. Robert and I continued to work the project and we grew closer, nothing romantic, but I knew his wife's name and the names of their kids and he knew of my family. He usually began one of our meetings with a funny story about something his kids or wife did.

Our relationship took a turn at the celebration at the end of the project which was held at a nearby roof-top bar. A couple of the execs were there and my VP presented me with an award for my contributions to the project. She made a joke, warning people not to tell me I didn't understand something. It got a lot of laughs.

I found myself sitting at the bar with Robert after the celebration and most of the people had gone home. The conversation between us turned flirtatious, I'm not sure who started it, we both had too much to drink. But it was definitely a turn that should have been walked back when we were sober, instead it continued when we were alone. After the party, we started going out to lunch a day or two a week and those conversations were very flirtatious with Robert showering me with comments on my physical appearance.

Besides the flirting, we began discussing how lifeless our marriages had become. Robert's wife had no interest in sex after she had the two children she wanted. My sex life with Jack was in a rut. I dreaded some Saturdays knowing Jack would want to have sex that night. We laughed as we discussed how much we missed the passion, the connection we used to feel early in our marriages.

The seed had been planted...

During the software project, the company began offering comp time if you worked more than 48 hours in a week. You were allowed to save those hour for an extra vacation day or most people were using them to leave after lunch on Friday to beat the weekend traffic.

At one of our lunches, Robert suggested the following, "We could leave early on a Friday and head to a motel, put some excitement into our sex lives and be home in time for dinner. We have to be very discreet, no one could ever know, not our coworkers, friends, or family."

I surprised myself when I tactility agreed, "We would have to be perfect, no mistakes. We need to end these lunches and be super careful leaving the parking lot, leaving at different times and different directions."

Robert nodded, I never thought of him as sexually attractive or even good looking. His appeal was only that he wasn't Jack. We discussed our strategy over the next two lunches. We would pick a hotel over a weekend and used burner phones to communicate. We both erased each other's contact info from our primary phones. There were no gaps, no emails, text messages, or cell phone records. Robert had an old checking account from before his marriage which he used mostly for presents for his wife and we could use the debit card to pay for the hotels and the two burner phones we used for hotel info, nothing else. We both watched a podcast about how cheating spouses got caught, we weren't going to repeat their mistakes. Our affair would be perfect.

The first rendezvous was awkward, starting with the first kiss but afterwards I felt so alive I don't think my feet touched the ground when I left the hotel. But once I was in my car the guilt began to set in and I headed to my gym for a good workout. Not that Robert didn't give me a good workout but it gave me an excuse to be freshly showered when I got home. Robert was going jogging after a quick shower before he left, returning home sweaty. We never left the hotel at the same time and Robert always arrived before me.

We did everything perfectly, acting almost like strangers at work with no communications between us. I felt awkward the next time I had to audit his group knowing at some point on Friday I would have his cock in my mouth and my pussy and sometimes my ass.

For three months, we did everything perfectly and fucked almost every Friday with those fuck sessions lasting three or more hours. It was like we were teenagers again.

And then I was served.

On the way to the extended hotel, I picked up a bottle of vodka and some cranberry juice. I proceeded to drink myself into a coma in between my tears, in between memories of thinking how fucking smart we were. There were a couple of times during the three months we thought about stopping before we got caught, and there were some weeks we had to pass on a Friday because of vacations or other family commitments. And then we were fucking like animals at our next rendezvous.

During the days, I started moving my stuff out of our home and into a storage facility or my hotel. Mostly just clothes, I didn't think I had any claim to anything else. It was on my second trip that I noticed that the family photo of us on a beach vacation that last summer had been replaced with one with just the kids, same beach, same vacation but I wasn't in the picture. Neither was Jack but that wasn't the point. I walked through the house and all the pictures of me had been removed and replaced with pictures of just the kids, or the kids with Jack. He had erased me. Even the wedding photo that had sat on my dresser for years had been replaced with a picture of Jack holding one of the babies, probably our daughter.

I didn't cry, I had fucked up and now I had to live with it.

