Zach’s Perspective
Karen opened the door of the pickup, mumbled a hurried ‘thanks for the ride’ jumped out and started walking towards the sinister Johnny Black.
“NO MOMMA. That’s the bad guy, he’ll hurt you!” Freddy yelled. He hadn’t connected that his mother had invited the bad guy to meet her.
“Wait here” I told Freddy as I jumped out of the pickup, yelled for Karen to stop, and walked over to her. “What the fuck are you thinking hanging with this guy?” I don’t think I had ever sworn in front of Karen before, and I definitely hadn’t sworn at her.
“You don’t know him, he’s changed” Karen said in defense of the guy.
I scoffed, “what’s he even doing outta jail?”
“His lawyer got them to declare a mistrial because a’ some technicality. Some evidence was held back or somethin’” Karen said.
‘Shit, his lawyer probably piggybacked off all the work we did to help Karen and got him off’ I thought to myself. Then I had another thought, maybe I was completely wrong about the situation. Maybe he was forcing her. “Are you in trouble? Is he harassing you?”
“No. I told him to meet me before work because I missed him” she said sheepishly, but it was clear she wasn’t lying. She was embarrassed.
“You do understand that they can revoke your probation just for being around that guy and throw you back in jail… right? The judge specifically mentioned him in the terms of your probation.”
She shrugged. She fucking shrugged it off… and that pissed me off. After we had all put our asses on the line to free her and set her up on her own so she could be part of the kids’ lives, she fucking shrugged it off. My tone changed. “Either you tell him goodbye right now… for good, or you won’t be seeing the kids anymore” I said quietly. I could see Freddy watching us through the window and I sure as hell didn’t need him hearing all this. Karen looked at me with glaring resentment, “I’m not playin’ here, Karen” I said still speaking quietly. I tried to look her in the eyes but she looked away nervously. “You put those kids through hell once already and it will not happen again. Do we understand each other?” She just kept looking down. “You go over there now and tell him you’re done with him. I’ll wait until he drives away.” She didn’t respond, so I added as I nodded at Freddy; “take a look at your son, because if Johnny doesn’t drive away before I do, this is the last time you’ll see Freddy.” It was harsh, but she needed to understand that this was nonnegotiable. That son of a bitch wasn’t getting near our kids.
She was still looking down when she wordlessly walked away to go over to Johnny who was leaning arrogantly against the old car. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they looked my way, he flicked his cigarette butt onto the ground, then flipped me off as he got into the car and slammed the door. He left smoke and the stench of burning rubber behind him as he peeled out of the parking lot. Karen looked at me briefly to make sure I saw the display before she scurried into the drycleaners to start work. I wasn’t convinced that she was done with him, hell I’d even bet that if I drove around the block he’d would have been there when I got back, time would tell. But at least she knew where I (we) stood on the matter.
I got back in the pickup and looked at Freddy who was sitting in the backseat shaking. “You okay bud?” He was on the verge of tears, but nodded.
“Don’t let him hurt her, daddy” his sweet, brown eyes were looking in to mine, begging.
“I promise to do my best” is all I could offer him. What I wanted to tell my son is that his Momma was a dumbass who was making stupid decisions and she wasn’t his responsibility, but where the hell would that get me? My heart ached for him; I would do anything for that kid. I turned around to face the windshield and started the truck with a sigh. We drove home in silence, my attempts to engage him were wasted. He was worried about his momma… although he was just a boy, he worried like a man.
When we pulled into the driveway; Brody was already there with his chainsaw. He and Seth were cutting off branches while the others dragged them into a pile. We parked the truck and got out to help. Teddy had come with Brody and ran up to Freddy to tell him all about his night at home during the “hurnikane” but his best friend couldn’t find a smile for him. I walked over to Seth who was all smiles pretending to be a butch lumberjack. He let the chainsaw idle, I reached over and switched it off. “Johnny Black was waiting for Karen at the dry cleaners” I said.
Seth had an expression of shock and worry on his face, then thought for a minute, “is he stalking her?”
