Eulogy for a Cad

Standard disclaimer. "This story is entirely fiction, fiction, fiction! Characters in sex scenes are eighteen years old or older, as should be you the reader, if not please move on. All characters and occurrences are imaginary, any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental. All references to; current events, locations, buildings or organizations are used merely as story props. Not implying any form of reality to those entities. Repeat rule one, this story is entirely fictional.

Before I start this story I need to express a huge amount of thanks to GreenMGB for his efforts to make my stumbling grammar and shocking punctuation much more readable. Thanks. That he's volunteered to do more amazes me.

This is my third foray into the Loving Wives category. Each one I've tried to make different from what is usually found in this category. Hopefully, this one will be too. I'll warn you right up front, this one's a tragedy. To some extent I believe all tales of marital infidelity are a tragedy of varying degrees.

But my purpose in this narrative is to delve into one man's reasons for his part in this calamity. Also this man is the one no one likes to delve into, the cad, antihero. This tragic story usually ends up being reported on the evening news.

As with my previous two 'Loving Wives' stories, this one deals with the 'aftermath' of marital infidelity. But the majority of this story deals with the 'back story,' of what happened to get to this tragic occurrence and why.

Plus, it's a story about a childhood friend who's conflicted by the tragedy and his friend. It has robbed him of his friend, but he knows why and that his friend is accountable for wrongs done. In fact, many people would say his friend got just what he deserved. But, as people often say, there's two sides to every story. But they're seldom 50% good and 50% bad and we each determine those percentages from our own viewpoints.

So, my tale is about a grieving childhood friend. Who has to attempt to put some public closure on a tragedy he might understand better than anyone else.

But what path does his public closure take? The safe sane road most traveled, or does he step out and try to lay blame where he thinks it should be? A place most people would never question, so please read through to the end. It has a minor twist attempting to satisfy most people, that almost impossible task.

Most of the story will be in this man's mind as he grapples with his decision. I tried to make this story's pace and timeline resemble a mind pondering something important it really doesn't want too. So, it jumps around a bit, oh..., and clichés abound.

I also wanted to try to write a story shorter than my recent (and up-coming) have been. Yet still keep the value and the message of the story intact. (I spectacularly failed. ,000 words, Lit. pages long.) So I guess, it's a terminal case of mental diarrhea.

Some off-screen graphic violence, sex is off-screen too, little dialogue with a lot of mental constipation. (Diarrhea-constipation, my mind must be in the toilet today)

So Please Enjoy.

God damn that's hot, huh oh..., fiddlesticks..., yeah fiddlesticks that's what I meant to say. A guy's pushing his luck to sit out in a South Texas sun on the steps of the church, damn hot steps, and curse God. Plus, I guess for Jimmy's sake I'd better not curse and leave God in the best mood I can. He'll have a hard-enough time climbing up God's heavenly road as it is. He was a damn good man who's packing a lot of sin on an uphill climb.

Yeah, his road's a lot harder to walk than the minor bump in mine I'm looking at. Oh why... oh why did I ever agree to speak at his funeral! But it was impossible to gaze into his dad's eyes and say no. Shaky old man with a walker who can hardly stand or move. 'Rode hard and put away wet,' is a popular saying, especially here in Texas.

For Jimmy's dad it was, rode hard, put away wet and broken. He'd been a professional rodeo rider for way too many years. Proud, proud old man whose eyes shouldn't and can't hold tears. Saying no to him took more than I had.

Jimmy's all he had left..., now only a broken old body and memories.

But hell, he asked me yesterday afternoon, not an hour from now. At least I think I've got an hour; damn priest knows he's got a captive audience and he'll bleed at least an hour-long sermon out of it. But how can I decide what to say in an hour? When I've failed to compose anything since yesterday, damn near all night too.

Having nothing to say is not my problem. Four years old, who can remember when you're four, I can't. Jimmy's family moved across the street from mine when Jimmy was four too. So Jimmy's always been in my life.

So yeah, I got a lot to say about Jimmy..., James Ray Barrett.

Then Bethany moved in next door to him a year later, at 5 too. It became the Three Musketeers forever. No stone unturned, no tree unclimbed, and no mud puddle unexplored. The Three Musketeers conquered all; worms, snakes, and toads held no fear for the Musketeers. Spring rain and summer's heat caused no delay in our time to play. The winds of fall or the chill of winter didn't keep us from emerging as winners of 'cowboys and Indians' or 'cops and robbers.'

