No Contact

This is very likely the shortest story I will ever write. I enjoyed cobbling it together. Kudos to Gamblnluck and CurrentParameter for their helpful remarks.

Growing up in my family home, my brother, Gordon, and I often fought over the stupidest things. You might say that we were very competitive. Since he is two years older than me, I seldom win but that never dampens my spirit. When we entered high school, our competitiveness never waned. He was captain of the football team, I was the leading scorer on the basketball team. He could bench press more than me, I could pin him in a wrestling match. The one area that we strangely didn't compete in was our dating life. Of course, for the most part, we dated within our grade level. That may also have been due to the senior girls he dated having no interest in lowly sophomores like me. Call me odd, but I was never interested in his cast-offs anyway. The thought of making out with a girl that he had French kissed was unappealing to me even though he was my brother, perhaps especially because he was my brother. Call me weird but that's the way I'm wired.

During my senior year of high school, Gordon was in his second year of college pursuing a Business Administration Degree. I met Desiree in Biology when we were assigned to be partners in a lab project. She happily delegated the dissection duties of the bullfrog to me while she brilliantly made us both look good with organ identification. She'd caught her boyfriend cheating with one of her friends and was still nursing her emotional wounds. By the end of the school year, she and I, Alex Whitcombe, became an item as we happily dated as exclusive partners. She was my prom date which garnered us a lot of votes toward Prom-King & Queen, but not quite enough to win it. I give her the credit for most of our votes because Desiree was a looker and I was just an average Joe. We were madly in love and everyone knew that we would marry one day. After graduation, we were both eighteen and had the world by the tail. Our parents held a combined graduation celebration for us both. It was there that I proposed to her and her gleeful acceptance made my heart soar. We became intimate soon after that. We were not surprised that our entwining compatibility extended itself in the bedroom as in all other ways between us. We could not have been a happier couple.

Desiree's older sister had become a radiologist technician at the local hospital after graduating from the local technical community college. Desiree, anxious to follow in her footsteps, had already signed up to enter the two-year program in the upcoming fall session. Not willing to be apart, I signed up for a four-year HVAC program at the same technical community college that Desiree would be attending. My Dad worked in commercial HVAC and loved his job which inspired me to become trained in the same field. Since I would be expected to contribute what I could toward my education, I took on a summer job working as a helper at the same company as my Dad. Desiree's parents had already paid for her first year's scholastic expenses so she decided to take it easy and enjoy her last carefree summer before jumping feet-first into life. Each weekday evening, she would already be at my house waiting for me to come home from work. I'd grab a quick shower and we'd either watch a movie at the house or go out on a date.

It was during the third week of the summer on a Wednesday morning at work that we were dispatched to a call on a sixty-five-ton air conditioning unit serving one section of a department store. The hermetic reciprocating compressor windings were suspect but Dad wasn't ready to pronounce the compressor in need of a rewind job without confirmation from his meg-ohm meter. He'd just replaced the batteries in the meter but had inadvertently left it at home. As the helper, I was sent to our house to pick it up for him to use which I was happy to have the break from the summertime rooftop heat.

When I entered the house, I quickly located the meter and was about to exit when I heard some giggling coming from upstairs. My brother, Gordon, was home for the summer on break from college. Hoping to embarrass him by catching him with his girlfriend, I quietly sneaked upstairs and listened outside of his door. I wish I hadn't. I instantly recognized the female's voice as that of my fiancée, Desiree. The sounds of intimacy were unmistakable. I had no idea that a man could experience heartbreak and rage simultaneously. I lived it in that moment. I tiptoed into the room and was grief-stricken at the sight before me. Unaware of my presence, they were locked in the throes of carnal bliss. Her arms and legs enveloped his body as he plowed her furrow. This was a consensual act. She was not being forced. With them yet unaware of my presence, I grabbed her left wrist and jerked the engagement ring from her ring finger. Startled, she screamed at the unexpected intrusion, and recognition of disgust registered on my face. Gordon looked shocked at my sudden appearance and awareness of their degeneracy.

