I am so freakin’ glad it is Friday! This has been a long week indeed. Yesterday sucked a big one. Around noonish I began to feel a little tired, achey and run down. By two I was in the bed with a fever and chills. Took a bunch of drugs and by this morning I felt much better. Around 1am this morning I woke up with my side of the bed soaked. My first thought was that I had peed the bed, but then I realized that my fever must have broken since I was sweating terribly. I am so glad to be feeling like my old self again! Just about ready for a cocktail! Bring on the weekend!!

I do not have much to write about today. I have been too busy to write another story from the divorce era. So instead I thought I would make another of those dumb lists that everyone seems to be so into these days. My friend Bo Snagley recently wrote a “If I could I would” post, so I thought I would shamelessly walk in and steal his idea while his back is turned, but I am going to change it a little….hope you don’t mind.

If I had the drive to get off my ass and change some things, I Would…

1. Stop using all tobacco products.
2. Drink less alcohol.
3. Get involved in a community theatre.
4. Focus on being more organized.
5. Lose about twenty five pounds.
6. Save more money.
7. Get debt free.
8. Exercise daily.
9. Invest more.
10. Play a sport.
11. Make friends (here in my area).
12. Read more books.
13. Spend less time on the Internet.
14. Only blog on the weekends.
15. Go to bed with my wife when she goes to bed.
16. Join a church.
17. Plant a vegetable garden.
18. Learn to build things out of wood.
19. Devote more to my career.
20. Visit my parents more often.
21. Go see my Grandmother in Georgia.
22. Go to every University of Tennessee football home game.
23. Try to get interested in Nascar.
24. Not be so jealous because my wife has friends and I don’t (here in my town).
25. Spend less time in the bathroom.
26. Get a physical from my doctor.
27. Spend more time with my kids.
28. Learn to play games on Playstation 2 with my daughter.
29. Buy a bicycle and ride it.
30. Learn to work on cars.
31. Find ways to be more attractive to my wife.
32. Find out why my ass sweats so much.
33. Travel to Europe.
34. Make my own porn movies, again.
35. Host a party of my favorite bloggers.

Okay, that’s it for now. Can you tell I am reaching for things to write about? Maybe I should put #14 in place. Have a great weekend everyone!
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Before I begin with another entry of the Divorce Chronicles I thought I would preface this account of new love with a recent quick observation from the present day. This post should paint for you, although not too eloquently, the story of Susan and my first meeting and date. There is some intense intimacy involved, as you will read, but as many married people learn - it doesn’t always last for long. The stresses of marriage; making a home, work, kids, money, etc, can cause the flames to die down.

Recently my sex life has been in the dumps. As many of you who have read me for a while know, I used to take anti depressant medication which screwed with my libido in a bad way. Also Susan has not been the most intimate of women. She would be happy with a good hard five minute romp, get off, then be done. Rarely is there any kissing, holding or touching. Now if I were still in my twenties and could get it up at the mention of sex or the site of nudity, it would be okay. Unfortunately I need a little, uh…what is it called that women want so much of? Oh yeah, foreplay. She ain’t into that. When she wants it, she wants it then and she wants it ready to go. This has left me depressed and even once brought me to the point of trying a free sample of what so many of those commercials suggest you ask your doctor for. My thought pattern was that - if I were to know she was gonna be wanting it, say around eight o’clock, then I can take a little pill an hour before and PRESTO! I can be ready. (I can’t believe I admitted that.)

Well, in recent weeks we have tried to work on this problem. Instead of the four to five times a week of the distant past, we have tried to focus on having less quantity and more quality. Uh, it’s worked to a degree. There are times still when I get frustrated, like this past Sunday night. Then there are times, like Monday night, when it is oh so good! I could go into detail here about how she came twice due to both my mouth and the hard thrusting. I could also share the tale of how, about an hour after we were done, we found ourselves masturbating together, in bed while watching an adult movie. But Monday night is not the focus of this post. Instead I want to share with you our first episode of our face to face sexual intimacy. Writing this has been good for me. Maybe I should suggest she read this and remember as I have done. Maybe it will do the trick with what has ailed us. Who knows?

So without further interruption, here is The Divorce Chronicles Part 7. Although this post focuses little to none on the horror that was happening back home in Alabama, and only on the wonderful first time meeting of a man and a woman in Tennessee. As I have mentioned before, if you haven’t read parts 1 through 6 you can find them linked near the top on the left hand corner of this page under categories.

“It took a second for my eyes to adjust from the bright sunlight outside. Once they had I immediately looked to my right at the entrance to Ruby Tuesday. There were a few people milling about, leaving their name with the hostess, but none looked like Susan. I turned and looked to my left along the line of open stores and people shopping. Nothing, nada…I turned my head back to the restaurant and slowly worked my filed of vision from the restaurant entrance and along the low brick wall outside the place. Pausing a second on any blonde woman I would see. There, about half way down the wall she sat, watching me with a big grin on her face. My breath stopped. It was her, and she was more beautiful in person than I could have ever imagined.
I smiled and waved. She continued to smile at me and lifted her hand in greeting as I took my first step in her direction.”

As I walked toward her she stood up from her seat on the wall. Our eyes locked and our smiles set we met together about three paces from where she had been sitting. We instantly embraced in a tight hug, chest to chest with her head resting on my shoulder. We held this hug for a good five seconds or more and I immediately noticed the feel of her large breasts through the fabric of her lime green sweater as she pressed them against me. This was good!

“Hey.” Was all she said as we broke from the embrace.
“Hey Susan, it is so good to see you at last.”

