The Conversion

But even that wasn't the best part. The best part was a folder labeled "My Diary." It was an itemized account of every sexual affair that Vickie had engaged in. It gave names, dates, times and places and included a critique of the session. It started two days before our wedding and ran until the day before the accident. Her first was my cousin Tom on the night of our rehearsal dinner, her second was my best man the morning of the wedding and according to her diary there were seven other men who enjoyed her on our honeymoon when she wasn't being enjoyed by me. According to the story she wrote about it there were only three and I wondered about that. I guess she must have thought seven would be a little unbelievable for a new bride on her honeymoon.

I found out that she considered my best friend a 'lousy fuck' and my brother 'adequate." I was totally surprised to see that she considered me 'exceptional." If that was the case why was I only one of hundreds who had used her and why hadn't we been having more sex the last couple of years?

I found out that my daughter Krisha had been fathered by my about to become ex-best friend and that I might, only might, be the father of Darlene and William.

It was too much too fast. There was still a ton of stuff to read, but I couldn't take the time to do it. I needed to get back to the hospital and be there when Vickie woke up. Fortunately Vickie's laptop had a CD burner and I got some blanks and downloaded everything. Leaving the laptop where it was I headed back to County General.

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I was sitting in the room reading a book when Vickie woke up. She was a little groggy at first and when she finally got around to noticing me her face registered alarm.

"How long have you been here?"

"Since it happened. Krisha found you, called me and I came straight from work."

"You haven't been home yet?"

"No, not yet."

I saw the relief wash over her face. Just then Krisha came in and I got up and went to the bathroom. When I came back Krisha was gone and I asked where she was Vickie told me that she had just stopped by to check on things and her boyfriend had been downstairs waiting so she left. I stayed for another fifteen minutes and then said I needed to get on home and feed the cat, but Vickie stopped me and gave me a list of people to call to let them know what happened. I said I would and started to leave again and again she stopped me and asked me to talk to the doctor before I left. It was obvious that she was trying to keep me from going home. It was another hour before I was able to get out of the hospital and when I got home I was not surprised to see that the laptop was gone.

The doctor told me that they would be releasing Vickie around two that afternoon so that gave me three hours to be nosey. I searched her car and found an overnight bag with two pair of high heels, some nylons, a garter belt and a lot of make up. I really didn't expect to find much because if her stories were true, and I didn't doubt them for one minute, most of the incriminating stuff would be at the apartment Harry had rented for her. In the closet in her bedroom I found the carrying case for the laptop, two boxes of blank CDs and some manuals. I didn't disturb them; there was no way I wanted Vickie to know that I was on to her.

I headed for my computer to spend some time on the stuff I had downloaded. The one thing that had bothered me most since finding her laptop and seeing what was on it was trying to reconcile Vickie's religious conversion with her whorishness. I found the answer in the information I had downloaded. In her diary she described how Harry had told her not to have sex with me any more. He told her that she belonged to him now and not me.

Vickie's religious conversion was a fake! It was a wedge she could use to split us apart and keep us apart. It was the age old use of sex as a weapon. Withhold it until you get what you want and then give it as a reward. In my case Vickie knew I'd never give in on the subject of religion. All her bible study classes and other church activities were just her way of getting out of the house so she could spread her legs for whoever Harry pointed her to.

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That afternoon I picked Vickie up at the hospital and brought her home. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary and as far as Vickie could tell I wasn't the least bit suspicious of anything. I spent two days going over everything I had downloaded from her laptop and thinking about what to do. I finally made an appointment with a lawyer and he gave me the bad news. In our state any divorce was going to cause a 50/50 split of the assets regardless of the reason for the divorce and I, in all likelyhood, would have to pay for both lawyers, Vickie's and mine. The only way I could get out and keep what I wanted was to find a way to make Vickie walk away without a fight. What I had to do was sue for divorce, ask for what I wanted and not have her contest it.

