It Could Happen to You

A brief introduction:

Here's another loving wives story. Let's begin with the usual admonitions. First, don't obsess if there's something that sounds mildly political; it's just there to help the story. And again a reminder: if you're in a hurry you should go someplace else. I always take the long way home.

*****

Prologue:

Devon Buchanan looked out across the Starbucks and saw an old friend; a fellow named Michael Sullivan. Devon had been out of town for some time. Michael was sitting alone at a table nursing a coffee. Thinking about him and what he'd heard Devon thought he'd drift over and see what was up. They'd been good friends once; maybe, he figured, he could offer some insight. Devon paid for his coffee, picked up his brew and walked over.

As he crossed he took in the appearance of his old friend. He certainly looked different from what he remembered; the skinny, almost frail boy had filled out. He wasn't fat; just well built. It looked like he spent time in the gym. He was wearing what was clearly not a Walmart tie, his slacks and white shirt shouted not rich but 'moderately upscale'. The sport coat hanging on the back of his chair looked good, not new, but well maintained. He saw Michael was fiddling with what he recognized as one of the newer almost but not quite 'state of the art' portable computers. Devon wondered if it was true; had Michael started to come into his own?

As he got to Michael's table, it had been Mike when they were in school, he saw him look up.

Michael exclaimed, "Devon! Jesus I haven't seen you in like it seems forever. Where've you been?"

Devon kept his coat on. He sat down, "Oh here and there. How've you been?"

Michael said, "Oh pretty good I guess; the usual, school, marriage, a kid."

Devon took a sip of beer, "I heard. They say you married the Campanaris girl. Celine was her name. Right?"

"Yeah, that's right, Celine Campanaris. Say did you ever get married?"

Devon took another sip, "No I've been around though, he shifted in his seat, "Heard it hasn't been all sunshine and light for you; had some ups and downs. What happened?"

"Oh you know. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, get married, have a kid, another guy shows up, things get complicated."

Devon didn't smile. He took another slug of his java, "What're you drinking there. Looks like a Latte. Looks cold. Want another?"

"Sure," Michael replied, "as long as you're buying."

Devon smiled, "I'll buy, but if I do, I'd like you to fill me in."

Michael eyed his old friend. Devon had always been one of the good guys. He'd been gone for some time; he'd probably leave again, maybe for good. What the hell? Mike said, "It's not real pretty. I mean not all hearts and flowers, but some things haven't been too bad."

Devon waved at the waitress and pointed toward their coffees, "Go ahead Mike. I'd like to hear it."

And so Michael began...

~~V~~

"Devon I did marry the Campanaris girl. I'd always liked her, and when my brother moved out to join the navy I took my shot."

"That's right," said Devon, "Celine and your brother, David wasn't it, they were an item back in the day."

"Yeah they were. First love and all, you know. She and My brother dated off and on in high school. David's two years older than me, and three years older than Celine. She was crazy about him; it tore her up when he took off."

"So you stepped in?"

"Not right away. Oh I'd always had a thing for her, but she was David's girl. I guess you'd say I had a crush on her, but to her I was 'the kid brother'."

Devon commented, "But you did marry her?"

"Celine was lonely. She kept coming by the house. You know she'd stop in and see my mom and dad to find out if they'd heard anything, but David never wrote or called. He was off seeing the world, or at least that's what we all thought. And let's not forget Devon; I married her, but she married me too."

"What David wasn't seeing the world?"

"Couldn't say. Still not sure. I only know he was gone. We never heard from him, but Celine kept coming around. She was in a panic. I was a senior, she was a junior. She had her junior prom and I had my senior prom. Now you know I never had a lot of luck with girls, not like David."

"Yeah, I remember your brother."

"Doesn't everybody? He told me once dating girls and getting in their pants was like looking for a job. You just kept asking till someone said yes."

"Celine said yes to your brother."

"No, not exactly. Celine said yes she loved him. She said yes she'd marry him. I'm convinced she would've quit school and gone with him if he'd asked her, but Celine was a good Catholic girl. You're Catholic; know what that means."