Without a word, I stuffed the ring in my pocket and made a quick exit from the house. I heard them both scream after me but I paid them no attention. Neither of them was about to run outside after me naked. I quickly returned to the job site and handed Dad the meter. He saw the red in my eyes and could tell that something was wrong.

"What's going on, son? You look pained."

I motioned him away from the other technicians. "When I went to the house to retrieve the meter, I caught Desiree and Gordon having sex in his room. I saw them with my own eyes. She wasn't being forced and it sure didn't seem like it was their first time together. They were way too familiar."

"Damn! That's terrible, Alex. We raised your brother to be better than that. And it shocks me that Desiree would betray you like that. Why don't you and I go home right now and have this out with them?"

"That would be a bad idea, Dad. Right now I want to kill them both with my bare hands. I can't be around either of them for a while. I need some time to cool down."

"That's probably a good idea. You go ahead and take the rest of the day off. I'll tell the supervisor you're feeling sick. Don't worry about it, son."

Since I ignored multiple calls to my cellphone from, first Desiree, and then Gordon, I began receiving repeated texts from them imploring me to call either of them to talk. That wasn't going to happen. At that moment, I hated them both more than I thought imaginable. I couldn't go back home with either of them there. I called my best friend, Brent. He was at home playing a game online and told me I could crash with him for as long as I needed to. He couldn't believe that Desiree could do that to me and tried to lift my spirits by playing games. I tried to re-plan my entire life as my original plans had just been upended. I hardly slept a wink that night as my brain worked overtime trying to make sense of the double betrayal. The next morning, after showering, I put on the only clothes I had with me, partook of an IHOP breakfast, and returned to work on time.

"Alex, I'm glad to see you show up for work today. We've all been very concerned about you," my Dad offered.

"If it's all the same to you, I don't want to talk about it, Dad. Can I just do my job and get through the day?"

"Of course, son, I respect that but sooner or later you're going to have to face life. You can't just run away from it," he advised.

He was right. I knew he was right but I was still so angry that if I saw Gordon right now I'd choke him to death. I took on every hard challenge of the day doing all of the grunt work without being asked. I needed to exorcize some demons and exhaustion helped. We had to wrestle that compressor from its housing and drag it to the side of the roof where a crane could pick it up and set it down on the back of the work truck. It was a stroke of luck for me. The compressor would have to be rewound and the customer was willing to pay overtime to turn it around ASAP. As the low man on the totem pole, that meant that I would make the six-hour drive to the closest rebuild shop where I would be waiting at their loading dock the next morning to unload it. That meant that I would be spending the night out of town away from home. That suited me just fine. At least I would be reimbursed for meals and the hotel room. I kept my phone charged but turned off. I had no desire to speak to anyone about my failed love life. My mood left a lot to be desired.

Fortunately for the customer, the rebuild center happened to have a rebuilt compressor in their shop ready to go. We simply traded in the damaged compressor for the rebuilt one. I wrote them a purchase order to cover the exchange fee and I was on my way by 9 am the next morning. I called ahead providing my ETA so they could schedule the crane service. Mid-afternoon, my truck was relieved of the weight of the compressor as it rose to the sky. I helped wrestle the rebuilt unit back into its housing as the mechanics installed new gaskets and attached the service valve connections. After a quick leak test, the vacuum pump was turned loose on the system to evacuate all non-condensable vapors overnight. We made it home by 10 pm. After my shower, I locked my bedroom door and watched TV in my room until I fell asleep. Gordon knocked on my door and called out but I ignored him. I heard Dad warn him away.

The physical and emotional exhaustion led me to sleep in until 9 am Saturday. The house was eerily quiet for a Saturday. After dressing, I cracked my bedroom door and heard some murmuring downstairs. I'm certain that they heard me go to the restroom and flush. I went downstairs and was shocked to see the living room full of people. In addition to my family, Desiree was there with her parents, the pastor of our Church, and three of my best friends. I knew that the shit show was about to begin. Desiree had the good sense to avert her eyes and remain seated.