I spent another week thinking on it and I came up with a plan. It left a sour taste in my mouth to have to do it the way I was going to have to, but it was the only way for me to come out ahead on the deal. I hired a private investigator, told him what I wanted and three weeks later I had most of what I needed. I had all the information on Harry, I had the address of the apartment and I had the personal information on twenty-seven of Harry's clients who had visited the apartment. One of the most interesting of those names was Thomas Shift, our city manager.

The next step was to find a twenty-four hour locksmith and one night after Vickie had fallen asleep I took her keys from her purse and went to the locksmith and had them duplicated. I already knew from the detective's report that the apartment wasn't used when Vickie wasn't there so I took the duplicate keys and paid the apartment a visit.

The apartment closets held enough sexy lingerie to fill a Victoria's Secret store and enough pairs of high heels to outfit a Vegas chorus line. One of the bedrooms was locked and I found the key that opened it and I let myself in. There was a see through mirror mounted on one wall that allowed you to watch what was going on in the next bedroom. There were also three video cameras set up to tape the action. In the bedroom closet I found over a hundred videotapes. I'd seen enough to give me an idea on how to go about getting Vickie to fade away quietly.

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That Friday evening when I got home from work I walked into the house to shouts of, "Surprise, surprise." Vickie had thrown a surprise birthday party for me and it was most interesting to me to see the assembled guests. Besides our three kids there were fourteen couples and three guys without dates. Seventeen men and every fucking one of them was an entry in Vickie's diary. There was a lot of glad handing, back slapping good cheer and at any other time with me not knowing what I knew it would have been a hell of a fine party.

Brian, my soon to be ex-best friend, gave me a three day all expenses paid trip to a golf course up in Breckenridge, probably to get me out of town so he could fuck Vickie. There were other assorted gifts, but the one that caught my attention was the one from Vickie. It was a new laptop computer. There were two reasons why it grabbed my attention: I'd never shown any interest in having a laptop and I had no use for it and secondly, we were barely talking to each other so why was she spending that kind of money on me? Come to think of it, why did she even throw a party for me? It made no sense at all, but then what had recently? As I sat there and surveyed all the people laughing and having a good time I wondered how many would still be laughing after I lowered the boom.

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It took three weeks to get all the paperwork done and then I was ready. It was all a matter of timing. Tuesday night I used my duplicate set of keys to enter Vickie's love pad and I removed all the videotapes, the video cameras and anything else I thought I might like. That night at home I snuck into Vickie's bedroom and got her laptop from where she stored it in the closet and put it in the trunk of my car with everything I'd taken from her apartment.

Eight o'clock the next morning I was in Harry's office and I asked his secretary to tell him that Vickie Boland's husband was there to see him on a matter of great importance. She did and he stalled me long enough to try and call Vickie and find out what was going on. He didn't reach her because when I left the house I cut the phone line and I had taken her cell from her purse. Finally I felt that I had waited long enough and I told his secretary to tell him he had two minutes and then I would be leaving and my next visit would be to Thomas Shift.

That got him off the dime and I was ushered into his office. "What is this all about Mr. Boland?"

"Saving your miserable fucking ass Mr. Grant."

"Just what are you getting at" he snarled at me and started to get up.

"You get out of that chair fuckface and I'll the beat the fuck out of you and throw you out your office window and laugh as you make the four story trip down to the street."

He sat back down and I went on, "What it is shit head is that in order to get what I want you are going to get a free ride." I looked at my watch and said, "I'm expecting a call within the next five minutes telling me that my whorish wife has been served divorce papers. You will then see to it that she does not contest the divorce. In return none of the videotapes that used to be in your little love nest will become public and embarrass your clients. I'm sure that Tom Shift, for one, will appreciate your seeing to it that the tapes never see the light of day. But then he doesn't know about them does he? At least he doesn't know about them yet.

