A Tragedy that Nearly Happened

Author's Notes: This is a short cheating fiancée story where the players are of a working class world. 'Half of all marriages end in divorce' is a truism, but no one talks about the OTHER half. Especially, those of the other half who flourish in each other's company – while the remainder of the marrieds have become only financially and/or emotionally chained together. I have labeled this story, LW, though the two protagonists haven't signed a marriage license yet. My usual caveat applies: No reader will get a hard on reading my stuff – which makes it 'adult fiction' - and I express my POV. All errors are mine. Thanks to Literotica for providing this platform. All cogent private comments are welcomed and answered.

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A Tragedy that Nearly Happened

Billy Miles was a young, full-of-life journeyman electrician employed in a career track job as a working leader of a crew. They worked for the largest commercial electrical contracting company in the major retail area where Billy grew up. He was not yet 23 years old. The quality of his work astounded City Inspectors, his superiors, and co-workers when performing timely electrical construction installations. For example, electrical wires entering a power panel required in all commercial structures, like a strip mall, for example, made 90-degree turns into the circuit breakers. The 'squared off' looked reeked with neatness and precision and electrical inspectors only smiled when they opened a panel door and saw Billy's tracks and then shut the panel door.

Co-workers and others considered Billy their friend and someone to emulate on a job site. They vied to buy him a beer on Fridays after work. The electrician's only claim to fame different from many of his peers was that he had both a Mom and Dad at home who completely loved the youngster - as both taught him how to live, by example, while growing up. He was not a ''handsome dude" and not a genius, either, by any stretch, but he did radiate good health and well-deserved pride in his work. Life was about just perfect for Billy.

This electrician's father was a baker for a major bread company, and his Mom was a Nanny in a large day care center. Beginning as a seventh grader, Billy rode his bike to and hung out at this major electrical contractor's Yard a couple of miles from his home. Everyone assumed he was a relative of one of the owners and just left him alone as he, in time, began functioning as a 'kid helper.' By the time he was in the tenth grade, the crews often depended on his help for step-n-fetch-it tasks.

One-day Billy, who was idle at the moment while hanging out at the Yard, untangled a pile of leftover power wire scraps, and then he labeled them, and finally re-stocked them – all without being asked. The yard superintendent saw him doing that and asked, "Who is your Supervisor, Son?"

Billy replied, "I don't work here, Mr. Grimes, I just help the crews, while I try to learn what they are doing." The Super hired Billy as a part-time helper on the spot, and he received a badge and made out a schedule for part-time work. After graduation from high school, he hired on full time as an entry level electrician trainee.

Billy's rapid promotion to working leader, then successfully sitting for the journeyman's certification exam on the first try surprised no one. He began working with a small crew and absorbing what the working leader did. In time he was brought to the company owner's attention by Ralph Grimes. This resulted in a substantial pay increase and made it possible, at 20 years old, to move out of his childhood home and to share an apartment with another working leader friend at the company.

!!

The young Mister Miles and Christine Gray (Chris) had been sweethearts since both were seniors in high school. In the weeks before graduation Billy, but not Chris, had an inaugural sexual experience. In time Billy introduced his new girlfriend to his parents but both just bristled when Chris was present. Neither could learn to like her but did learn toleration because she was Billy's choice.

His Steady, Christine, was from an even poorer, single-parent family than was Billy. She told her Steady later, "Mom raised me with her ex's child support and alimony checks." The young student had always been enamored with computers and wanted a career using them. So, she tried to pick her high school classes accordingly.

Chris said to Billy after their coupling in his new apartment one night, "My home is small and cluttered and needs paint and other maintenance. I need to get out of there ASAP. Also, you should know that my Mom and my visitation Dad never were in love with each other, but I felt like they both loved me – but maybe they never have now that I have compared them to your parents." Chris struggled to make good grades in several AP courses and to a small extent succeeded. Her friends tutored her extensively – albeit at a cost of being label an 'easy lay' in those circles in the very large inner city high school. Billy Miles was unaware of her reputation when they started 'going steady.'

