3 Coins in the Fountain

If you hadn't ever found out, nothing in our lives would have changed. If anything, I love you even more. And now as time goes on, you'll never have to worry about me cheating on you. I've been there, done that, got the T-shirt. I got it out of my system so I can be a good and faithful wife. Do you understand now? I love you more than ever, Honey. And we can be together always."

I had to admit that I was pleased. My logic was flawless. Equating what I'd done to his stupid racing and his stupid Mustang was a fit of genius.

From the way he was sitting there unmoving, I knew that he was thinking about it very heavily.

"Reid would you like to say something?" asked Claire. I worried for a second. But then he nodded and cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry," he said. Then he sat back down.

"That's it?" I asked. "You didn't do anything to be sorry about. What does I'm sorry, mean? What are you sorry for?"

"Because I was wrong," he said shrugging his shoulders.

"You see, I thought we were something. I thought we had something. I guess I was stupid, Maddie. No one forced me to want to start our family. From the first time I laid eyes on you, I thought we would spend the rest of our lives together.

The only thing better than my dreams about our life together ... Was the reality. No one forced me to want to make babies with you Maddie. The thought of seeing little girls that were tiny versions of you brought a smile to my lips every time I had it. That's where I was wrong. Because I really believed that you wanted it too."

"I did ... I do," I said in tears.

"Uhm ... Remember it's my turn now," he said.

"Maddie you seem to think that me racing and you slutting yourself out are the same thing. They're both things we needed to get out of our systems you said.

That has to be one of the stupidest things ever said in history. I love cars, Mustangs especially. But anything that I can drive fast will do. My driving fast does not affect us because it's not something that we do together. It's not something you enjoy. It's not something that expresses our love for each other.

Making love, having sex, screwing, fucking, doing it, the horizontal bop, the hooka chooka, the beast with two backs, doing the pussy, whatever you want to call it, was special. It was a gift we gave each other.

It was something we did TOGETHER. Like Nancy told you we guys have those fragile male egos. But screw pride. I don't mind admitting to anyone that you were the first person I had sex with. And right now you're the only person I've had sex with. Can you say that anymore?

Of course you can't over the last few months you've tried out probably six to ten more guys, right?"

"Reid you saw the two videos," I said. "As bad as it was there were only three guys ..."

"And that's another part of the problem," he said calmly. "Even now when everything depends on it you won't tell the truth. I know that you and Nancy went out at least a couple of more times. I don't have video because they didn't happen in our house. But it seems to be easier for you to lie than to be honest."

I started to cry because I knew that I was in trouble. I should have told him the truth from the beginning.

"What kind of future ... What kind of marriage do we have if I can't even trust you any more?"

"No that question is probably too hard for you," he spat. "Let's try something easier. Are you jealous of my car? Have I ever done anything with my car to hurt or belittle you?"

"No," I said.

"Then why was it so easy for you to do it to me?" he asked. Both of us were crying by then.

"How do you think it feels to hear the woman you love, begging another man to fuck her?" he asked.

And for the first time I began to feel the pain of what I had done to him. Nancy had been completely, wrong. It had never been JUST sex.

"How do you think it feels to have the woman you're married to scream at the top of her lungs that her vagina belongs to another man? Some guy that she barely knows and has only seen once?" he asked.

Before I could answer he was talking again. "It makes you feel worthless," he said. "It makes you feel like ten years of loving her and taking care of her, through thick and thin doesn't mean anything ... or at least not as much as having some guy who doesn't give a fuck about her stick his dick in her."

"How do you think it feels to know that your wife, who by her own statement, has just told me that she wasn't ready to have kids with her husband, begged some bald, fat, married guy who already has his own kids to make her pregnant?"

"Reid, I'm sorry," I said.

"The funny thing is none of those guys would even kiss you, but you expect me to. Maddie, I loved you more than life itself. But I will NEVER touch you again."

The look in his eyes was pure contempt, mixed with pity. But there was still some love there too. I had to hold onto my hope.