"In addition to the tapes not becoming public" and I handed him a folder, "Vickie's diary will not see the light of day. If you are unable to convince her to walk away from me without a fight it will all go public and your business goes into the shitter to say nothing of all the personal lawsuits that will be filed against you. Including one by me for alienation of affection and whatever else my lawyer can come up with."

Just then my cell phone beeped and I took the call. When I disconnected I said:

"The papers have been served. You probably won't hear from her until she can get to a phone - I disconnected the one at the house and I have her cell in my briefcase - but as soon as she does reach you it would be in your best interests to start on getting her not to contest the divorce."

"Just how in the hell am I supposed to be able to talk her into not contesting?"

"Your problem, not mine. You told her to stop having sex with me anymore and she did what you told her. You had better hope she listens to you this time too. If worst comes to worst I don't care if you have to kill her to save yourself, just let me know ahead of time so I can have an iron clad alibi."

I got up to leave and when I got to the door I stopped, turned and said:

"I owe you a lot of pain and I am torn between hurting you bad or letting you walk in order to get what I want. You need to keep that in mind when you are trying to get her to not contest the divorce. Fail and my fall back position is to ruin you professionally, personally, financially and physically. Imagine yourself in a wheelchair for the rest of your life and it just might help give you incentive."

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I was no sooner in the car when my cell went off again. The screen showed it was a number not known to me and so I figured that Vickie had gotten to a phone so I didn't take the call. She called several times over the next two hours and I finally shut off the phone.

At one I showed up at the house with a rented U-Haul van. Vickie was on me as soon as I was in the door waving the papers at me and demanding to know what I thought I was doing.

"I decided that it was time to end this farce of a marriage. When you moved out of our bedroom you showed me you didn't want me. I finally decided that I don't want you so I'm getting a divorce."

"Bullshit. All you ever had to do to get me out of Krisha's room and back into ours was meet me half way on our getting back in touch with God."

"You knew that would never happen Vickie, in fact you were counting on it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Doesn't matter Vick. You want to help me move your clothes and stuff out to the van, or are you comfortable with the idea I can do it without trashing most of it."

"Move my stuff to the van? Why?"

"I'm throwing you and your Bible out Vick."

"You can't do that. I've as much right to stay in this house as you have."

"That may be Vick, but you will have to get a lawyer and have him get in touch with my lawyer to establish that. Until that happens you are out. Now, you want your stuff with you when you leave or do you want me to just push you out the door?"

"You can't do this to me."

"Oh yes I can. Now start grabbing your stuff or I'm throwing you out without it."

"Where am I supposed to go?"

"I'll drive you over to your fuck pad on Newark Circle. When you get there you can call Harry and cry on his shoulder."

At the mention of the apartment on Newark Circle and the mention of Harry's name the fight went out of her. She went upstairs and started carrying things down and out to the van. I helped her and we were about halfway done when I saw her looking anxious. She kept digging in the closet and I finally said:

"It isn't there. My lawyer has it. You will get it back when the divorce is final. He is going to use what is on it for evidence. When you get to your love nest on Newark you can call Harry and he'll tell you all about it."

No more words were said as we finished loading her stuff into the van and nothing was said as I drove her to the apartment. I emptied the van onto the sidewalk in front of the apartment building and drove away leaving her standing there.

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The hardest part for me was telling the kids. Vickie was lying trash so I couldn't just let her tell them her version which would no doubt paint me as Attila The Hun. I had no intention playing the "pit mommy against daddy" game, but I was going to give them all the information that I had and then let them make up their own minds.

I called Krisha at work and asked her to meet me for a drink when she got off. I told her that I was divorcing her mother, but I didn't tell her why. I gave her a copy of everything I had taken from Vickie's computer; pictures, video clips, diary - all of it - and told her to go through it and that if she had any questions to give me a call or come by the house and see me.

"I'll be home all weekend 'pumpkin' (my pet name for her) if you want to talk."

Next I called Darlene and William and made arrangements to meet them for breakfast at a Denny's. I gave them the same talk that I gave Krisha, gave them copies of the same stuff, and went on home.