Christine continued to live with her Mom after graduation. She, however, was unable to get settled into a career track job and moved around to several retail store positions because she just couldn't find a job with an entrée into the EDP Technology field.

On one occasion the two were in Billy's apartment resting in bed after a vigorous sexual coupling. The electrician said, "Chris, you might consider borrowing money and attend the EDP Technology trade school on Fairmont. They are reputable and have several class and lab schedules so you may keep your retail job while you work for a certificate. There ought to be some open EDP positions after graduating from there. For example, the help desk woman in our shop was a graduate and praises them highly." He produced an ad with details of the institute's classes to show her.

Afterward, Chris, Billy, and Linda, the electrical company's help-desk tech, met for lunch. Chris made up her mind then to enroll after hearing Linda's praises. She got an education loan, co-signed by her father, and began school. Six months later she received a certificate as an EDP Technician. The only job interview the placement office of the trade school arranged for her was an entry level technician in a Data Center of a household name blue chip company.

Afterward, Chris and Billy sat in his apartment eating takeout. She told him about her interview and said, "I think I will be offered a position because the H-R interviewer called my future supervisor for a three-way interview. The position's pay range was excellent because it was for the third shift – 1:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., or until the day crews came on duty. My 'weekend' would be Tuesday and Wednesday early mornings, at first."

Billy asked, "No rotating shifts, huh?"

She said, "Correct. But, darling, we could have our quality time together in the late evening, after I slept during the day while you are working. I am confident they will make me an offer if my character and technical references pan out. Do you think I should take it assuming I get an offer?"

Billy said, "Wow! That is awfully good starting pay..., I bet you money that the blue-chip company has problems keeping that position filled because of the awful hours. If it were me, I would take it because it's your ticket out of retail clerking."

She jumped up and hugged him and in a moment were rutting again. Afterward, Billy said, "On another matter, assuming you get the job, my roommate gets married Saturday, and I am looking for a new one. Interested?"

Chris jumped up and down on his bed like a kid and then held him tightly. She was alternately laughing and crying. Chris said, "Oh Thank you. I thought you would never ask."

!!

It was six months later, and Chris finally had settled into her third shift job – the difficulty had been adjusting her body clocks so that the morning hours were her early 'evening.' She was now on the pill and so the passionate young lovers routinely wore each other out making whoopee and life was magnificent. Christine asked, "Have you thought about our getting married, Billy?"

Her live-in significant other sat up in bed and asked, "Married? Do I hear 'forever' in your voice and do you hear the same in mine? Neither of us have had much experience with others – in fact for me, there has only been you. Are we certain? Chris, I need to think about that! Give me some time to mull this over, will you?"

She paused for a long moment looking at her guy and finally replied, with a kind of pouting look on her lips, "Sure. It makes sense to be sure – and that is what my Dad would recommend – although it was my Mom who suggested I bring up the subject."

At work, problems were few and things were slow. That left Chris and her supervisor, John Miller, plenty of time to study for a series of exams for an industry Certification. Both wanted this badly rather than to converse about nothing important just to pass the time. One day during a break her supervisor and now close office friend, John, ask Chris, "How is living with your high school sweetheart working out for you?"

She replied, "Well, I like it because I always have a date, but I don't like it because it's one day at a time until we either get married or break up – Billy is not certain he wants to get married. Ask me again in six months, John."

Her supervisor replied, "Well, I am impressed with you, young lady! You have a boyfriend who thinks ahead. You do know that the approved school curriculum teaches thinking only in the range of the moment – and just allow one's feelings to guide one into the future."

Chris, not quite understanding what he said, carried on, "Say, John, you haven't talked about your roommate lately. So anything new happening with him?"

He replied, "Wow! You are peaking of 'NOW!' You still interested in him, Chris? Well, his partying is getting louder and more intrusive of my sleep. I might even have to move out because his noisiness as a womanizer is getting to be too much. Harrison is widely and often in demand by his sluts, and they hang out outside our door to wait for him. Yes, sometimes they keep me awake loudly talking in the hall. When Barker comes home they come in and hog our one toilet – and often use up all the toilet paper. It gets old, Chris, and I don't know how much longer I will put up with his circus."