"Reid," I whined through my tears. "You have to understand, it was a mistake."

"Maddie, I made the mistake," he said. "I thought you loved me as much as I loved you. Another mistake I made was marrying you in the first place. Our divorce will rectify that one.

Claire spoke up then. "Well, we'll quit here and pick it up next week," she said cheerfully. I could tell that like me she was floored by Reid's words.

He just laughed. "Claire, we're done. I gave her everything she wanted, both during our life together and in this divorce. But it's time to move on."

"Maddie," he said. "I knew about everything you'd done before I even got back in town. I gave you every chance to come clean while you were in the hospital. As much as I could barely stand to look at you, I stayed with you while you recovered. I didn't want to split up with you while you were trying to recover.

But it's time for me to put my own needs first. If you haven't signed the existing divorce papers by tomorrow, I'll re-file using your infidelity as a cause. I will bargain down until I am paying you the minimum amount possible and I'll make sure that we NEVER see each other again."

He got up and walked out of Claire's office, and never looked back.

Claire and I continued our therapy for the next few months. She tried to help me look inside of myself to figure out what was wrong with me.

I signed the divorce papers the next day as Reid had asked. Claire made me see that the only friend I had was time. She was sure like I was that Reid still loved me. The problem was that I had hurt him too badly. The only things that might help were Time and distance.

* * * * * *

Reid

The next few months found me throwing myself into my work. I busted my ass and it really helped me to clear my mind and get Maddie out of it. It wasn't as hard as I'd thought. Because every time I closed my eyes I saw someone else standing there.

The problem was that I had no way to find her or contact her. I called the tour company. They couldn't give me her address or phone number without her permission.

I had given Jackie permission to give Maria my number but apparently Maria didn't want to call me. So I chalked it up to one of those summer flings. They burn hot as hell, but only for a short time. It was just the heat of summer sunshine, ignited by racing fuel.

The funny thing is that I wouldn't have traded it for anything. A few months later my secretary cornered me. She and some of my coworkers thought I needed a vacation.

I had no idea where to go or what to do. I had planned every aspect of what I thought my life would be like. I'd even planned out how long I thought it would take to get my divorce from Maddie.

I felt the lump in my pocket where the ring was. The funny thing was that I never thought I wouldn't be able to use it.

It was the e-mail that made up my mind. It listed the dates for the racing tour this year. They had made a few changes to improve things.

The German leg featured a race on the Nurburgring instead of just driving the autobahn. There was a web address for a site to register and even a phone number.

I called the phone number and heard, to my surprise, a familiar voice.

"I'd like to register for the tour," I said.

"Okay sir, what's your name?" she asked. I was even more certain that it was her.

"Reid Richards," I said.

"Hi Reid, welcome back," she said. "I was hoping that you'd come back this year. It's Jackie."

"Hey Jackie, uhm has Maria registered yet?" I asked.

"Nope, she hasn't," she said. "But don't worry. I'm sure you'll have lots of company on the tour. I hope you get to do the whole thing this time. You had an awesome start last time. And you do need to defend that track record."

I got off of the phone with her after giving her my credit card info. My heart sank. I was so disappointed that it hurt. I felt like a part of me had been ripped out.

It's really funny when you think about it. I'd been with Maddie for more years than I wanted to think about. Our relationship had been so badly damaged by what she'd done that I felt nothing but relief when we signed our divorce papers.

But now, I was almost in tears over a woman that I'd spent only a week with.

Over the next few weeks, as I waited for my departure date, I called the tour office frequently hoping for news about Maria. Jackie was always helpful and made sure to let me know that she would be taking good care of me this year.

She told me that she'd turned over a new leaf and her behavior last year was a thing of the past. She reminded me about the massage I'd given Maria and told me how much she thought about it. I got off of the phone before she asked for me to do it to her.

A few weeks later, I found myself back in Italy. I was staying in the same crappy hotel. Somehow by the luck of the draw I'd ended up in the same room. I'd come in a day early just as I had the year before.