"Oh yeah," responded Devon, "no premarital sex."

"Yeah to the say least; she was insane. I mean she was crazy about him, but I was pretty sure Celine held my brother to it. I suppose he got tired of waiting. I know he liked her, even gave her his class ring, but he was cutting out on her too. He was eighteen, and he'd found himself a bored housewife. Sometimes I think that's why he skipped out."

"You mean the husband found something out?"

"Maybe, I don't know. All I know is David split and left poor Celine with a broken heart. Her parents were frantic. They thought she was suicidal. Look, I admit it I loved her. I was crazy about her, but she'd been my brother's girl."

"So you helped her out."

"I hadn't planned on it, but I guess that's how it worked, off and on anyway."

Devon took a sip of coffee, "I see."

"I didn't understand things back then. I didn't understand her or me. Wished I had, then again. I don't know. It's tough you know? Me being a worrier and all; I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking how she needed someone; a man who'd hold things together for her."

"So what happened? I mean what really happened?"

~~V~~

Michael sat back in his chair, "Get me another coffee and one of those scones and I'll tell you the whole story."

Devon waved at the waitress, went over, got the stuff and came back...Michael began.

~~V~~

"Well David took off, joined the navy, or so he said, and that was the last anybody saw or heard from him for years.

Celine was devastated. She was crazy about my brother. Hell most girls were, but Celine was different. She was sort of delicate; an exemplary student she shied away from sports or the sports kids. Sure she played a little volleyball and stuff, but Celine spent more time in the library and in church than anything. Other kids wore provocative clothes. Tight jeans, short skirts, the 'come see me' blouses. Not Celine, she was always prim and proper.

Well right after David disappeared she started coming around to see my mom and dad. She'd hang around and talk. Pretty soon she and I were talking. I was a nerd like her; we had a lot in common. I thought so anyway.

It was funny how she'd act. Whenever she saw me her face would light up; she'd get real excited, and she'd giggle and run around like she was a squirrel.

I might have been mistaken but it was like whenever I saw her out someplace on her own she'd be wearing what I'd call frumpy stuff, like too large sweat shirts and sloppy looking sweat pants, but whenever she came over or whenever she knew she'd be seeing me she'd have on something real pretty. By pretty I don't mean necessarily sexy; I mean cute and perky. She'd have on a cute miniskirt and some kind of soft looking button up blouse. The blouses were all casual, but they were kind of what I'd call innocently alluring. I mean they looked...they like made her breasts...well...you know...

Celine had the longest, blackest, thickest, sleekest, shiniest, waviest hair I'd ever seen. I'd see her out and it'd be up in some functional toppy thing, but around me it was either down and combed out or in some long braid that showed off her long neck and pretty ears.

All men are egoists, but I really think she dressed to impress me. I know I liked being around her. She could be so funny and cheerful. That cheeriness was almost all the time. The only times I ever saw her get morose or sad looking was when someone mentioned my brother; then she'd get quiet, her eyes would get extra-large, and she'd act like someone just ran over her dog. I know I really liked her. I wished I'd have met her first. Anyone could see she was carrying a torch for David and it tore me up.

Oh and I loved the way she smelled. She had these odors. I know I'm not good at this. She wore some kind of perfume; Chanel or something, and her hair was always washed and it smelled so...I can't say, like fresh, and then her breath. I think she had one of those squirt things that people use to spray their mouths. I know she did because I saw her turn around and squirt her mouth. I know when we started dating and I kissed her she always tasted good. She had the softest moistest lips. Man she was sweeter than a sugar cookie.

I can't help the way I am. I'm just a little obsessive compulsive. I thought about her night and day. I dreamed about her. I did everything I could to help her. I wanted her to be happy. I wanted her to forget my brother and fall in love with me."

~~V~~

It was wintertime. I was in my senior year. I'd always liked Celine. Hell I admit it; I'd been day dreaming about her from day one. I was crazy about her, but I was the little brother; older than her, but still definitely second string if I was on the team at all.

Like I said it was wintertime. Celine had plenty of opportunities to date, but she kept hanging around my house. What the hell, I asked her out. She agreed.