There is something about a Southern accent and the simple word “hey”. Those of you in other parts of the U.S. or abroad, may not be as familiar with this greeting. Obviously it means the same as “hello” but it is used more frequently in the Southern States. Just like how we say “y’all” instead of “you all” or (the dreaded) “you guys”. Hearing a true Southern accent is music to my ears. FA was born in New Jersey and raised in Chicago, so to have a woman speak with a dialect I am familiar with is pure joy. Now when I mention Susan’s accent and the South in the same sentence you should know that it is not the sugary sound of some Belle sitting on a veranda somewhere sipping sweet iced tea. Instead she has the pure twang of one raised in or near the Appalachian or Smokey mountains. Those of us who grew up in the South can usually distinguish between someone from Georgia, Alabama, Virginia, Charleston South Carolina or East Tennessee. When Susan is not in a purely professional setting her voice can sound very much like that of her hometown neighbor, Dolly Parton.

“It is so good to finally meet you!” She said.
“Same here. You are beautiful.”
“What? Don’t I look like my pictures?”
“Nah, better!”

We chatted for a minute or two then decided to take a stroll around the mall. As we walked away from where we had stood she took my hand in hers and looked up at me. Good Lord I was in heaven. I could not imagine that this woman could really be interested in me! To have done so much wrong in life I was certainly being rewarded. Undeservedly of course.

In our stroll around the mall we were mainly window shoppers. Stopping to look in the windows of several upscale clothing stores, as well as Victoria’s Secret. She let me know that she gets all her under garments from VS, and I was thrilled to know I was with a woman who did. We continued to walk around, talking and looking till we came to a beauty supply store. She wanted to go in and buy her Mother something. A trip down to Knoxville, where the fancy stores were, was not an everyday occurrence for folks from her town. She knew her Mom would want some new shampoo and nail polish. We entered the store, hand in hand, and I immediately recognized one of the workers, and she recognized me as well. She was a good friend of my sisters and the last time she had seen me I was with my wife and kids. As she watched me from behind the register I could imagine her thoughts of “Chuck the adulter”. Once we were ready to check out I was sure to introduce Susan to her and ask if my sister had mentioned I was going through a divorce. That seemed to cause her eyes to return back to their normal size.

As we left the store I asked Susan if she was ready to get something to eat. She said she was and we settled on Ruby Tuesday. The wait wasn’t too bad and soon we were seated in a booth at the back of the restaurant. Our discussions at the table turned more from “small talk” to talks about us. As we looked over the menus she reached out across the table and took my hand in her’s. We again talked about how happy we were to finally meet, and once the cocktails worked their magic, we talked about how nervous both of us had been earlier. This was the first time I had had an alcoholic beverage since the day before my wife had left me, and I believe my tolerance level had gone down a little. I was soon as loose as Susan had become, and our talking didn’t end with the arrival of our food. There was little we could share that we hadn’t already talked about on the phone or through email/chat, but the conversation was riveting none the less. In time we had consumed all our food and drinks and it was time to move on to the next step in the evening. Just what that would be, I was not sure.

My Mom had requested that I not be back too late. She was keeping my kids and had recently had foot surgery so it was hard for her to get around. Especially when having to chase a two year old! As I paid the bill and we prepared to leave the restaurant Susan suggested we go somewhere else. I shared with her the story about my mom’s foot problems and how I shouldn’t be gone from home too much longer. It was lame, I know…but at this point my Mother was the only one privy to the fact that I was going out on a date so soon since everything had happened with FA. In the eyes of my parents I was still legally married. I did not want my Dad to know (he was still down on me and any future relations with women at this point due to the shit FA had caused), and Mom had agreed to keep it a secret for now, so I had promised to come back to their house somewhat early. Looking out into the darkness that had recently fallen, I suggested that Susan and I go out and sit in my car and talk some more before I had to go. She agreed and we exited through the mall entrance and out into the dark parking lot, lit now by only the bright lamps on their high poles.

We walked out to my car and I opened the passenger door for her. She sat down and I closed the door then walked around and sat down as well. It was right around 8:30 pm, half an hour before the mall closed for the evening. The parking lot had cleared out considerably and the area I had originally parked in was fairly isolated. We sat there for a few minutes, talking about the dinner we had recently eaten. I turned on the radio and asked her what station she preferred. She said, to my delight, 107.7 WIVK. I turned on the radio and we sat there for a minute listening to the music that poured from the speakers. I do not remember the song, but I do remember what I did next. I reached over and took the left side of her face in my right hand and I pulled her towards me for a kiss. We met half way across the front seats and had our first kiss. It was gentle at first, but soon became passion filled and our tongues touched then mingled. Still holding her face with my right hand I stretched my left arm over and gripped her shoulder with my left hand and pulled her even closer. We made out like high school kids for a good three minutes. Once we finally parted lips I couldn’t help but laugh. She asked what was so funny and I replied,

“Here we are parking and necking, just like a couple of sixteen year olds!”

She laughed as well, then pulled me closer to her for more lip action. This was the best kissing I had had in many years. It felt so incredible to be kissing someone like this. It had been a few years since I had kissed someone and really cared about them at the same time. As we kissed our hands began to wander. I moved mine down from her face, putting my left hand on her hip and my right on the outer swell of her left breast. She had her left hand wrapped around my neck and moved her right hand to a resting point on the upper thigh of my right leg. As we kissed my hand on her breast grew bolder as did her hand on my inner thigh.