For three young kids it approached dwelling in the Garden of Eden, as near as we would ever get anyway.

Even school time never slowed us down. The Three Musketeers in one classroom..., ah hell, Katie bar the door. It's a really good thing South Texas school teachers are a special breed, and they're not allowed to carry firearms. Otherwise school classes would've been a lot smaller, minus a Musketeer or two.

But, like in the real Garden of Eden ours developed a snake or two. One raises its head in the life of every young boy or girl. It's called puberty and the resulting loss of childhood innocence. It can stand a young person's world on its head, and it affected Jimmy the most.

Sure, Bethany already had periods and her growing boobs were becoming apparent. Me, for some reason, it didn't affect much. Oh sure, I started getting fuzz down there and a few more muscles. Mom said my voice got deeper, but these changes seem to roll right off my back as no big deal.

But not Jimmy, no he got the whole ball of wax all at one time. He shot up and stood over 6 feet tall and still growing. His shoulders spread out like he already had football pads on. Muscles, no his muscles ended up with muscles. His voice cracked and broke, squeaked, then shook the ground with the bass rumble he'd finally developed. Hell, Jimmy 'had' to shave daily in the eighth grade. The very start of puberty pushed Jimmy into the greatest mistake of his life.

He fell in love with one of his best friends, the girl next door.

Twelve, thirteen years old and he fell in love. Yeah, I've heard all the words; puppy love, double-double like, summer crush, springtime infatuation, or just plain growing hormones. But I knew different, because he had the same expression on his face as my dad did..., That Day.

Dad and Mom had gotten into a huge fight and she drug our suitcases from storage and threw clothes at them. Incensed and so angry at each other, so focused on their fight they didn't even notice me. Scared out of my ever-loving mind, shit! All kids understand what divorce is, and mine stared at me... MINE? Hell yeah, kids are as much a part of divorce as the parents. Even at 9 I knew THAT! What caused the fight wasn't apparent, and I don't think they remembered either.

Deaf, dumb and blind Davey..., Me. Well, not deaf or blind. But sure, dumb struck because mute I stood like a tree in bedrock. I wanted, no 'had' to move and speak. 'Had' to stop this train wreck happening in front of me. I..., couldn't...

Realization impacted dad's face turning it chalk white, MOM WAS LEAVING! He instantly quit arguing but mom's vitriol continued, along with her packing.

From behind her he tried to put his hands on her shoulders, but she batted them away. Not violently, she didn't want to be touched, plus she was still screaming at him. He finally got her turned, but she was still fighting his hands and screaming. But dad stood mute, which brought her staring up to his eyes. Those eyes showed worry and fear, but also pure love; love transcending anything, everything! Piercing love that deflated mom's anger and flung her arms around dad's waist and pressed her crying face into his chest, the suitcases returned to storage empty.

Jimmy had 'That Look '-' That Day.' The day the Three Musketeers broke. B and Jimmy came up to me, we called Bethany, B, at least until that day. Afterwards I called her Bethany.

"It's your turn Davey." Said B's mischievous smile.

"It's my turn? My turn at what?"

"Your turn to play Kissy Face and Stinky Finger." With her wicked grin she made an up-and-down motion with her fist, one all young boys know.

As I gazed up into Jimmy's face, I asked B. "You've already played those games with Jimmy?"

"Well yeah, that's why it's your turn now Stupid."

That's when I saw it, 'The look,' the look of love. Also... the expression of terror, he didn't want to risk sharing her with someone else. Even me, the other Musketeer, but he was going along with it because she wanted to, and it 'was' me. Can a young boy recognize those emotions? Now, eh maybe, but back then I could definitely see what it was, love; the same look my dad had.

"Well Bethany, since you've played those games with Jimmy, you're his girl now. Jimmy's my bud and you don't stab your best bud in the back by trying to steal his girl." Watching Jimmy's eyes showed me I'd done the right thing. Also, I now had a friend for life no matter what, and a debt was owed.

"I never thought of that Davey, but I see it might be true. Is that what you want Jimmy?"

"Yeah B, that's how I want it. You and me forever... just you and me."

"Well, that's how it'll be then, because I wouldn't 'play' with anyone but you two. You're both closer to me than anyone except my mom."