That's how it began. I was madly in love. She saw me as her window into my family, and maybe a friend like a playmate.

We dated all spring. Nothing happened; maybe some light petting, a few furtive gropes over the blouse, a casual rub on the outside of her panties, but nothing serious.

We went to her junior prom, and then my senior. To the casual observer we looked like we were deeply in love, but a closer look might have revealed a slightly different picture. For me it was Celine, Celine, Celine, but for her it was more 'down boy', 'watch it', and 'keep your distance'. I wasn't discouraged because that's the way she'd been with David. Celine was a good girl.

I graduated and got accepted at the local four year commuter's college. It was and is an excellent school. I had always been good at math so I went right after a double major; one in business and a second in technology. For sure the math wasn't some kind of automatic springboard to success, but I learned math required more than just analytical thought, any subject required that. No math required a steady diligence, a day to day persistence not as important in the liberal arts.

I was smart. I was good, and I was determined. I also was still head over heels in love, and I still lived at home.

Celine kept coming around, but by the time I'd started my freshman year in college I was convinced she was coming around more for me than for news about my brother.

Celine graduated right on time, and I took her to her prom. By then nobody could've missed the connection. Big brother looked like old history.

My freshman year had been the result of three years of accumulated savings, but during the summer between my freshman and sophomore year I had to work extra hard to have enough money for the fall. I just didn't have the time to date and run around with the kids. Celine wanted to date around. This was her time. She was a damned fine looking girl; two piece bathing suits were made for her.

I have to admit it; things were as much my fault as hers, but she just wanted to run and I had to work. I found one of the things I was good at was tutoring. I picked up some tutoring gigs; girls mostly. I mean it was strictly business for me, but Celine might not have seen it the same way. She told me she wanted to date other boys.

A lot of guys are like my brother; they're in the hunt all the time. I've never been like that. I thought with Celine I'd found the girl of my dreams; the girl I would spend the rest of my life with. It's like this; some dogs will go with anyone who has food, others would rather starve than leave their master. I was a one woman dog. It was Celine or nobody.

So about the time I was tutoring she broke things off and started to date around. Shit, pretty soon when I wasn't working I was home moping around. If I did get out, which wasn't very often, I'd invariably see her. I think she knew; hell I knew she knew my habits. Wherever I was she seemed to show up. Talk about gut wrenching; she'd be out with last year's football star or the current college big shot. He'd be kissing and hugging and squeezing all over her. I couldn't handle it; I'd end up walking out, just leaving. My friends told me whenever that happened she usually cooled toward the guy she was with and went home early herself. That's kind of what kept me going; I mean kept me on the line. I believed she loved me; she was just being shitty.

Well to make a long story short I guess I sort of gave up. I figured if she didn't know why I was working, and who I was working for then she could forget it. Oh I was working for myself, but I also felt like the better I did, and that meant college, then the better it was for her. I was serious about the little tart.

I started looking around; if she could date I could date. To my surprise there were lots of girls who were interested in me. It sure didn't take long and I had a new girlfriend. Her name was Marge Vogel. She was pretty, she was smart, and she was a little bit serious about me. In fact she told she'd been interested in me since we were both in high school. I did think that was kind of strange since we'd attended different schools, but she explained that she'd met a friend who knew me and she'd been eyeing me ever since.

I was just twenty and still cherry. Marge wasn't, and she showed me what life was all about. We were in my car one night and she and I were in a clinch. She reached down, pulled open my fly, and fumbled around in my underpants till she got my penis out. I was rock solid hard. She took it in her hand and started to stroke it. Before I knew what was happening she had her head down and was sucking me off like crazy. I shot my load right in her face. She didn't complain or pull away or anything. She just kept sucking and licking all over me. Even as I started to wither away, I mean lose my hard on, she kept licking and kissing on it.

Well what did I know? Before I knew it I was up again. She sat up and said, "We can't stay here."

I asked, "Where do you want to go?"

Marge said her sister was married and they had a house. We could go there, and that's where we went. Her sister had a pretty nice place; three bedrooms and a club cellar. We went to the cellar where Marge pulled out a day bed and that was that.