“Nope. She invited him” then I told him the whole story. He looked over at our oldest son as I did, I could see the combination of heartache for Freddy and loathing for Karen in his eyes. “I feel bad about threatening to keep the kids from her but…”
Seth cut me off, “that wasn’t a threat” he said quietly so the kids couldn’t hear, “that was a fucking promise. You did the right thing.” God, I needed to hear that. He could tell I was upset, “You okay?” he asked with empathy.
“Yup. Being a papa bear is hard” I said with a forced laugh as I tried to pry the chainsaw from his hands… no dice. Seth was loving this. For the next couple of hours, we worked on the tree, taking turns with the chainsaw. We moved everything of the driveway so we could use it again. It was Friday and I would have the whole weekend to finish turning it into firewood.
While we were working on the “broked tree,” Max had texted to let us know he had taken his two little ladies to the candle factory to assess the aftermath of the storm. After lunch we all headed downtown to join them. Brody, Teddy, and Freddy went right to the candle factory while the rest of us followed Che and River back to Harrington House. On the way in we saw a lot of damage, mostly cosmetic due to the high winds, but there were downed trees on the road, we even saw a couple that had landed on houses, there were broken windows (some that were already boarded up), and just general debris everywhere. Izzy and Ali were just mesmerized by all of it. All and all the City had fared well, but there was a lot of cleanup to do.
When we got to Harrington House, it was empty… all the villagers were at BroMax Candle. Seth checked out the office while the rest of us walked the guys up to their apartment to check things out, everything was fine. Seth joined us about ten minutes later after he had walked through the building and deemed everything good to go. After that, we all jumped in the Atlas and joined the others at BroMax Candle Co. It was only a few blocks away, I maneuvered around the debris that cover the parking lot. The he guys were all hard at work picking up the remnants of the storm: everything from garbage and branches to lawn chairs from nearby backyards scattered around the parking lot. We parked and let the kids and the other two guys out. Brody, Teddy, and Freddy had beat us there and were picking up trash, Gina and Dylan were already there with their family, BA, Daddy, the villagers, and several other neighbors were hard at work. Izzy and Ali couldn’t wait to help, they started to help Maggie and DJ who were with their parents picking up trash and dropping it into garbage bags. Teddy and Freddy were helping Ricky with some project… the community was coming together to get rid of the aftermath. Seth and I went inside the old church to find Max hard at work organizing a bunch of local residents and business people, BroMax had become “Hurricane Clean-up Central.” Olli and Abbi were sitting in their seats on one of the production tables just smiling and taking it all in… of course Seth and I didn’t miss the opportunity to pick them up while their daddies were preoccupied. We held the babies as we listened to Max break people up into groups and assign them different areas to tend to.
My parents called to update us on Riley (they were bringing the baby home the next day). They ended up coming downtown to join us and help with cleanup. We all spent the afternoon doing hurricane cleanup, surprisingly we had the downtown mostly restored by about 5:00PM. BroMax Candles ended up hosting an impromptu hurricane survival pizza party out in the parking lot. Falkor showed up and was loaded from top to bottom with pizza’s courtesy of BroMax, but every local business person there tipped Ella with a $10 or $20 bill, there’s no doubt that she took home a few hundred bucks that night (she was psyched! She was heading off to college at the end of the summer and had been saving every penny she could get her hands on). It was a great way to say goodbye to the storm and celebrate that we were all safe.
We were getting to know the people of downtown. There were a lot of smiles and laughter and everyone had a great time just enjoying the calm after the storm… well everyone but Freddy that is. His mind was elsewhere and he was a nervous wreck. We were all filling our bellies with pizza when he asked us, “Can I call Momma?” Seth and I exchanged looks, then Seth handed him his phone. “Momma? Are you okay?” He asked when she answered. We listened as the worried little man tried to convince himself his Momma wasn’t in danger. While he talked to her, I asked my parents if they would be willing to babysit for a couple of hours in the morning while we took care of some business. Dad was curious so I told him what was up.
“Zach, you need to report this to her parole officer.”