I paused long enough to look up and check out our surroundings, noting that we were still alone, and dove back in for more kissing. This time I worked my way down from her lips and chin, onto her neck and down to the cleavage showing through the V neck of her sweater. My right hand continued to get more bold in it’s exploration of her tits while my left worked its way up and over her hip towards warmer and wetter pastures. She, in turn, ran her right hand up from my thigh to my chest and back down, always seeming to miss the package. With her other hand/arm she pulled me closer for deeper kissing. With each second that passed I grew harder and harder. As we kissed, and she teased me with her hand, I hoped she would finally find the mark and recognize what I had growing there in my jeans. I didn’t have to wait too much longer before she rested her hand on my crotch and wrapped her fingers around that which had stretched itself down my leg.

“Mmmm, there it is.” She said, and that was all the cue I needed to take my hand and dive fully onto the denim material between her legs.

We continued to kiss and touch for a couple more minutes till we heard the sound of car doors opening near us. We separated from each other in time and were able to see a couple close the doors to their car about three parking spaces from us.

“Maybe we should move?” I asked, and she agreed. I cranked the engine and moved the car from the front of the mall over to the side where the Toys R US parking lot met JC Penny.

Once again alone I asked her if she would show me what she has told me about so many times on the phone. She asked what exactly that was, and I mentioned how she liked to touch herself then dropped my eyes onto her lap. I told her that I wanted to see her cum.

“Are you sure?” She asked. And I responded with a definite affirmative.

Susan unzipped her jeans and reached down into her panties. As she played with herself I could hear and sense exactly what I had heard from her on the phone in times past. The rhythm of her fingers intensified and she began to increase the rubbing of my cock through my pants. She tilted her head back on the headrest and I took that opportunity to slip my hand into her jeans and panties and feel exactly what it was she was feeling.

It was so wet. Her finger focused on her clit as mine dug deeper into her pussy. She let out a moan as I dipped my finger into her very wet vagina. I could not get good penetration from this angle but it seemed to do the trick never the less. She took a firmer hold of my cock with her left hand and continued to rub her pussy hard with her right.

“You want me to cum?” She asked.
“Cum for me baby!” I responded.

And she did. She came solidly and with a fair amount of noise. I kissed her as the wave took her, then continued to kiss as it moved on out to sea. Once she was done she looked over at me and said,

“Wow, that was sooo good.”
“You looked so good having that orgasm baby.” I responded.

We kissed a little more and then I told her I need to get back to my parents house. We let each other know again how wonderful it was to meet, and soon I was walking her to her car and giving her that last goodnight kiss. I sent her off on her way feeling like she was the one for me. I drove back to my parents that night worrying that some people might say it was too soon, but I knew, deep down, that Susan and I were meant for each other. She called me about 10 minutes after we had separated and told me that she was sitting in the drive thru at Starbucks getting a frappuccino. She also told me how much fun she had had meeting me and hanging out with me. I told her that meeting her was the highlight of my life and that I looked forward to the next time. We hung up promising each other we would meet again soon.

To be continued…

There has been a few of you brave enough to take my question challenge and I have made an executive decision. Although it may make the “god’s of the dumb 5 question quiz” mad, I have decided to forgo their wrath and ask the same five questions to all of you. So there!

So far Queen of Pink, Rei, ESSFingers and Miranda have offered to answer them. You ladies feel free to do so and post your answers on your blogs. All the rest of you can do it as well. You can answer them in my comments (Rosie) or post them on your blogs, if you feel so inclined. Just remember the rules, as are outlined at the bottom of my last post.

Okay, here goes….

1. Have you ever participated in phone sex with another blogger or chat friend. If so, describe your most memorable episode.
2. Without giving out exact details, how would you rate your current credit rating? What has happened/have you done to get this score?
3. Do you have a recurring sexual fantasy? If so, share it in detail. If it includes me, just call me and tell me about it (see #1).
4. You find yourself in prison for 20 years with no chance for parole. Your cell mate offers the chance to explore same sex, discreet relations with you. There is no chance anyone can find out, and he/she isn’t all that bad looking. Do you do it?
5. Describe in as much detail as possible, the worst experience you have been through in the past twelve months.

Okay, there you go. They aren’t that bad, now are they? Have fun, can’t wait to see your responses. Let me know if and when you post them to your blog.

Back to work….later!

Today has been a busy day! Work has kicked my ass once or twice, but I still found some time to take a break or two. I watched WADD, The Life and Times of John Holmes. It was pretty interesting. I can relate to the man in so many ways, except the drug use, murder rap, gay things, etc. I am sure if you try hard enough you can think what it is that Mr. Holmes and I might have in common.

While playing around with my new blog last night I discovered something pretty neat. I am sure this is something that all of you already know about, but it was news to me. When you guys leave me comments I get an email notification in my box! How cool is that? Before, when I was using Haloscan, I never was aware of this option. So now when you leave me a comment there is a pretty good chance that I will be emailing my response to you instead of doing so in the comment section.

So, my friend ESSF has given me some questions to answer so I guess I will do that now.

1. If you could choose the way that you will die, what would it be? You can’t pick dieing in your sleep.

If I could chose the way I would die it would be as an old man, probably in my late 90’s. I would want to see the light at the end of the tunnel from dieing from a heart attack brought on by an overdose of Viagra and certain strenuous activity.

2. What is the first movie you remember seeing at a theater? What do you remember about that experience?

It was at a drive-in theater…does that count? I know for certain I had been to other movies, but my first real memory was seeing Jaws with my parents and friend Craig. I remember sitting in the back seat with Chris eating popcorn, that my Mom had made and brought from home, in my Dad green Impalla. That was a cool car cause it had an 8 track player! I remember being very scared and not being able to sleep that night.