Marge and I stayed together the rest of the summer. She didn't pressure me about work; we hooked up whenever I was off. Often I ended up sleeping with her right at her sister's.

I liked Marge; I thought she was a lot of fun, but I knew she wasn't really the one for me, not for the long -term. When the summer ended Marge told me she was off-back to Ohio State. I felt bad. I told her I'd miss her. She said she'd miss me too, and with that she was gone.

~~V~~

Marge did a lot for me. In the ways of women and sex she'd become my teacher, but school was back in and I had to get on with my life. I thought of Marge a little, but it was Celine who I really missed.

Celine had graduated, but never went on to college. She got a job selling tools at Lowes. I knew that was where she worked because she still stopped by my parent's house once in a while. When she did we didn't talk, and from what I heard from my mom she never asked about David either. Mom told me Celine kept asking discreet question about what I was doing and if I was seeing anyone. My mom also told me Celine told her she was seeing some guy who worked in the electronics department at Sears and that he was a real catch.

~~V~~

That's when some funny stuff started happening.

I was in college, it was my sophomore year, the grades were good and I had a part-time job, but my mom decided she wanted someone to repaint the house. My dad couldn't do it because of his back so the honor fell to me. Mom said I could do it part-time while I wasn't studying or in classes. To keep me from working she started giving me money from her paycheck. I quit my part-time job. I was supposed to paint the house.

Painting the house meant buying paint and supplies. There was a local Hardware, but mom never liked the guy who owned it. Mom said even though his prices were a little cheaper we weren't to buy anything there. She said he'd tried to corner her once back in the day. Mom was also dead set against Home Depot. She said they had the wrong colors. We ended up going to Lowes.

Of course all those stores, Lowes, Home depot, whatever, are laid out the same way. Right across from the paint department was the tool section where Celine worked. Mom and her must have had it planned since the only time mom had time to go to Lowes to look at the colors was when Celine was working. I'd drive mom over. She'd start looking at and talking about colors with the paint guy, but not before she told me to just take a break and walk around the store. I never got very far before Celine was at my side.

She must have always gone on her break when she saw me because it was like she was always available. We'd talk a little. She'd show me the good buys, and tell me about who she was dating. Then one day; it was me and mom's third trip when Celine got me beside the power saws and told me she'd stopped dating around and was ready to settle down.

She said it like this. Fiddling with a concrete blade for a circular saw she said, "You know Michael I'm through running around. I'm ready to settle down."

I walked down to where the files were. She followed me, and standing beside the electric sanders she said, "Did you hear me. I'm ready for you now."

I picked up a sander and answered, "I was ready before but you ran off. How do I know you're sincere now?"

She turned me around. I was skinny and that was easy. She put her hands on my elbows and said, "Oh I'm ready Michael. I really am."

I wasn't sure. I guess the big question was David so I said, "What about my brother?"

She said, "What about him?"

I said, "Oh come on I know the only reason you dated me before was because you wanted to be nearby in case he came back. I don't think you loved me then, and I'm sure you don't love me now."

She squeezed my elbows. She leaned up and whispered, "OK I did date you because you're David's brother, but it's you I love now."

I told her, "I don't believe you."

She said, "Honestly I did used to think about David when I was out with you. And to tell the truth I still think about him sometimes, but Michael it's like I just said. I love you now."

I still wasn't so sure, "You know for me to believe that I'm going to need a real commitment; something that shows me you really do love me."

She answered, "Take me out and I'll prove it to you."

I said, "OK, how about next Friday night?"

She leaned up and gave me a quick kiss, "Friday night," she said, and just like that she scampered away.

I went back to where mom was. She'd already finally ordered all the paint she wanted. I asked her, "Did you pick the colors you wanted?"

She smiled and said, "Yes sweetie I did. They're all right here."

I looked down and she had four five gallon pails of white paint on a cart. I said, "Mom they're all white."

She asked me, "Did you and Celine patch things up?"

I looked at her and just said, "Shit." We loaded the paint and went home. I started painting the house but never really finished.