Rick's Rides

Rick would have to pay some percentage of his salary to Kate in alimony. As a result of his SBA loan, the bank had Rick take a relatively smaller salary until the majority of the SBA loan was paid back. This turned out to be a positive for Rick as his base salary could have been higher if it was calculated against net income of the company. The bank would allow bonuses only if the net income was adequate to service the debt.

Rick would keep Todd on his taxes as a dependent as he was a college student. Kate would be covered by the bank's health insurance.

Paul asked "Do you really want to file for divorce right now or shall we wait until this shit storm calms down? After knowing you all these years I would highly recommend waiting at least 60 days before taking any action. You are my friend, please be slow and contemplative on this decision"

Rick responded "Thanks for the advice. I really don't know what to do. I've never been in a situation like this and don't want to screw this up. Thanks for the advice. Let's look over our options prior to filing."

Rick texted Kate to tell her he was not going to file for divorce right away. His mind was too fucked up. She appreciated the consideration he showed her, but that was just like him.

Four weeks later Rick and Kate attended a marriage counseling session that both their attorneys recommended. As expected, Kate said she was sorry and would do whatever Rick decided to put their marriage back together. She haltingly said "I want us to be together in the home we built together. I want to be with you every night because I love you."

He stared at her and said "That house we used to call our home is not the same. The good and bad memories are clashing every moment I am there. It is as if the demons and angels are fighting for my soul."

When the councilor pushed Rick for a reason for his hostility he turned to Kate, held up his phone and asked Kate "Do you want her to see why I am hesitant to reconcile with you? Do you want to bring this sewage to this meeting? Do you want to have her hear what you said about me while having sex with two men at one time? I will play it unless you tell her why I feel this way?"

Tears formed in her eyes as she said "I did some unforgivable things and said some unforgivable things about my husband one night. I cannot imagine any husband staying with his wife after what he saw and heard from me. It is the worst thing I could ever do. I don't deserve to have this reconciliation go forward. He has suffered so much because of my conduct. Please just help us go on with our lives without dragging out the filthy situation I put us in. Please give him some peace." Then she ran sobbing out of the room.

The staff at the hospital were able to save Dr. Harrison's hand, however, its value was only cosmetic as his fingers were as flaccid as his dick.

The discovery of his groin injury proved to be more serious than other groin injuries because of the delayed treatment. His urethra was severely damaged and was very difficult to repair. The spongy areas around the penis that held blood to make the penis enlarge and stiffen were also damaged.

When his bladder needed emptying, a catheter had to be used, much to the terror of Doc. His howls of pain caused by the catheter pushing through scar tissue were heard through the hallways of Memorial Hospital. Several of the nurses were silently pleased to hear his torment.

The scandal of how he injured his hand reached his wife and she filed for divorce. She did not feel the need to stay around the horny doctor after his surgical revenue diminished. Many thought she knew about his sexual predatory nature and just stayed for the money as long as she was not publicly embarrassed.

Sandy had severe damage to his testicles and they had to be removed. His speech would be impaired for at least 3 months so he could not be on camera or radio. Since he could not perform his corporate functions, the company reduced unneeded expenses by terminating his employment. City police had no leads on the mugger that assaulted and robbed Sandy.

Bob and Mary finally got out on bail by handing the deed to their house over to Karl the bondsman. Mary was told her high school teaching contract would not be extended at the end of the school year. Bob disappeared and was not seen around town since the incident.

Bondsman Karl informed the judge that both Bob and Mary would be present for the scheduled trials. Their attorney thought the best plea bargain he could get would be 3 years in jail and 7 years probation for Mary. The assault on a police officer might find Bob with a longer sentence.

Mr. Handle wanted to fire Kate as she was at the center of this shit storm however, she was his most useful employee.

There was also a problem because Rick's Rides had won the state SBA Business of the Year Award. With that came a lot of good publicity for both Rick's Rides and the bank. It would look very bad for the bank to penalize a customer who did nothing wrong but was in the middle of a scandal.

Mr. Handle eventually had a situation with Kate being his administrative assistant sitting outside his office. Men might wander in and want to talk to Kate about going on a date with them. Some just wanted to look at the 'Hot Property' that created the loss of jobs, advertising accounts, fingers, testicles and two prison sentences. Business men that wanted to meet with Mr. Handle might be afraid their wives would think they were talking with Kate. He felt he had no other choice than to let her go.

Rick took his attorney's advice and did not file for a divorce. He still loved Kate but he just could not get over the horrible images burned into his brain that awful night. He felt terrible that Kate had lost her job. After several months he texted her and asked if they could have a phone conversation.

Happily, she said "Of course. Anytime you want to talk is great by me."

"How about Saturday at 2pm."

Cheerfully she typed "I'll be ready for your call."

"Good, I'll call you and it will be just you and me. There won't be any attorneys or counselors with a smiley face emoji."

She recognized that happy tone and laughed. Something she had not done for quite a while.

At 2pm Saturday he called "Hello Kate, can you talk now?"

"Yes I can. I'm so glad I get to talk to you"

"I was very sorry to hear you lost your job at the bank. That was unfair for Handle to do that to you."

"I'm sorry too. It seems I've been saying "I'm sorry" to so many people for the past few months. It's hard to believe how I fucked up so many things in the community."

"Have you found another job?"

"Yes, I'm back to cutting heads off chickens at the slaughter plant. Back to where I started so many years ago. Those were the good years between then and now. Luckily, I can stay at my folks place until I find somewhere to stay."

"This is just what I wanted to talk about. Since you own 50% of our house but I am living in it I want to pay your rent to a nice apartment to equal out the difference."

"That is so kind of you to do. After what I did, you should not have to do anything for me."

"I want to be fair with you. Just find a place to stay and tell me how much the rent is."

"Our son Todd brought up another situation that I think needs to be addressed. He wants to come to visit us once a month but the joint visits get clumsy going between two houses. He would like to come and stay in his old room and have the three of us be there together. Have dinner, sit and spend time together. Is that something you would be willing to do?"

Almost jumping through the phone, she said "That would be so great. Thank you so much. I miss my boy terribly. He is very disappointed in his mother and I have a lot of work to do to regain his respect and love. You are a wonderful father for doing this."

"I had hoped you would agree to joint visits. Would you like to prepare the meals when Todd is in our old house? I know you miss the house but I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. We can go to restaurants instead."

"I would love to work in my kitchen again."

Awkwardly she asked "Are you seeing or dating anyone?"

"It seems I am 'hot property" now. I have not asked anyone out but there are 5 or 6 women that keep asking me out or having me over for dinner. I'm going to a number of car shows, rod runs and weekend car events. So, between that and work I am keeping busy. How about you?"

"No one has asked me out and I have not asked anyone out. Would you go with me somewhere like a movie or a show if I asked you out?"

"If you don't expect anything more from me than dinner or a movie, I would."

When the conversation stalled Rick said "Take care of yourself Kate."

"Thank you for talking with me and paying my rent. I do not deserve this kindness."

The weekends that Todd spent back with his parents were wonderful for all three of them. Todd would arrive Friday night and stay until late on Sunday. Rick's parents and Kate's parents were invited to the Sunday noon meal. It was like a family Christmas without the gifts. Since Todd would be there all weekend he would sleep in his old bedroom and Kate would sleep in the guest room.

After every one had gone to bed Kate would always walk quietly across the hallway to the master bedroom and gently try the door handle. But it was always locked.