I caught a glimpse of Sarah. She was still as thin and hot looking as she'd been the year before. But there was a sharpness to her facial features that I hadn't really noticed before. I got the impression that something had turned her into a real bitch. She had a firmer almost bitter expression on that pretty face. Perhaps it had always been there. I'd never paid her much attention.

Jackie on the other hand had changed. She was still short with huge boobs and a big juicy ass, but her middle, the tight tiny waist that had separated those big boobs from that rounded ass had thickened.

Her walk, that race horse strut, with her ass flowing from side to side effortlessly, had changed. Her personality on the other hand had changed for the better. She was still flirty, but much more accessible. With me she was almost offering herself to me. I wondered if it was only me.

I wondered what had happened to the two of them to make them both change so much. Sarah's changes seemed to be mostly her personality. Her body was still thin and sexy. But she'd morphed into a bitch.

Jackie's body was gone but her personality was much better.

It just seemed to me that women were the source of all the world's problems. Or at least mine.

I thought long and hard that afternoon. I thought about whether or not I even wanted to be there. I decided to stay.

I heard some commotion in the early evening. It sounded like Jackie yelling and screaming. I decided not to get involved. There was always drama around Jackie and Sarah and I'd decided that this time I would just concentrate on driving.

I took a walk and ended up at the fountain. I smiled as I remembered being there the year before. I'd made a wish back then and it hadn't come true. I wondered if I should try again.

I reached into my pocket and laughed as I again found three coins. This time it was three quarters.

I cocked my arms to let the coins fly. Someone grabbed my arm just before I let them fly.

"Don't waste your money, this thing doesn't work," she said. "I should know; I chucked about a million coins into it hoping you'd try to get in touch with me."

I turned and there it was; that million dollar smile.

"Maria ..." I gushed.

"Oh so you remember my name?" she smirked. She saw the look on my face and softened. "Sorry I'm late," she said. "I was detained by the Italian Police."

"For what?" I laughed. We seemed to be slowly getting closer together like two magnets.

"I kicked your fat stalker's ass," she said. "I've been begging Jackie to give me your phone number for almost a year. She claimed she couldn't release customer information. I begged her to give you mine. And why the hell don't you have a facebook page?"

She kissed me then and started talking all over again.

"The bitch wouldn't let me register. She told me they had already filled all of the spots. I came anyway just hoping that you'd be here. But when I got here this afternoon I found out that there were still slots open. So I confronted her. I also asked both Sarah and their boss and they both told me that they could have arranged to get us together.

It turned out that Jackie has plans for you, Reid. She wanted you all to herself. She's ready to settle down after a few problems last year. She ended up both pregnant and stuck with a really bad STD." My arms were around her by then.

"So did you register?" I asked.

"Of course not," she said. "But I got them to give you your money back. We don't have time for racing this year ... Probably not for a few years. We have a lot to do."

"Like what?" I smiled.

"I've already done a lot of it," she said. "I rented a church. Our family priest wants to do the ceremony, so it's gonna be in Boston. Of course since your business is in Michigan, we'll live there. I can do my job anywhere that there's an internet connection ..."

"Whoah, sorry," she said. "I just realized ... I've had a year to think about this and everything but maybe you aren't thinking about us the same way. Or maybe you need some time to figure out what you want. Are you even divorced?" She looked at me seriously.

"Reid ... I just want us together," she said. "I ... I need us together. I'll even be the other woman if I have to but ..."

I dropped to one knee and pulled out the ring. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Oh Reid this is so sudden!" She gasped.

She pulled me up and kissed me. "Great minds think alike," she said. She took the three coins from my hand and tossed them gently into the fountain as our mouths merged.

"So be it!" someone yelled from behind us.

"What did you wish for?" I asked.

"I'll tell you on our fiftieth anniversary," she said.

* * * * * *

Maddie

I made a mess of my life. Five years after Reid divorced me I was ready. The time had passed so quickly. Sixty months went by in a heartbeat.