She said, "I can see that it would. Considering all the money you pay for a favorite paid escort, I still don't see why you will not hook up with one of your roommate's excess women rather than pay the big bucks for an escort on payday?"

Her supervisor chuckled, "Because they are sluts, and I wouldn't touch them. But if one of them wakes me up from a deep sleep banging on the door again I might punch her out! Harrison Barker's whores are not smart enough to know that the daylight hours are my sleep time even though I have a big sign displayed on our apartment door."

!!

When the day crew came in, the two said good day to each other and logged out. Chris, still ticked off at Billy's response about marriage, was asked to go. She said to herself, "What the hell, I am never going back to get married anyway." She decided to test the water and go to a 'happy hour' with a coworker for a 'short one.' She would then go home eat and sleep.

Once drinking a round of drought beer inside Cat's Meow, several guys came up to their table to be introduced and to chat, and one, in particular, got her attention. Her companion said, "Chris, meet Harrison Barker, your supervisor's roommate." The tired and sleepy and almost-drunk Christine Gray felt an immediate electric desire for this man but kept quiet, barely looking at him or conversing except to answer specific questions. She feared her response to him and still had a goal of getting married. Barker shortly left, but other guys kept coming by offering to buy them a round.

The last two had badges just like Chris and her friend's and the tall one looked familiar. He spoke to the two ladies and said, "Hey my badge matches yours, and I work on Assembly Line 3."

Chris said, "We are in the data center. I think I know you!"

He smiled and said, "I hope you would remember our partying in our sophomore and junior years."

Chris's coworker, Patsy, excused herself and left and the highschool chums were left to talk old times.

!!

Billy came home that evening only to find Chris still soundly asleep in their blacked-out bedroom. He looked at his watch and asked himself, "What? At six-thirty?" He first noticed in the dim light streaming in that she wore her street clothes, not her usual nightgown. The second thing he noticed was that a faint hint of vomit was in the room. He closed the door quietly and sat on the couch to mull over their conversation about marriage yesterday and in the light of what he witnessed just now. He said to himself, "Christine is really pissed off, but I damn sure I am not going to get married until it feels right." He turned on an MLB game.

In Billy's bedroom, Chris had only been faking sleep, contrary to her appearance. She had tried for an hour to come up with a plausible story about what she did after leaving work this morning. Suffering from her splitting headache, she recalled," I was pissed and decided to go with a co-worker to a bar called, 'Cat's Meow.' Damn, we started drinking on an empty stomach, so I gorged on salty bar foods while I kept drinking beer. Several guys came by and asked to join us. One was John's roommate, Harrison Barker. But he left apparently not interested in me or Patsy. Other guys came by. Sudden she remembered the rounds the high school chum bought."

Chris suddenly sat up in bed in the darkened room and said, "Oh No! What's his name fucked me while we stood in the janitor closet next to the ladies room, I think, although my pussy is not wet. If he did, I could barely feel him – or was that him - and it was over in less than a minute! I then pulled up my pants and ran into the women's room next door and threw up all over me and the floor. I then came home and crashed thinking I would rest for just a moment and the next thing I knew Billy had opened the front door right after I had previously awakened. He opened his bedroom door to find me 'passed out' in my soiled work clothes. Well, Mom's advice was to 'deny it or lie about it even if he catches you with a strange cock in your pussy.' So that is what I will do."

She walked into the living room, and there sat Billy watching TV using earphones – as a courtesy to Chris since he thought she was still sleeping.

His roommate came out of the bathroom naked and went straight to the washing machine, placed all her clothes in it, and started the cycle. She put her robe on and then joined Billy.

There was silence as the TV darkened and the earphones came off. Billy said, "Hi. You don't look so good."