“I know, Dad. I mean, legally I’m not obligated, but ethically…” I answered. North Carolina law did not require me to report knowledge of her probation violation, but it was preferred, and ignoring it would put my integrity into question if things came to light later.
“You have to do it, Zach” Dad said with conviction. “It’s your duty as an officer of the court. This is about your integrity and reputation, son.”
I let out a heavy sigh, “I know, but fuck. I don’t want to put the kids though more shit, Dad.”
“The kids will survive” he said as he put his hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t you give her the chance to report herself to her probation officer. They may not take action if they’re convinced, she’s done with him.” Dad suggested. It was a good idea. If she came clean, they may give her a second chance. I knew what had to be done, I just dreaded doing it.
When Freddy was done talking to his mother, he handed the phone back to Seth who stepped away to call Karen back and tell her we’d be by in the morning to talk. He didn’t ask or give her an option… we had decided that the situation called for a sit down, “come to Jesus” meeting. We didn’t see any room for compromise, it was Johnny or her kids, she had to decide. Now.
The party broke up and everyone headed home, including us. It was late and the kids went right to bed. Zach and I went to bed early and discussed what we’d say to Karen, this wasn’t going to be an easy conversation. After a while, I just got tired of talking about it… so… I did the logical thing and sat on Seth’s face.
Without forethought or warning, I stopped midsentence and mounted him in a sixty nine. He just snickered and went with the flow. Within a few seconds Seth’s tongue was up my ass and his cock was growing in my mouth and causing euphoric suffocation. My eyes were watering as I happily choked on his manhood. I cannot even begin to explain the sensations my hole was experiencing at the grace of Seth’s talented tongue. We were both under the covers ravaging each other with a fiery passion that only the two of us could ever spawn. My mouth and hand moved in perfect harmony up and down his thick, veiny shaft giving him my very best, and apparently my best was good enough. Seth pulled his tongue from my hole and put it to use to tell me he was about to cum. His words encouraged me to work harder, I knew I had him on the edge. Then… with a thrust and a grunt, his cock swelled up even bigger in my already full mouth and his essence filled my throat. I absorbed every drop of him, then cleaned his glistening shaft with my tongue. I snaked my way around in the covers until I was lying on top of him face to face sharing our customary kiss of cum. I looked down on him, smiling, “Now it’s my turn to cum” I said lining myself up with his tight little hole. I wanted him badly. I was so ready to fuck him… but before I could push my way in, the bedroom door opened.
Freddy’s little voice said, “I can’t sleep.”
My eyes popped open, so did Seth’s. I dismounted him under the covers and we both sat up against the headboard with the covers pulled over us as we desperately tried to figure out how to get dressed. I saw my sweatpants next to the bed and quickly grabbed them while Freddy rubbed his eyes and pulled them under the covers. There was a pair of underwear inside, I slipped the sweats over to Seth as I pulled on the underwear. We did it! We covered ourselves and Freddy was none the wiser. We invited him into the bed to sleep between us, atop the covers, he climbed up and before he even got settled Petunia came running behind to join us. Freddy didn’t get much sleep, he just needed to talk about “Johnny the bad guy.” He told us how worried he was that Johnny would hurt his Momma and Izzy. It was interesting to hear him talk; he wasn’t scared for himself but for the others… He was still the man of the house. It took Seth and I a long time to convince him we would keep them all safe… he finally fell asleep.
It was early Saturday morning and the kids were mid-breakfast when Mom and Dad showed up. The kids were excited to see them and made them sit down and eat with them, they didn’t even notice me and Seth sneak out. I had butterflies in my stomach as we got in the Jetta and went over to see Karen. We stopped for coffee on the way and rehearsed the conversation in a corner table at Krispy Kreme. “Let’s get it over with” I said as we grabbed our coffees, and the extra one we had ordered for Karen and got in the car to finish our trip. We parked the car in front of Karen’s apartment, shared a quick kiss, then let out a sigh and headed up the steps to confront her.