The vodka at night helped me sleep through my fuck up but I paid for it in the morning. During the week I looked at apartments, opened my own checking account, took out a loan from my retirement account, and bought more vodka. I figured out the cheap stuff tasted the same as the good stuff after the first glass. On Friday, at a time I would normally be fucking Robert, I was sitting across from a divorce attorney who was reviewing the separation agreement Jack's lawyer had prepared.

"This is pretty brutal," he said. "Is there any truth to the infidelity?"

I couldn't bring myself to say yes.

"Does he have any evidence?"

"I don't know, we were so careful I can't understand how he figured it out in the first place."

"This is a no fault state but infidelity always effects the distribution of assets. If he has strong proof, it may cost you more to fight his proposal. If he doesn't, the easiest thing to fight him on would be the house, demand that it be sold and split the profits. That would be a good first move where you could drop back to a cash settlement.

"I'm not cheap, will you be able to afford the great fight?"

"I don't want to fight a great fight but I will need money to reestablish myself, a place to live, furniture. I have my retirement accounts but I hope to retire someday."

"What about your affair partner?"

"I haven't spoken to him since the day we were served. His wife is using the same lawyer as Jack. I broke it off with him. God, I was so fucking stupid, we thought we were being so smart and no one would find out."

I was desperately trying not to break down in front of my attorney.

"This is what I suggest," he said, "we demand any proof they have of the infidelity. Hopefully, they won't require a subpoena. Based on what they have we can reassess our position, maybe a stronger fight for the house, maybe some spousal support or a reduction in child support payments. I'll contact their attorney this afternoon and let you know what I find out."

There were a bunch of papers I had to sign when we were done and I had to write a fat check for a retainer. I didn't want to start a fist fight with Jack, I wanted to beg his forgiveness and I didn't want to do anything that would further alienate my children. What evidence could Jack have of my affair? Robert and I were so careful, so perfect. Maybe the lingerie he found was a clue and that's all he had. Keeping the lingerie was just plain dumb on my part.

As I drank myself into another coma that night, I thought of calling Robert, maybe we could pool our resources. That thought horrified me in the morning. On Saturday I signed a lease for a small furnished apartment which wiped out my savings. I had taken a loan from my retirement account but it would take a few more days to process. For the first time since I said, 'I do' I had to watch every penny I spent.

Over the weekend I tried calling the kids. My calls went straight to voice mail. Maybe they blocked me I thought. I tried a text, simply asking if we could get together, an hour later they both said no. I was drunk again before the sun went down.

My boss was calling bright and early on Monday morning. I hadn't even thought about work in days and never even considered returning to work. My boss said this wasn't a request, I had to come in but didn't have to stay. I agreed to be in by nine. The walk through my floor was like a walk of shame although I couldn't understand what everyone was whispering about. Robert and I had been so careful, so perfect, what could they know?

My stomach dropped when I entered my boss's office and two people from HR were there. Fuck!

My boss had a pained look on his face when he started, "Mrs. Cartwright, (he hasn't called me Mrs. Cartwright since the day I was hired) the company has been provided with sufficient evidence that you have been having an affair with one of your audit clients. I'm sure you can understand that besides being a violation of company policy, it is also a serious violation of our audit code of conduct. You're being suspended without pay as of last Monday. The Company needs a few more days to complete their investigation but it is likely you will be terminated once it is completed."

"Can I ask what evidence the Company has?"

My boss handed me an envelope full of time stamped pictures with a stylized logo. Robert leaving the building, me leaving the building, Robert entering the hotel room, me entering the same hotel room and then me leaving hours later with Robert leaving a short time after me. There was a set of pictures for every time we met over the last three months. My stomach dropped again.

My boss said, "I should tell you that everyone in the department has received the pictures along with everyone in Mr. Fletcher's department via email."

I turned to the HR people, "Can I resign?"

They looked at each other nodded and said they would need something in writing. I grabbed a piece of blank paper from my boss's printer, wrote 'I resign' on it, dated it, signed it, and walked out of his office. The temptation to flip off all my whispering coworkers was overwhelming but I didn't.

Before I picked up a bottle that afternoon I sent my lawyer an email, "I've seen the proof of my affair that was provided to my company. They were preparing to terminate my employment but I resigned. I'm going to assume Jack has the same pictures. The proof is overwhelming. What do you suggest?"

He replied the following morning, "Jack's lawyer has transmitted a copy of the time stamped photos, I suggest you fold."