3. What is your fondest childhood memory? Please explain in detail if possible.

Hmmm, fondest childhood memory…honestly there are too many to choose just one, I had a wonderful childhood. I guess any Christmas morning is worth mentioning. Especially the Christmas of 1977. That was the year we were moving from Virginia to North Carolina and my Mother’s entire family gathered at her parent’s home in Tazewell, Virginia. There were probably 25 people there and I remember me and several of my 10 cousins playing “coal miners” in the dark basement with my Grandfathers coal mining helmets and equiptment.

4. If you had to live in a non English-speaking country which one would it be and why?

That’s easy. Germany. Beautiful scenery, lots of beer and beautiful women. Plus I already speak the language a little.

5. When was the last time you danced and where was it?

A year ago, in Montgomery Alabama, at a restaurant/bar with a lovely customer of mine. She wanted to get a little freaky, and dirty, but I resisted like the gentleman I am.

Okay, here are the rules….

If you would like for me to ask you five questions…
1. Leave a comment saying “interview me” if you’d like to be interviewed.
2. I’ll respond by asking you 5 questions here. They’ll be different than those above.
3. Update your blog with your answers to the questions.
4. When you do so, include this same explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same manner.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you’ll ask them five new questions.

I will do this with two of you, tops. I will also not guarantee that my questions will be as tame as these asked of me! So if you’re brave, I am game!

Ladies and gentlemen, I have relocated to my new, non blogger, home on the web. I now have my own domain!!

Please go to www.thechuckster.com from this point on.

Feel free to update your links and/or blogrolls.

Thanks, I will see you all there!

Okay folks, here goes another installment of my divorce chronicles. I continue to get some wonderful emails and comments. I really appreciate that so many of you are reading. I wish I had been writing a blog back when this was all new and fresh. I am sure many of you could have given me some good advice back then.

To be perfectly honest these posts could go on for a while, although I would like to finish them up soon. Believe it or not it is a bit painful to relive some of these memories, while others are good to remember. During my separation period, from the day she returned home till the end and beyond, I kept a written diary. It is saved to this day as a Word document. That is partially why I can remember it all so well. I guess the birth of these posts is due to my re-reading of that diary a couple weeks ago. I promise to continue with these posts till they are finished, but I doubt that they will be an every day occurrence. I would like to post about current events on occasion. Hopefully you won’t mind if I do.

Now back to the story. If you are a first time reader you might want to check out part 1, part 2 , part 3 and part 4, so you will get a better understanding of this entry which is part 5.

I had realized from the beginning that I was going to need some ammunition against her. With the call she made to me on the day I was served the papers, and her mention of Gabe, I had figured that something wasn’t quite right about her relationship with this guy. I knew that I would have to find a way to work myself back into her good graces, and being her “friend” again was the best way to get to that point. Knowing that this would most likely be a difficult task, I was thankful that my Uncle had turned me on to the need to keep a good record of anything she might say. So with my trusty digital tape recorder I was ready for anything and everything. My only hope was that she wouldn’t notice that I was constantly wearing shirts with a pocket. I figured there would be no more pocket less t-shirts or Polo shirts in my future.

I came all the way into the bedroom and sat down next to her on the bed. I asked what exactly she meant about this “dick head”. She began to pour it all out to me. She said she had hired a private investigation service because she wanted to prove that I had been cheating. Her female lawyer had told her she would need proof, so she turned FA onto a service that she had used with other clients. It just so happened that the man who was assigned to follow me around, this Gabe person, was also a man with few ethics. He had seen a need (FA’s vulnerability) and pounced upon it. She revealed to me that, on the late afternoon when she had called me to tell me that she knew I had been served the papers, Gabe had traveled up to Huntsville to be with her. She claimed, and I am not sure of the truth to this day, that he did not come into the hotel room where my kids were sleeping, but met her out in the hotel corridor. She told me in detail how they had sat on the floor and talked and how it had moved to kissing and how he eventually had put his hand down the front of the pajamas she had been wearing. I would later learn that they had had sex with each other a few weeks before this night. Anyway, she told me about how she had gone to meet him the night before me and the kids had taken the trip to Tennessee. How they had met up and he had her follow him way out in the country to a deserted dirt road. She then went into detail about how he had bent her over the drivers seat of the SUV, there with the drivers door open, and had sex with her from behind. Then she continued the detail, telling me about the night, three days later, when he had met up with her again, fucked her, then began to tell her about how guilty he felt, and confessing to her about being married to a woman who was carrying his child.

I continued to sit there listening to her, while being thankful that I was taping the whole thing. She talked about how she thought she could be in love with him and also how upset she was that he had lied to her. I listened to her talk and sat there nodding and saying the right things, but thinking; wow….what has this woman turned into? The woman I had been married to for over eleven years. It was hard for me to grasp the concept that she was talking about a sexual relationship that had to do with someone other than me. She went on for a good fifteen minutes then told me she needed to get some sleep. As I stood up I said,

“I know things are weird with us right now and that we are getting a divorce. That is certain right?”
“Yeah, definitely.” She confirmed. Just was wanting to make sure she wasn’t trying to change things.
“Okay, good. Well, I just want you to know that you can talk to me anytime you want. We may be getting a divorce, but we can surely be friends.” (This suggestion will be explained further down)

I excused myself from the bedroom and made my way back up stairs. As I lay on the pallet in my office that night I couldn’t help but think things might be a little better than I had thought previously. Her claim of adultery had just been blown out the window, and I had proof.

The rest of the week was uneventfull. I met with my attorney and he was happy that I was taping our talks. Since Alabama is a state that doesn’t require that the taped party be aware of the taping, I was good to go. I tried to work, but it was hard to focus. Luckily my boss was completely aware of the situation and very cooperative with me and my lack of production. I spent time with the kids, going on walks with my daughter T every day in the early evenings. By the end of the first ten days since she had left, I had lost twelve pounds. Things were definitely looking up.