Karen opened the door and greeted us without making eye contact. Seth handed her the cup of coffee, then we made our way to the small kitchen table. She had cleaned the place up nicely, it really was a cute apartment… it sure as hell beat a jail cell.
I was nervous and decided to forego any small talk, I had to get this out of the way. “Karen, this is not an easy discussion to have.”
“I know, I know, I fucked up. I was just lonely and I told Johnny we couldn’t see each other, and he couldn’t come around here no more” Karen blurted.
“No shit” Seth barked back, to my total shock. We had decided that I’d do all the talking, but apparently there was a change of plans and he went off script, I couldn’t help but grin. “Karen, we backed you up all the way, we helped you get free, find a place to live, get a job, and what do you do? You get involved with that motherfucker again?!” He. Was. Pissed.
“But I just…” Karen tarted to respond.
“You just what? You just decided ‘hey fuck my kids. Fuck everyone who helped me. I’ll hang out with the guy that put my baby in front of the loaded gun of a cop to save his own ass? Was that what you “just”??” Seth shot back. I shot him a look that said ‘enough. I got this.’ Although inside I was proud as hell of him. He shut up and sipped his coffee.
“You’re right, you did fuck up Karen. You fucked up bigtime” I started. “You betrayed our trust and you’re going to have to regain it. Until then we can no longer trust you around the kids.” Her face dropped and her lip started to quiver as I continued. “But this goes way beyond that. You violated your parole and it has to be reported.”
“Please Zach, they’ll put me back in jail. Please don’t’ report it” she begged.
“I won’t, but you will” I said. “I’ll give you the chance to come clean with your parole officer. I’ll take you to her office Monday morning and we’ll do it together.”
“No, Zach please don’t make me” she begged.
“You put him in a shit position, Karen” Seth said defending me. “He’s a lawyer, you’re jeopardizing his integrity, hi reputation, and his career. I won’t let you do that; you caused enough problems for us and the kids already.”
That’s when Karen got shitty, “Oh come on, the kids have no clue.”
“Are you fucking serious? Freddy was up all night worried about the “bad guy hurting momma” Seth said. “Izzy is an outgoing free spirit until you walk in the door, then she’s clingy and whiny. And Freddy… he is a sweet, fun loving kid, until he sees you and his hair nearly falls out from nervousness trying to cater to your every whim and make dure you’re happy… and you fucking let it happen… so don’t fucking tell us they have no clue.” Seth stood and slammed his fist on the table. Um. Damn. So much for letting me do all the talking.
“But if I report it, they may put me back in jail.”
Seth muttered a “sucks for you” under his breath… again… um. Damn. I had rarely seen him like this (note to self, never fuck with Daddy Zeff’s family).
“It’s not about you, Karen. It never has been. It’s about what’s right for the kids. Listen Karen, we’re here as a courtesy” I said. “I am going to your parole officer on Monday regardless, I’m giving you the opportunity to join me. If it comes from you, they may be lenient.”
“But only if you convince them you’re done with Johnny Black” Seth added.
“If I do it and they don’t revoke my probation, do I still get to see the kids?”
“No” Seth barked without hesitation.
“Not until you earn our trust back by honoring your probation and keeping your nose clean” I added, trying to give her a little hope.
She scoffed, “how long will that take?”
“It takes what it takes” Seth said coldly. “And if we let you spend time with them, your phone is off, your attention is on them, and you don’t let Freddy wait on you hand and foot or Izzy cling to you and make her beg for your attention.” Karen tried to negotiate but eventually realized she held no cards and had no chance. She agreed to go with me to the parole officer on Monday to report herself and let the chips fall where they may. Seth made her call Ray Ray to let him know she’d be late that day. Then we said goodbye and left her alone in the small apartment to think about what we said.
We got in the Jetta and closed the doors. I looked at my husband and grinned. Finally, I said, “Nice job letting me do all the talking.”
“I’m sorry, but I am pissed” he said.
“Ya think?” Is all I replied before I kissed him and repeated the memo to self: never fuck with Daddy Zeff’s family.
To be continued…