So 'That Day', the first snake in our Garden of Eden, puberty, broke the Three Musketeers. Kissy face and Stinky finger herald the loss of childhood innocence. Afterwards it was Jimmy/Bethany, and their best friend Davey. It's also what woke up the second snake in our Garden of Eden.

Queen Elizabeth!

No, not the Royal Queen of England, especially not on the South Texas plains. Queen Elizabeth was what Jimmy and I called Bethany's mom. Because she sure thought she was a queen, and her name was Elizabeth Ann Scott.

Junior is a male suffix and female names don't have anything similar, John Jacob Astor III for example. But Queen Elizabeth came close, Bethany Lisa Scott. But with only a small switch becomes Lisa-Beth Scott, her mini-me. Like those beer belly dads who want their ten-year-old son to be the quarterback and star of peewee football, even if he has to half kill the kid to do it. All to vicariously re-live their fondly remembered, but often grossly exaggerated glory days.

That was Queen Elizabeth's intention for her mini-me, Princess Bethany, to relive her grossly extravagant glory days through her daughter. If I'd been smarter and had a crystal ball, I'd have told her to be careful of what she wished for, she just might get it.

When young Bethany was a tomboy running the South Texas plains as one of the Three Musketeers, plus frequently extras; can you say wolf pack? Nah, closer to a ball of milk-toothed coyote pups, and always in trouble. The Queen's attention was inactive...

Until she spotted that it was no longer the Three Musketeers. It was Jimmy/Bethany, and THAT brought her inactive attention to a sliding, screeching halt. Tomboy instantly vanished and 'Lady' training began. Why Bethany didn't get shipped off to a boarding school, I'll never understand. She sure got threatened with it enough over the years.

'If you don't behave, I'll send you off to boarding school away from those two degenerate troublemakers!' Maybe her dad stepped up for once and stopped that. But it might've been better if he hadn't.

Her dad was basically a no show in Bethany's life. He spent his life trying to make up for his part in the derailment of Queen Elizabeth's predestined path. His part..., work, a lot of work. Because it took a lot money to replace the loss in her life due to 'his' mistake..., His mistake?

Well of course it's his mistake when a young woman gets pregnant out of wedlock. To her family, he's the bastard who got darling daughter/Princess/baby girl in trouble. To his family, it's, 'Son you have to step up and assume your responsibility.' Or 'You have to make up for your mistake, by marrying her and providing for them both.' 'You fucked up; you fix it!' His mistake, hell yeah!

I never understood Queen Elizabeth's 'predestined path' though. Her parents weren't wealthy, and heaven knows even in her glory days she never could've been Ms. Texas. Hell, in the looks department Bethany had her beat hands down. Later in life Bethany would be called hot, sexy, or even highly attractive, but truly beautiful..., nah.

But in her own mind Queen Elizabeth's destiny was in Dallas/Fort Worth high society, wealth, charity banquets, debutante balls and limousines at red carpet movie premieres. How she was supposed to get there, I don't know. No wealth or great beauty, only a Seguin, Texas high school education. Sure, she attended college, but that's where her self-prophesied path derailed. In a frat house bedroom during a drunken party, and its subsequent pregnancy. Yeah, all his fault.

As far as a college education, in all my years around their house I never heard mention of a major or course of study, or if she even graduated. But in my opinion, it was a degree in Mrs..., Mrs. Doctor, Mrs. lawyer or preferably Mrs. mega-wealthy trust fund baby. Rice University would've been a good place to find any one of those. That's the only way I could see her getting into Dallas/Fort Worth high society. Riding on some man's back, yeah, I don't like her.

Now her only way there..., riding on Bethany's back.

Seguin Texas, our hometown, and the location of these damn hot church steps. 35 miles northeast from San Antonio and 50 miles southwest from Austin, population approximately 31,000. Too big to be a small town where everybody knows everyone else's business. Small enough not to have the crime and drugs of the bigger cities, a real good place to raise kids. Yeah, our Garden of Eden.

In all this mental diarrhea about Queen Elizabeth, I still have to give her some credit. She stepped up to her responsibility and married baby Bethany's father. Plus, according to gossip and rumor, stayed a faithful and (somewhat) loving wife and mother. Her house was always clean, dinner on the table at the correct time and Bethany's clothes were always clean. Well, they started out that way anyhow, coyote pups are never truly clean.