I spent the first six months crying and regretting what I had done to destroy my marriage.

I spent the next two years in therapy. I had to figure out why I had done something so self destructive.

By the time I was finished with therapy, I realized that I had a real problem. In the nearly three years since my divorce, I had been spending money left and right, but I had no income.

I'd used a large chunk of the money I'd gotten from the sale of our house ... It still hurt me every time I thought about it ... to put the down payment on the condo I was renting.

I had SOME money left in the bank, thanks to Reid's generosity, but his alimony payments were going to stop soon.

I'd had no idea that Reid and I would be apart for this God damned long.

Three years and thousands of dollars of therapy had taught me next to nothing about myself.

I still had no idea why I'd destroyed my marriage and my happiness.

With money dwindling, my dad got me a job. I started out as a clerk. It was really boring job but it helped my financial situation. I went to school at a local community college to learn office procedures and moved into the steno pool as a typist.

I had a brief stent as a secretary. That taught me more about myself than three years of therapy did.

It took less than three days for my boss to start fucking me. I told myself that it was a part of the job. Maybe I believed that it was. He was so casual about it.

He would just walk into the office, smile at me and then walk into his private office.

He got a kick out of calling me on the phone system.

"Ms. Richards could you come in here and take some DICK-tation," he'd say.

I remember looking up at him as he slid his dick in and out of me. There was no expression on his face.

Again it wasn't about love. I don't even think it was about pleasure or a sexual urge. I think he just enjoyed expressing his ability to use people.

I got nothing out of it. And after a few days that nasty word, "SLUT," crept into my thoughts.

So the next time he called me into the office, I said no. The next day I was back in the steno pool.

I guess I lost track of time after that. I dated for a while. I did it just to be sociable. But at the same time I was looking for something. I didn't realize it at first, but I was trying to find someone who could make me feel the way Reid did.

After a while it felt like I was on a treadmill. I went out a lot; sometimes three or four nights a week.

And yes I was having sex with almost all of the guys I dated. They always seemed so sweet at first. They complimented me and treated me well.

But as soon as they got what they wanted, they didn't stick around long. Not only were there very few second dates, a lot of them got me in bed, fucked me until they came and then left.

I developed a reputation around the company. I was considered guaranteed pussy. If you asked me out and treated me nice, you got laid. Without knowing it, I was fucking married guys, single guys there were even guys who didn't work for our company, stopping by my desk and asking me out.

It all came to a head when it cost not only me but my father his job. He was in the men's room and heard some guys talking about the company slut.

"Her name is Madelyne Richards," began one guy. "All you have to do is tell her she's pretty and ask her out. She's a sure thing. I don't know a single guy who didn't fuck her."

"She's my daughter," said my dad, angrily.

"Wow ... You must be proud," laughed one of the guys. My dad, who's over sixty, swung at him and they ended up fighting. Fighting for any reason is grounds for termination so they were both canned on the spot.

There was an investigation to discover the reason for the fight and I was fired afterwards.

My dad and I haven't spoken since then.

The other day, Nance and I were having a whine, wine and cheese session. She was talking about changing her life. She was tired of being thought of as an easy lay or the neighborhood fun girl.

"I'm thirty three Maddie," she said. "Pretty soon I'll be too old to have a baby and I don't even have a husband yet. I think it's time for me to settle down."

It may have been the wine, but what she was whining about pissed me off.

"I'm thirty five," I said. "And you're right. I'm still not sure I'm ready for a baby, but I want what I had back. It's time for me to get my shit together."

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I'm going to get my husband back," I said.

"I don't know, Maddie," she said. "What if he's married?"

"He'll just have to get another divorce," I said. "But if I'm going to do this, I have to get back in shape. I have to be as hot as I was when we were married. I have to make myself into the woman he fell in love with again. After that it'll be easy. I was his first love. You never get over that. And enough time has passed that he can get over what happened. Shit ... I'll even give him a kid if I have to."

So we started a workout program and a diet. Neither of us was really fat, we were just a bit flabby.