Dad began, "Alex, I'm not happy about confronting you like this but everyone else thought it best to get everything out in the open so this problem can be dealt with and put behind us."

"That's right, honey," Mom chimed in. We're all aware of the unfortunate scene you walked in on and your brother and Desiree are here to apologize."

Gordon began, "I'm sorry, Alex, that you caught us together. We, we just happened to come together is all. Nature took its course. You know how it is that one thing can lead to another. In a moment of weakness, I came on to Desiree. It's not her fault. I take all the blame. Hate me all you want but Desiree is a good girl and you need to forgive her and move past this. If any two people ever belonged together it is you two."

My silence unnerved the group. My look was burning a hole in Desiree until she finally spoke. "It meant nothing, Alex, I swear. I don't know what came over me to allow me to do that with him. It was the first time, in case you're wondering and it will never happen again. I'd rather die than ever see that look on your face again. I'm apologizing to you before God and all these witnesses. Please forgive me and let me have my ring back. Saying 'yes' to you was the proudest day of my life and saying 'I do' while standing next to you will make me the happiest girl alive." Her parents, who had always been kind to me nervously smiled in support of their daughter but wisely said nothing in defense of their daughter's recent behavior.

"You're swearing that it meant nothing?"

"That's right. What I did with your brother meant nothing to me."

"That's a shame. You're admitting that you threw your future husband away for something that meant nothing? Is that supposed to make me feel better?" She suddenly grew quiet again.

Pastor Jenkins felt that it was his turn to speak in an attempt to crack through my wall. "I'm not going to shove a mandate down your throat to forgive her right this minute, Alex. You're familiar with the teachings of the Bible but if you'll indulge me, I'd like to remind you in this time of turmoil and strife in your life of a quotation often repeated from an eighteenth-century poet, Alexander Pope, 'To err is human; to forgive, divine'. We're all human, Alex, even you. The Good Book reminds us that none of us are righteous, no not one. Everyone here loves you and hurts for your heart right now. We all know that it's going to take some time but hopefully, you'll come to accept the two sincere apologies given to you this morning and grow from this experience and not let it destroy you."

"Easier said than done, Pastor." Desiree was crying now because I hadn't invited her into my arms nor spoken words of forgiveness after the appeals on her behalf.

Brent, my best friend, grinned at me, "Hey, bro. We know it's tough. But you're even tougher. You're too strong to let this bring you down. Desiree is cool, we all know that. Hey, after all, everybody makes mistakes, right? How 'bout we go shoot a game of pool so you can clear your head? The three of us may even let you win for a change," he humorously lobbed." My other two friends chuckled along with him. Everyone stood there expectantly waiting for me to say something. I wasn't ready to say what they all wanted to hear.

"I appreciate what you're all trying to do but I'm just not ready to deal with all of this yet. I need a lot more time and space to come to terms with everything but I can't promise anyone what that outcome will be. I would embarrass myself horribly if I said what was on my mind right now and that's what I'm trying to avoid. Desiree, I'd like you to leave the house key here that I gave you so you could drop by anytime. I need you to stay away from me for a while until I can sort my feelings."

"But how can we get past this if I'm not around to help you, Alex? I love you and ONLY you and I want to be with you forever."

I squeezed my eyes shut and deeply sighed as her words cut into my heart like a sword. I looked directly over at her parents, "She doesn't seem to hear me. Will you two keep her away from me for a while? I mean all contact. I need this or I might explode." They both silently nodded.

"Sorry, fellas," I said to my three friends, I don't have time to play pool right now. I've got too much on my mind. I'm going for a walk. Gordon? If you know what's good for you, never speak to me again, ever! If you do, I promise you that we'll both end up in the hospital." At that, I left and went for a walk around the neighborhood to clear my mind of the hatred that I now feel for Gordon and Desiree. I thought I had conducted myself rather well in the unscheduled conference that had just taken place given the rage that was consuming my soul.