Darlene was the first to call. She called around noon, "Surely you don't believe any of that stuff, do you dad?"

"I'm afraid I believe all of it honey."

"It can't be true dad. There must be a reasonable explanation for it. Maybe it was an outline for a book or something. She always said she was going to write someday."

"Have you gone through all the material yet?"

"No, not yet."

"You remember the night your mother took you and Krisha into our bedroom and showed you her new tattoos?"

"Yes, I remember that Krisha and I thought it was a real kick."

"Finish all the material honey. Check out My Pictures and My Videos. You will recognize the tattoos."

"You are wrong about this dad, I just know you have to wrong. Mom couldn't do this, she just couldn't."

"I'm sorry honey, but I have to go now. I'll be home all day if you want to talk when you finish the material."

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I was sitting on the couch in the living room reading when Krisha came into the house. She came into the room and sat down on a chair opposite me. I put the book down and waited. She looked down at the floor for a moment and then asked:

"Is it true?"

"Is what true honey?"

"That Brian is my father?"

"I only know what your mother wrote in her diary."

"How long have you known?"

"Since the day she fell down the steps" and I went on to explain how I'd come into the house and found the laptop and what I'd done after.

"That computer? I guess it was a good thing I didn't take the time to look at what was on it. God only knows what I would have done."

"I don't understand?"

"That day in the hospital. When you left the room mom asked me to do her a favor. She said she had gotten you a laptop for your birthday and had set it up to check it out before giving it to you. She wanted me to run back to the house and get it before you got home and saw it. She said she would keep you busy to give me time. I didn't take the time to look at it because I thought you might be right behind me. I put it in the trunk of my car until mom called and asked me to bring it to her."

"I guess that explains the one I got for my birthday. After her story to you she had to give me one or you might have wondered and maybe asked about it or maybe you might have thought she had given it to me early and asked me how I liked it."

"I can't believe she was that way, and for all those years. You never suspected?"

"No, I didn't have a clue."

There were several moments of silence between us and then Krisha said:

"Brian is not my dad you know, you are. You always have been and you always will be."

Another period of silence and then the tears started flowing and she cried out "Daddy" and got up and came over and threw herself in my arms. She sobbed into my shoulder for a long time and between sobs she kept repeating over and over:

"How could she do that to you, to us."

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William was the pragmatic one. He called around five that afternoon.

"I've got a nine o'clock tee time in the morning. Fell like having your butt whipped?"

"Yeah, I can make it, but your game better be good because my putting has been killer lately."

"I'll pick you up at eight."

The first couple of minutes of the drive were filled with an awkward silence and then William said:

"How do we handle this?"

"How do we handle what?"

"She's my mother and I love her. You are my father and I love you. I'm not happy with what she has done to the family, but I am not going to turn my back on her. I will try and be there for her if she needs me. The same goes for you. Is my relationship with her going to be a problem as far as you are concerned?"

"Of course not. Just because I have no use for her doesn't mean everyone else has to feel the same way."

"Good."

We played eighteen and he did indeed whip my ass. The diary entry that he might or might not be my son was never mentioned by either of us.

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Darlene was the disappointment. She held it against me that I had exposed her mother's flaws to her and I ended up being the bad guy as far as she was concerned. I don't know if that rift will ever heal.

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Two weeks went by with no word from Harry or Vickie as to whether or not she was going to contest the divorce so I started preparing for the worst. In keeping with my promise to ruin Harry if he didn't convince Vickie to walk away I started to watch the videotapes to see just what I had to work with. I was amazed at what I found. Besides the city manager I found two councilmen and one county commissioner - all married - and several prominent local businessmen, also all married.

There was tape on eleven of the seventeen assholes that were at my party and another eleven that I knew fairly well. The rest of the men on the tapes I didn't recognize, but it didn't matter, I had more than enough for what I was going to do.