In a desperate 'Hail Mary' attempt to save my marriage, I replied, "I want counseling."

I had assumed Jack would fight it but two weeks later we were sitting in a counselor's office. It was the first time I saw Jack since the day I was served. He looked perfect like he usually did, clean shaven, dressed nice and a recent haircut. But Jack always looked good, the only time he looked like a bum was when he was doing yard work. And he never came close to getting that dad bod. I on the other hand looked like shit, my nails were gone, my makeup cases were down to crumbs and I can't begin to tell you what my hair looked like.

The counselor asked what we wanted, I said, "I need Jack to forgive me, to let me come home. I was stupid, I know I was and lost everything, my job, my family, my home, and most of my friends. For the first time in my adult life I'm afraid I won't be able to survive financially or emotionally. It was a mistake and I never thought about the repercussions of that mistake. I broke it off with him as soon as those repercussions began to hit home, the day I was served."

Somewhere in the middle of that I broke down crying. I'm not even sure that's what I said.

The counselor turned to Jack. He said, "First let me show you the pictures of Abby's three month affair with her coworker."

Jack gave the counselor a few minutes to scan the pictures. I could see the

counselor struggling to remain neutral.

Jack continued, "I want Abby to understand that she can't come back from this. Mistakes don't occur almost every Friday for three months. Look at the time stamps, look at how well they tried to cover their tracks. This is not a mistake, they planned every detail, it's a betrayal of me and my children. There will never be some great reconciliation, only more pain."

Then he got up and left.

I had been crying since the middle of my little talk with the counselor and began wailing when Jack got up. The counselor handed me a box of tissues and left the room. There was no compassion in that act.

It took me awhile to get my shit together and head out of the building. I was surprised to see Jack waiting for me.

"Abby, if you ever loved me or our children, let it go, let us heal. What did you think was going to happen when I found out?"

"The thought that you would find out never occurred to me. We thought we were so smart, perfectly hiding any trace of our affair. I still can't believe it."

"Well you weren't that careful since someone took pictures of all of your get togethers or were there more?"

"To be honest, I don't know. I never looked at all the pictures that closely but three months sounds right."

Jack turned to get into his car and paused, "Are you really worried about surviving financially?"

"I have no job and I'm living off a 401k loan I can't pay back. There's no money for child support and I haven't tried to live this cheaply since college. I've forgotten how much I hate ramen noodles."

Jack closed his door and left. I was up the proverbial creek, so the next day I started calling people. My mother hung up on me. My sister said everyone in the family had seen the pictures and then she hung up on me. A coworker who I had been really close with didn't hang up, she had also seen the photos, everyone in the department had received the photos via email the day we were served. And then she started pummeling me with questions, which got more salacious as she went on. She actually asked me if Robert had a big cock and did he know how to use it. I hung up on her.

The next morning I called Robert. My initial plan of getting Jack to forgive me wasn't going to work. His idea of sharing a place might not be a bad idea, at least financially. My call went to voice mail so I left him a message asking him to call me.

Seconds later, I received his text, "Abby, please don't call me or contact me again. My wife and I are in counseling and there's a glimmer of hope for me. The counselor told her that cutting me off from sex just because she had the two kids she wanted wasn't fair to me. He wasn't kind to me, he said that we should have been having these conversations before I betrayed my wife. Goodbye."

I bought a gallon bottle of cheap vodka on my way home. Cranberry juice had become and unnecessary expense. I also managed to get a job as a waitress, I had worked my way through college waitressing and knew as a newbie, I would be getting the worst shifts earning the fewest tips. But you never go hungry as a waitress.

Another piece of good news came from my lawyer. Jack had reconsidered the separation agreement. He removed his demand for child support and offered $100,000, paid over ten months, in lieu of any future claims of the house. I accepted the offer and we had a court day two months out.

In the meantime, I continued to try and reconnect with the kids to no avail. My daughter told me she had also received the photos along with her brother, she asked me to leave her alone.

Jack sent me a text, "It's too soon, Abby. They are just building bigger walls to shield themselves from you." When I read those words, I cried like a baby.

Over the next two months, two significant things happened. First, there was an older man who came into the restaurant every evening around eleven for dinner.