Dad must have had a heart-to-heart talk with Gordon because he made himself scarce any time I was around. I tried to limit my time spent in the house to prevent interacting with him and even when I was there, I stayed to myself alone in my room. That didn't stop Mom and Dad from coming to me nearly every day at separate times to chat about my feelings toward Desiree and Gordon. I tried to be polite to them but in reality, I zoned out and thought of other things rather than listen to them dictating what I should think, feel, say, and do. My friends were also in Desiree's court as they would barrage me with advice to forgive and forget. It got to the point that I began hanging out with them less and less. I continued working with Dad who respected my wishes at work and left the topic alone which I appreciated.

Then a nuclear bomb was dropped. Once more, on a Saturday morning, three weeks later, I was blindsided again by the very same people, except our pastor did not make this meeting for some reason.

Desiree was wearing a pretty sundress and was beaming at me, "Alex, I have some wonderful news!" She excitedly announced as she handed me her pee stick. "You're going to be a father. I'm pregnant!" She gushed.

With a stricken face, I looked over at her parents. "We took her to the doctor for a blood test for confirmation. It's true, Desiree is pregnant," her mother wanly recounted. They didn't seem any happier than I was at the time.

"I looked at Desiree, "When can you get the test done?"

"What test, Alex? What are you talking about? I've already confirmed it two ways, silly. I'm definitely pregnant."

"I'm talking about a prenatal paternity test, a special DNA test to determine who the father of your baby is."

An irate Desiree suddenly lost her sweet tone and angrily shouted, "I'm getting sick and tired of your crap, Alex. Yes, I made a mistake, one mistake, one time. That doesn't mean the baby isn't yours. That's a low blow if you ask me and I resent that you're trying to paint me as a slut who sleeps around with just anyone! Get over it, sweetheart. This is a good thing for us. We can still get married and bring the product of our love into our loving home. This is what we've always talked about, you and me, in love, and raising a family together. We're meant to be together don't you see that?"

Her impassioned plea fell on deaf ears, "You say it was the first time? Forgive my rudeness but I don't believe you. What I saw you doing with him was vastly different than our first time together. But even if that were true, then that only tells me that any silver-tongued devil can seduce you into his bed. So, I ask again, when can you get the test done?"

Her mother jumped into the conversation. "I don't like the way you're talking to my daughter, young man. I don't know why but Desiree still loves you more than life itself. I halfway expected you to come up with something like this, so I did some checking around. The only kind of prenatal DNA test that I would allow her to take would be a Noninvasive prenatal paternity test which is much more expensive than amniocentesis which I forbid. The noninvasive test costs around $1350 to $1750 depending on how quickly you want the results. Our health insurance company won't cover that cost. We discussed it and feel that money would be better spent for her and the baby's care rather than wasting it on proving that it's yours. All you need to do is wait until after the baby is born and a much simpler, less expensive test can be performed if you really want to have it done after seeing and holding your child."

"The test won't cost you a penny. I'll pay for it out of my own pocket. I'll write you a check right now, or bring you the cash after I can get to the bank. You all seem to believe that it's mine but I need to know for sure for my sanity. This whole situation is driving me crazy."

Dad spoke up on my behalf, "I can vouch for my son. If he says he will pay for it, then he will. In any event, I'll stand behind him. There will be no cost to you."

Desiree and her family appeared to be very disappointed by my insistence on the test. "We'll let you know when the test will be administered, Alex. They'll need a cheek swab from you to determine the results." I thought it odd that no one suggested that Gordon be tested at the same time. To them, this was a slam dunk.

I nodded, "I'll be there at any time. Just let me know the day before so I can arrange time off if needed. I still need time, Desiree. I understand you're excited. Perhaps I can be too after the results are in. So, the sooner, the better."

She perked up upon hearing something positive from me, "I promise, I'll get tested as soon as possible, sweetheart. I agree with you wholeheartedly, the sooner the better so we can get back to where we belong.

Monday evening, I received a text from Desiree stating that the test would be administered Tuesday morning at 10:30 with the location. I met them there and went through the motions. I charged the total cost for the lab tests to my debit card as promised. We were told to expect definitive results within seven days. Gordon must have felt relieved that the focus had been drawn away from him and sharply onto me. He decided that it was safe to approach me.