I was also talking to Susan every day. We kept each other abreast of our daily activities either by phone or Yahoo Messenger. I had decided by mid week to take another trip up to Tennessee the next weekend. Susan and I began to make plans to meet and I was really looking forward to it. We had shared a high degree of intimacy with one another either by phone or by web camera, and I was really looking forward to having the chance to look her in the eyes, put my arms around her, kiss her…..It was going to be a great meeting.

FA continued to spend most of her day and evenings away from the house. I literally became a single parent from day one, taking care of all of the kid’s needs. Where she would go I was never quite sure. It was only on the rare occasion that we would be home together in the evenings that we would sometimes talk. Our having talks was not always guaranteed though. There were times, usually on the days she had met with or talked to her attorney, that she would seem to clam up. I guess she was getting counsel to watch what we talked about. But eventually she would always come around, making some statement about how I am the only one who really knows her, and then she’d talk.

She would tell me about men she would meet at the gym. How they would flirt with her. She told me how Gabe still called her all the time, wanting to meet with her some place. They had retired from screwing in MY new car, and had began getting a hotel room. Fortunately for FA she could afford it, seeing as she had taken pretty much all my money. I found her bank statement among some papers in the back seat of the car and saw where her Mom and Dad had been wiring money into her account. Besides the thousands she had taken only weeks before, her parents had given her at least 3K between them. I saw paperwork from her attorney and was able to tell that the retainer she had paid was a thousand more than mine. I also saw a receipt from the private investigator which reminds me of yet another shocking occurrence.

If you will remember I had mentioned in the first post that she had taken my Dad’s credit card from my wallet at some point before she left me. Well it quickly became apparent that she had charged the private eye fees on my Dad’s Visa. ALL $6,000 OF IT! When Dad finally got his statement he was able to see that she had also charged a number of other things on the card as well, including a lot of new clothes and make-up at the mall. This was unbelievable. We were eventually able to get FA’s Mom to pay the charges back, due to the threat of prosecution, but still it was amazing to us all how out of touch with reality she was/is to even consider doing something like that.

I must also take a moment here and explain something. I am sure there are those of you reading this who are amazed that I could have stood to be in the same room with her, much less have conversations with her. After all she had stolen most of my money, made an attempt to ruin my credit rating, and done many other terrible things like taking Dad’s credit card. Well, to be honest with you I did totally despise her. Had she fallen off the face of the earth I would have been very happy, but there was more to it than that. At first I was desperately afraid of what I could possibly lose in the divorce; most my income, my house, my kids, etc. I felt like being her “friend” would be the only way I could slip through the crack in the wall she had built up and remain close enough to learn any info she would let slip about her activities. I figured I would need as much ammunition as I could get, if the divorce battle got fierce. That is why I played the role of “soon to be ex husband, but still best friend” during the time we were going through the separation. In the months after the divorce, when she was screwing everything with a dick and working as an escort, I remained her friend because I felt I needed to have all this on going dirt on her in case she ever got a wild hair to try to fight me for primary custody, or get more money out of me. In the 21 months Susan and I have been married I have remained FA’s friend primarily because Susan has found joy in finding out all the random shit FA continues to do that screws up her life. Somewhere along the way I have got used to this “post divorce” FA. Since the alimony was eliminated last month I really have no ties with her, other than the kids, and I have actually had pleasant conversations with her. I do not think we have raised our voices with each other since February.

That Friday the kids and I again headed back to Tennessee and I left home not knowing what FA might be doing in my house while I was away. But the affairs of the ex were not my primary concern, for this was the weekend I would be meeting Susan for the first time. I was excited yet nervous as hell!

We arranged to meet Saturday night at one of the malls in town. I showered well, shaved and lathered myself in cologne. We had planned to meet inside at the main entrance next to the Ruby Tuesday restaurant. I drove the whole twenty minute drive with sweaty palms. As I got closer to the mall I became more and more nervous. Why should I be so worried, I thought. It isn’t like we don’t already know just about everything there was to know about each other. In the nearly four weeks since our first contact online we had shared many long and detailed phone and Internet chats. We had even recently had our first ever phone sex experience. This woman knows me and I know her, even though we had never laid eyes on one another in the flesh.

But what if she doesn’t like me when she sees me in three dimension? I had stood up for her while I was on camera and showed her every inch of me, but I couldn’t help worrying that she might not like how I look when we finally met. Is my hair too short or long or curly? Are the jeans and shirt I chose to wear not stylish enough? Speaking of my jeans, does this pair make me look too fat? As I mentioned above I had lost some weight, but I certainly could stand to lose a little more. All these thoughts were swirling through my head when suddenly my cell phone rang. It was her…

“Hey, where are you?” I cleared my troubled thoughts enough to take a look at my surroundings. I was pulling into the mall parking lot.

“Just pulling in now. Are you there already?”

“Yep, I am here sitting where we agreed to meet. Hurry up, I am dying here! I want to see you!”

“I will be there in a minute. I can’t wait to see you too.”

I hung up and tried to settle my nerves as well as my breathing. This was really about to happen. The moment I had waited for since Valentine’s Day was just a couple of minutes from becoming reality. I found a parking spot and turned off the car. In the rearview mirror I checked my hair. I took a deep breath and got out of the car. As I walked towards the mall entrance the butterfly’s in my stomach began to work overtime. This was it. Before I reached for the door handle I ran my hands down the legs of my jeans. It certainly wouldn’t do to greet her with sweaty hands. I push open the door, stepped into the vestibule and pushed open the other door then stepped into the Knoxville Center Mall.