His name was London and he actually asked on one very dead night, "How did such a beautiful woman like you end up in a place like this?"

I laughed at the corniness but said, "Because I'm a complete fucking idiot and cheated on my husband."

"All looks and no brains?"

I quieted my anger, "How did a such a respectable looking man end up eating his dinners every night in a place like this?"

"That story will cost you a dinner with me at a real restaurant."

What did I have to lose, but another night hugging my vodka bottle. So I accepted. Two days later I was sitting across from London in an Italian restaurant Jack and I had loved. As we waited for our drinks, I told him I use to come here with my ex.

Over the entree he said, "I use to be a priest and was counseling a woman who was having trouble in her marriage. We fell in love with each other. Instead of counseling her, I began betraying my vows to the church and she began betraying her vows to her husband. Of course, we were caught. I chose to leave the church in disgrace. She ended up divorced and moved three states away. I'm currently working as a 911 operator on the three to eleven shift. It's not bad pay with decent benefits."

"Do you regret it?"

"Not really, those three months with her were amazing. Who would have thought sex could feel that good? That's one reason I left the priesthood. I had tasted the 'forbidden fruit,' and I could never go back."

I stared down at the table. "I never thought the sex with my affair partner was that good. Certainly he never wowed me the way my husband could. But I'll never forget how I felt walking out of the hotel that first time and many times after, before the guilt settled in on the ride home. The feeling of newness I felt, how alive I felt, how light I felt, I would swear my feet never touched the ground between the hotel and my car.

"I regret what it cost me, my children still won't speak to me, I lost the rest of my family and my career. Believe me, it wasn't worth three months of Fridays."

London and I began going out for dinner on my two off days. I usually had the time to sit with him when he ate at the dinner while I worked. After the third or fourth dinner we went back to his place, and the sex was good. He was better than Robert who really wasn't that considerate of a lover. He wasn't as good as with Jack, because I believe Jack and I made love. I could feel myself falling for London although I still had hope that Jack would take me back.

That second significant event crushed my hopes of getting back together with Jack and my family. London and I were in that Italian restaurant and Jack walked in with a beautiful woman. I recognized her from somewhere but I couldn't recall, maybe from the shock of seeing him with someone. Jack came right over to our table. I introduced London, he introduced Jesse. We had a polite conversation for few minutes and then they left to their own table. I asked London to take me home after we finished eating. He didn't argue.

I went home and since that first dinner with London, I drank myself into a coma. In the morning, I remembered Jesse, she was the mother of one my daughter's friends. Her husband left her for their nanny a decade ago or more.

London was at the dinner the next night and I apologized. He said none was needed and our relationship picked up like that night never happened.

The next time I saw Jack was at the divorce hearing, London wanted to come but I said no. Jack was only accompanied by his lawyer. The hearing was a non-event. We signed a bunch of papers and Jack handed me the first $10,000 check. We ended up walking out together. He updated me on the kids who seemed close to forgiving my fuckup. I thanked him and again apologized for everything.

As we stepped off the steps, there was a man by the street with one of those high powered cameras taking pictures of us. He took the camera away from his face and smiled at me, pointing to his vest. His vest had the same logo as Jack's photos!

He winked and walked away.

Jack asked me if I knew him.

"Yes, he was a young kid, just out of college who told me I didn't know what I was talking about at a project meeting. His name is Pat Jensen. I defended myself, too strongly according to most and essentially cut his balls off in front of the rest of the project team. I guess he got even with me."

And time moves on. I ran into Robert a few weeks after my divorce was finalized. We ended up at a coffee shop and I told him about Pat Jensen. His reconciliation with his wife had stalled. Robert said that his wife decided she didn't like sex. She didn't like the idea of a guy sticking his penis into her vagina or anywhere else. He was trying to decide if he could live without sex, maybe until his kids were older. I told him about London, by that time we were living together. Robert said he was happy that I had someone. There was no intent by either of us to keep in touch.

I was shocked two years later when I received an invitation for my son's high school graduation party. Jack had included a handwritten note also inviting London, who I was still living with.

That's next week as I write this and I'm scared as shit. It will be the first time I'll be face to face with my family since before Jack had me served, back when I thought I was so smart, so perfect.