But she was a shrew..., a harridan.

In our younger years the dinner table in our households differed. That difference was at Jimmy's house or mine, they set two extra plates for supper if the Three Musketeers happen to settle near there. But not at the Scott's, it was clear Jimmy and I were 'not' welcome. I guess I wasn't very old when I started disliking Queen Elizabeth.

But all of this constipation is not why I'm ragging on Queen Elizabeth. It's what she did 'after' she saw Bethany/Jimmy. Like I said, tomboy Bethany instantly disappeared. But I didn't realize the implications of the next thing she did until later in life.

Twelve-year-old Bethany was put on birth control pills.

When she told Jimmy and Me about it, we kind of went...,'So.' We got told, somewhat forcefully, how badly Queen Elizabeth nagged her every morning to take her pill. We wisely decided to agree with her.

Next came the rules.

Bethany never could be alone with Jimmy, it had to always be in a group. She mentioned no other boys' names, it wasn't said I couldn't be around Bethany alone, just Jimmy. Yes, she said that right in front of the three of us.

But realistically you can't forbid someone to not see their next-door neighbor who goes to the same school, I guess Queen Elizabeth realized that. She just had to control it!

With age comes a more mature understanding. So, looking back and now having a daughter of my own. I guess I can kind of understand. Jimmy looked older than we did, much more mature. But I don't think he was mentally, just a young boy in a man's body and just as vulnerable.

But also, in my more mature understanding, I really think if Queen Elizabeth had left everything alone maybe this puppy love would have run its course, like any other teenage love story. But no, she kept the drama dialed up too high and turned it into a Romeo and Juliet love story, they just didn't kill themselves... Well, at least not immediately.

But what if I was right, would true love have been so terrible? To love one person for the whole of your life would seem to me to be the ultimate love story. Definitely preferable to the fuckin' shit-storm it turned out to be. Oops, sorry God, church steps and all ya know.

Regardless if it would've been a lifetime love affair or not:

Jimmy was unacceptable.

To Queen Elizabeth..., Bethany didn't even get a vote. I can imagine Queen Elizabeth's tirade, 'No son of a cowboy roofer is good enough for 'my' daughter.'

Yeah roofer, Jimmy's dad started a roofing business when he had to retire from rodeo. AND it was 'had' to. He'd still be busting broncs and riding bulls if he could. But marriage and injuries sidelined the perpetual cowboy.

Most girls in our area started dating around the age of 14 - 15. Queen Elizabeth forbid Bethany from dating until mid-sixteen. Only allowing it because she had to, she caught Bethany lying to her. Bethany was supposed to be out with her girlfriends, but was with Jimmy instead. He'd gotten his first new pickup truck.

So, after being grounded for a month Bethany started dating. Only with her desire for control a new 'Queen's decree' was needed and applied..., guess what? The decree was about Jimmy, Bethany would be allowed to date Jimmy. She just had to go on two dates with other boys before the next one with Jimmy. Of course, the argument was: Bethany was too young to date just one boy, especially Jimmy.

We live in these great United States of America. We have the right of free speech, right to vote, right to bear arms and the right to raise our children as we see fit. So yeah, Queen Elizabeth had the right to dictate dating habits to her underage daughter. But, at sixteen the only thing I knew was that she was picking on Jimmy, and my friend was hurting.

Later Queen Elizabeth's last rule sailed completely overboard. She discovered Jimmy and Bethany were being..., intimate. They'd got caught fooling around at Bethany's house, her folks had come home early. So, Jimmy had a front row seat in the fight.

Jimmy admitted the edict was screamed in anger. But being the manipulative, controlling bitch she is, Queen Elizabeth didn't back down. The edict...?

"If you're going to fuck him, you'll fuck the other boys too!"

I don't know for sure, but Jimmy told me they didn't 'actually' get caught screwing, just really close, and Jimmy's never lied to me. The next part of the Queen's edict applied to Jimmy too..., he had to have sex with other girls.

Their punishment for getting caught was that they couldn't date each other until they assured the Queen her instructions would be obeyed. I don't even want to 'think' about how she would enforce those rules!!

Wasn't she the one who put a twelve-year-old girl on birth control pills? What does that say to a daughter? Other than, 'You can have sex,' or 'I don't trust you.' So, isn't it a little hypocritical to object to finding that same daughter almost fulfilling both your unspoken expectations?