It took a second for my eyes to adjust from the bright sunlight outside. Once they had I immediately looked to my right at the entrance to Ruby Tuesday. There were a few people milling about, leaving their name with the hostess, but none looked like Susan. I turned and looked to my left along the line of open stores and people shopping. Nothing, nada…I turned my head back to the restaurant and slowly worked my filed of vision from the restaurant entrance and along the low brick wall outside the place. Pausing a second on any blonde woman I would see. There, about half way down the wall she sat, watching me with a big grin on her face. My breath stopped. It was her, and she was more beautiful in person than I could have ever imagined.

I smiled and waved. She continued to smile at me and lifted her hand in greeting as I took my first step in her direction.

To be continued…..

I am so ready for the weekend! This has been a long week and I have been very busy with work. I thought I would take some time and make a quick post because I wanted to let you all know three things…..

First of all I have posted another guest blogger post on Bo Snagley’s blog. This one includes pictures from college that I scanned in. Click here to take a look. Also, if you didn’t have a chance yet to read about when Bo and I first met you can click here and read the story. I promise it will move you to tears, or your money back!

Secondly I wanted you all to know that I continue to appreciate all your comments on my “divorce chronicle” posts. I will continue the story in detail. I plan on posting the next entry on Friday evening. I have noticed that a few of you leaving comments are under the impression that these tales are currently happening to me. I want to take this time to remind everyone that this all occurred in early 2003. Thank God, it is all in the past!

Finally I guess I should let you know that I am having some severe foot problems. I went to a podiatry doctor two years ago and he took x-rays and let me know that I have some serious bone spur problems on my heels. The pain returned about a week ago and I made an appointment and went to see the doctor again this morning. He gave me a painful shot in my heel, some lifts for my shoes, and this big ass blue thing for my left foot.

I just took this picture and thought I would share it with you all in hopes I might get a little sympathy! lol Really folks, it hurts like a SOB! If things don’t improve soon I will have to have surgery to have them removed. From what I understand, surgery to have bone spurs removed comes with a difficult recovery period. Susan has already told me that she will let her boss know that she will need to leave work everyday by four o’clock in the afternoon, during that time, so she can help me out with things around the house. I have a follow up appointment next week and will know better what will need to happen.

I hope everyone is doing well and that you all have a great Friday!

On the drive back home from that first trip to Knoxville, I was happy. It felt weird to be happy after six days of confusion and worry, but I was. My kids were watching some Disney movie on the TV in the back seat and I watched the miles tick off while thinking of the weekend that was just now ending.

I had a good time with my Mom, Dad, sister and Uncle. There just happened to be a surprise visit from my Dad’s younger brother while I was home. Seeing as he has been divorced twice, and is currently in his third marriage, my Uncle was a wealth of information. He shared with me what I could expect, getting divorced when there were children involved, and what to say and not to say in all aspects of the divorce. He also told me how I should learn to be a spy.

I continued to be amazed, and thankful at how supportive my parents were about this whole thing. Even knowing the truth as they did, I still worried that they may look negatively on me, my marriage and the whole situation. But surprisingly they did not. I say surprisingly because my parents are devout Southern Baptists. My Dad is a deacon at their church. I was sure I would get many lectures about the state of our marital situation and my being an internet chat whore. I didn’t get the lectures, all I got from Dad was a short talk about how he hoped I realized that living my life this way wasn’t right. I quickly agreed.

I did receive a call from FA early on Sunday morning. She called my cell phone and I could tell right off the bat that she had been crying. I asked what was wrong and she began by asking what my parents and sister had been saying about her. I lied and said they had said nothing and she began to cry even more. She told me, through her tears, that she was worried that she had made a mistake. That maybe she shouldn’t have been so quick to take the step towards divorce. I listened to her talk and cry until she said,

“Why did you have to do it?”
“Do what? What are you talking about FA?”
“Fuck that other woman?” She yelled.
“FA, I haven’t done anything. (got to keep the story straight) Besides if I had, why would you care? You have practically pushed me out the door many times.” I responded.

She began to cry even harder.

“FA, what is wrong? I know you aren’t this upset about us.” I said with a degree of sarcasm.

After a good 30 seconds of crying she said,

“He is married! And his wife is pregnant!”
“Who? What are you talking about?”
“Gabe, you know…the guy who served you the papers. We met up last night and he told me he was married and that his wife was pregnant and he felt bad about seeing me. He said we had to end it.”

With that last statement I suddenly became aware of two things. The first was that she had no hopes or plans of us reuniting, and the second was that she had been having an affair with this guy. She had found out that he had been lying to her and it was even worse once she found out he was to be a Father soon.

After another minute she composed herself and said how she didn’t know why she would tell me that stuff. She apologized, then asked when we were coming home. I told her that no matter what happened with us, she could always talk to me. Little did I know at the time that she would hold me to that many, many times in the future.

As I drove home down Interstate 75 into Chattanooga and beyond, my cell phone rang. It was Susan. I immediately thought about how I had told her incoming calls don’t show up on my cell bill, so she could call anytime she wanted. Thanks to her offer of the calling card I could call her anytime I wanted as well, and not have to worry about anything but an 800 number showing up on the bill as an out going call. I answered…

“Hey, how’s the drive?” She asked.
“Hey Susan, it’s going good. The kids are busy watching a movie and I have been thinking about you.”
“Wow, same here!”