"I don't feel so good either. I have been pissed off since yesterday that you were not ready to get married and I went with a co-worker to a day-bar frequented by third shift workers. My co-worker and I had no breakfast and started eating the munchies and drinking beer. In time I was sick to my stomach and didn't quite make it to the bathroom – as you probably smelled. Then I felt so badly until I drank some coffee to sober up before I drove home. At any rate, I got home about 1:00 and crashed. It was my intention to rest a few minutes and then get up and clean up, but I fell asleep, and you know the rest. I am sorry, but my Ibuprofen has not kicked in yet, and my head is pounding still."

There was a silence as Billy waited for her to go on. She continued, "But, in a way, I can see your point that marriage is forever, and we both must be sure," relaxing as she saw a labored smile spread over Billy's face.

While she talked, Billy's mind raced even while the smile spread across his face, "She doesn't look at me but only looks down. I know she has lied before but about meaningless things, so is Chris lying or did she drink on an empty or junk-filled stomach and throw up – I have done that once?" He said in a no-big-deal way, "That has happened to me, Dear, and the lesson to me was to drink only with food. Are you hungry?"

"Oh thanks, maybe food would help me feel better."

!!

It was two weeks later, and Chris logged into her workstation after saying hello to John, who was sitting beside her. While Chris ran through a checklist of tasks she did daily on boot up, John said in idle conversation, "My womanizer roommate said, "My sometimes slut is hanging out with one of your staff mornings at the Cat's Meow. She introduced me to a 'Chris.' John asked Chris, "Are you hanging with one of his sluts at that cesspool some mornings?"

"Yes, John, I have been there with her twice. It looks like an ordinary bar to me and yes, several guys hit on Patty, but I don't remember anyone in particular of those she made introductions. They usually don't hit on me because I am not pretty and especially since I just got off of work."

At that moment John subtly grimaced and began focusing on his task at hand. In the coming days, he was noticeably distancing himself from Chris. Particularly disturbing was that her supervisor no longer 'found the time' for his study sessions for the Certification Exams with her.

Chris continued to go to the bar once or twice weekly.

It was a month later, and Billy and Chris were coming down from a very spirited rutting session, and the electrician asked, "Well, you still want to get married, Chris?"

She raised up excitedly and said, "Oh Yes! I love you, and I know I will make a good wife. My Mom believes we love each other, but that you are just afraid of the future."

Billy picked up a small calendar from the table and said, "I should be able to take a Friday and the following Monday off here because we are finishing a job. If we got married this Thursday evening in a very small and inexpensive civil wedding beer-bust with just friends, we could fly to Cozumel Friday and return Monday. Interested?"

She jumped up and down with happiness and said, "I guess I can wait five weeks since I have waited all these years."

Chris jumped up from the bed and called her Mom, and the two women immediately started making the very low-budget wedding plans.

!!

At the Data Center later, it was Tuesday morning at 9:00 just two days before Chris's Thursday wedding when Patsy and two other ladies she knew came up to Chris's work bench. John had logged out earlier and gone home. Patsy asked, "Chris, why not drink a couple with us over at the Cat's Meow to celebrate your wedding – a kind of bachelorette party, if you will? After you are married, you will be darning socks at home and can not go with us anymore."

The temptation proved to be too strong for Chris and said, "O.K. Wait while I power down and refresh myself."

During the drive over she rationalized talking out loud to no one, "John will hear about this and I shouldn't go with those sluts, but I am getting married dammit and that counts for some slack. But he WILL hear about it and the news will permanently ruin my professional relationship with my supervisor as in zero study sessions in the future. Wait, though! I would have to tell Billy yet another lie." Chris pounded the stirring wheel and could barely keep her mind on driving while fighting the Devils in her head. Then she screamed, "I am going to have one beer and go home, period! And then I am going home to count the hours before my Man comes home from work."

The four women had sat at a table in the Cat's Meow for two hours as several men came up wanting to join the group but they were showed off. After gulping several draughts on empty stomachs, a very tall and handsome athletic type guy wearing an Armani suit walked up to Patsy. He looked vaguely familiar to Chris and then she remembered that she had briefly met him. Patsy jumped up and glued her body to the tall man. He lightly kissed her on the lips but gently pushed her away and asked, "Don't you think you should introduce me to your friends, Patsy?"