We continued to talk about random stuff. She wanted to know when I was coming back to Tennessee again. I told her that I would be coming up there, most likely, every other weekend, if not every one. There wasn’t much to keep me in Alabama on the weekends and I would much rather spend the time with family. She wondered out loud if I would be coming back next weekend. I told her that there was a good chance, and I would be letting her know. She made me promise that I would use the calling card and call her everyday, several times a day, and I did not hesitate to make that promise. We chatted a little longer then hung up, and I drove the rest of the way with thoughts of Susan foremost on my mind.

Arriving home was uneventful. FA wasn’t home when we arrived so the kids and I unloaded the car and settled back into the house. Earlier, during the past week when my parents had been here, my Dad and I had installed a dead lock on my office door. This was done so I could have a degree of privacy and not have to worry about FA barging in on me during the night. I only kept it locked when I was gone from the house. At night I always kept it open so I could be available to the kids if they needed me, and so I could hear any activity FA might be up to. I went upstairs and unlocked my office/bedroom and was happy to see that nothing seemed out of place.

I busied myself with getting some dinner for the kids and was surprised when I heard the garage door open and close. FA had returned. She greeted the kids then came into the kitchen where I stood at the stove. She was covered in sweat and wearing her work out clothes. She had obviously been to the gym. She said hello and asked what was for dinner. I told her that I wasn’t eating and was making pot pies for the kids. She smiled and excused herself to the shower. She certainly was acting smug, I thought. Definitely not the same humble FA I had talked to on the phone 24 hours before.

Later that night, once the kids were in bed, I knocked on her (our) bedroom door. She yelled for me to come in and I walked over and sat down on the edge of the dresser. She was in the process of getting ready to go out. I sat there for a minute watching her mess with her hair and finally asked her if everything was okay. She stopped and looked at me and asked why I would think something was wrong. I responded that she seemed awfully upset yesterday on the phone when she told me about Gabe. She paused for a minute, almost seeming to attempt to replay the conversation in her mind, then told me in a rather matter of fact manner that everything was fine and she was going out to meet a friend. I stood up and said I hoped she was careful. She assured me that she would be, and I left the room.

Three hours later I was still up reading in my office when I heard her stumble through the door. My curiosity got the better of me and I walked down stairs to get a drink of water, hoping she would hear me and want to talk. I did not have to hope too hard, as I walked through the living room I noticed that the door to the master bedroom was open, the room alight, and she was sitting on the edge of the bed. I kept on walking by till I heard her call my name. I responded,

“Yeah?”
“Can you come in here for a minute?” She asked.

I turned around and went into the bedroom. She was sitting there still, on the edge of the bed, and appeared to be a bit on the intoxicated side.

“I am so fucking pissed off.” She said. “I need to talk to someone, and since I am so used to talking to you, would you come and listen to me? You are like my only real friend.” With that she threw herself down on the bed and said, “I want to talk to you about this dick head!”

Turning my back to her for a brief moment I reached my right hand into my shirt pocket and pushed record on the mini digital recorder I had hidden and said,

“Sure, we can talk. Tell me what is on your mind. What is going on with this “dick head”, it’s Gabe, right?”

As she began to talk I silently thanked my, twice divorced, Uncle and his advice about getting a tape recorder. That trip to Radio Shack could prove to be the best $60 I had ever spent. Time would tell.

To be continued….

Just taking a break from work and wanted to let you all know that I posted over on Bo Snagley’s Blog. He is out of town on “business” and asked me to be a guest blogger. Since I have been taking a walk down memory lane here lately, I thought I would share a little back ground from the college days. Go on over there and read, it’s a heart warming story of a much younger Chuck and his friend Bo. I will continue with my divorce story here this afternoon or tomorrow at the latest. Thanks for all your encouragement….I have decided to keep it going.

So, before I begin with part four of my little story here I wanted to take a moment and thank you all for reading. I especially like and appreciate all the comments. I haven’t been able to answer most of them, but I wanted those of you who have left them to know that I am appreciative. Again, if you are just stumbling on this post and haven’t read the others that went before it you can click on the following links to read. (part 1) (part 2) (part 3)

On the day after I learned my wife had left me and taken my kids, I became aware of several things. I discovered that most all my life savings, practically all the money I had in the world, had been taken. My mortgage, utlitlies, and credit cards had not been paid. I learned that not only was I in a situation where I had no idea what the future would hold, but I had practically no means to get me there. My parents drove down to be with me and to help me begin to make some sense in what was happening.

I did settle on an attorney, the only one who returned my call, and with my parents I went to meet with him. At this point I was convinced that I would be loosing it all, the house, the car and worst, my kids. He explained to me that a divorce was like a pie and each slice represented money. He said that a slice will go to the bills, to the kids, to insurance and other payments, and what was left over would be what I had to live on. He assured me that the courts would not leave me living on the streets. He estimated, based on my income, that I would be paying around $1800 a month in child support. My parents loaned me the $1,500 retainer and I had me official representation.

Late that afternoon, as we were sitting around the living room discussing the next steps, there was a knock at the door. I expected to be served the papers at anytime, and this was it. A young, short and stocky fellow greeted me at the door with a big ass grin on his face. He asked if I were Mr. Chuck, I nodded in the affirmative, and he handed me a stack of papers requiring my signature. Once back in the living room my parents and I poured over the papers. She was asking for everything and claiming divorce on the grounds of adultery. Wow!

The guy had been gone about 10 minutes when the phone rang. It was her. She seemed giddy with excitement.

“So, you got the papers huh? Gabe just called and let me know he served you. What did you think of him? Cute huh?”

“FA, what are you talking about? Yeah, I got the papers. They are pretty far fetched.”

“Oh don’t worry Chuck. I will be getting all that and more. You will be lucky to ever get to see your kids again.”

“I am not too concerned. My lawyer doesn’t see it that way. I think this will be quite a fight.”

“Yeah, whatever. So, really what did you think of Gabe?”

“FA I don’t know what your are talking about. Gabe? You mean the guy who just brought...”

“I mean the guy who happens to be a private investigator and has been following your ass around”, she interrupted, “Me and Gabe have been pretty close lately.”

Hmmm, I was starting to get an idea here. A thought was beginning to form its way in the back of my head. Within weeks it would be confirmed.

“Okay FA, so when are the kids coming home?”

“We will be home tomorrow. You will be gone by then. Make sure that is the case.”

“Nope, sorry. My lawyer says I don’t have to leave, and it would be in the kids best interest that I don’t. This is my house.”

With that piece of news she became very flustered.

“Well, I will have to see about that. I am calling my attorney.” She said in a huff.

“Okay FA, see y’all tomorrow.”

The rest of the evening my parents and I spent making lists and planning our next moves. The next day my Dad helped me secure a loan with his credit union so I could pay all the outstanding bills as well as him back for the attorney fees. I lay down to try to sleep that night thinking again about the future and wondering what Susan was doing and thinking about all this. Most likely she had already chalked me up as another internet guy she had become close with who had just fallen off the face of the Earth, as chat friends tend to do in time.

The next day my parents went and checked into a hotel and I prepared for the return of my kids and my soon to be ex wife. I assumed that if they were in Huntsville they probably wouldn’t return till early afternoon, but I was wrong. I heard the garage door going up around 10 in the morning. Come to find out they had been in Birmingham in a hotel the night before.

To say I was terribly thrilled to see my daughter and son would be an understatement. They were both happy to see me too, and talked about their fun trip to the hotel and mall. FA seemed frazzled and didn’t want to talk much. She unpacked the car, the brand new car I had just bought, and settled back into the house. I asked her where my lap top was and she informed me that it was evidence and had been sent off to California so my password to my desktop could be cracked. Well now, I thought, they might not know as much as I thought. I told her that my parents were in town and me and the kids were going to go spend the day with them. She made some crack about how Chucky’s mommy and daddy had to come rescue their little boy, then laughed and went and closed herself up in her room.

That evening, after dinner, we returned to the house and FA greeted us at the door all decked out and ready for a night on the town. She told the kids she was going out, and told me to stay out of her room, then left. I settled the kids into bed and decided to take a little tour of the bedroom and bathroom. She had all her clothes thrown around everywhere, and her hair and make up crap was all over the bathroom counters. Looking in the shower I noticed a lot of small hairs laying about in the remaining water on the floor. Looks like she had been shaving her pussy, she must have a hot date tonight. There was nothing else incriminating to be found so I assumed she must be keeping stuff locked up in the car.

It was probably two or three in the morning when I heard the garage door go up and realized she was returning. From my opened office door at the top of the stairs I saw her come in from the garage, with her cell phone to her ear, and walk back to the master bedroom and close the door. Peering over the overlook down into the living room I was able to hear her lock the door behind her. After about 15 minutes or so I snuck down the stairs and quietly went and listened at her door. She was still on the phone, but I could not make out much of what she was saying. I could hear an occasional giggle or two.

The next day, Friday, I informed her that the kids and I were going to Tennessee to spend the weekend with my parents. While she had slept in that morning I had packed the kids clothes and stuff and we were pretty much ready to go by the time she woke up. I expected her to try to put up some kind of fight, but she didn’t. As a matter of fact she didn’t even tell the kids goodbye. I was sure to tell her, before I left, that she was NOT to have any men here in my house while I was gone and if she did, I would know about it. She just rolled her eyes and turned to go into the kitchen. L, T and I got on the road for what would be the first of many weekend trips to Tennessee over the next few months.

Saturday morning I wanted desperately to call Susan but I was still cautious of using my cell phone. I didn’t want there to be any more evidence that I was communicating with other women. Instead, I took my sister’s phone and went outside to make the call. Before I dialed her number I thought about what I would say. I was nervous, but I was definitely going to tell the truth. She answered pretty quickly even though she didn’t recognize the number I was calling from. I won’t go into all the detail of the conversation but I will say that she was extremely happy to hear from me. She said she had feared she wouldn’t ever talk to me again. I took a breath and went ahead and told her the truth, all the truth. I told her that my wife had hired a PI and had me followed, that even though it hadn’t been much of a marriage I had indeed been married. I poured it all out to her and you know what? She didn’t care. She had missed me and wanted so bad to talk to me and meet me. She suggested she drive down to Knoxville and we meet at a Starbucks and talk. As bad as I wanted to, I just couldn’t. I was still afraid that I was being followed even then. I told her that I promised we would meet, but that I just wanted to get some of this shit with FA behind me before we do. I told her how much I had missed talking to her, but that I was afraid the numbers I dialed were being tracked and I didn’t want to get her involved. She surprised me by giving me her calling card number and telling me to use that to call her anytime I wanted. She again told me that she missed me and was looking forward to when we could meet. That was music to my ears. I was sure to let her know I felt the same way.

Okay folks, I started retelling this tale early last week and to be honest never thought I would get so into it. I guess what I mean is that I didn’t imagine I would be wanting to go into such detail. I can see that telling the tale of the next month could take some time so I have come up with an idea. Of course this all depends on whether you, the reader, are wanting to hear the rest. If you do, I thought I would outline the subsequent happenings in bullet point form. That way you can get an idea of what all occurred with out having to read too many details. As some of you know, the crap that happened in the next 40 days from the above mentioned trip to Tennessee is quite Jerry Springer-ish in reality. I am not sure how interesting it will come across when written down. Anyway, I will wait and see what you think and then get back at it in time. Thanks for reading!