You Can't Fight Nature

"But mom, I'm depressed too," said Penny. "I've admitted that I was wrong and I'm very sorry. I'm hurting too you know."

"Penny, you caused it. As much as you're my daughter and I love you, maybe you deserve it. Sooner or later you have to be held accountable for your actions."

"I agree," said Penny. "But I don't think what I did was bad enough to divorce over."

"Isn't that up to the person you hurt to decide?" asked Judy. "A marriage is about what two people want, Penny. Maybe Donnie doesn't want to be married to you anymore."

"Stop saying that mother," screamed Penny. She turned to me and looked across the room.

"Donnie, until now haven't I been a good wife to you? I've cleaned your house. I've cooked your meals. I've given you all the sex you could ever want. I've given you everything you could ask for in a wife. So why can't you concentrate on all of the things I've done right instead of the one thing I've done wrong?"

"Honey, you look the way I feel," she continued. "You look like someone suddenly pulled the rug out from under your feet and just left you spinning in the air without any way to get your bearings and nothing to hold onto. I feel the same way. I'm just lost without you. I can't stop crying. I feel like my life is over. Nothing makes sense. You have the power to make both of us feel better. All you have to do is forgive me one time. I swear to you that this will never happen again."

I walked out of the room without saying anything. As I reached the doorway I turned and looked back at her. "Penny, please get a lawyer," I said. "I want to get this over as soon as possible. I need to start my life over."

I drove home and again I saw Tanya as I got onto my porch. "Hey Donnie, wait up," she yelled. I sighed and watched as she came across the yard. Tanya was wearing a pair of old jean shorts and a T-shirt that had seen better days while she worked in the yard.

The shirt had the name of some obscure band printed on it and had been sweated nearly through. Tanya had obviously forgotten her bra, or had simply decided that she didn't need one while working in the yard.

"I need to tell you a couple of things," she said. Tanya isn't as slim as penny or Judy, but her curves put her on a different level of sexiness. I guess while I was happily married I'd simply downplayed my attraction to her. But now that I was done with Penny, the floodgates had opened.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

"Sorry," I said. "I shouldn't be."

"Donnie, I just wanted you to know that Rick and I are here for you," she said. "If you need anything or if you just want to talk. Actually I think it would be good for him too. He still hasn't recovered from being mugged. I think a lot of his confidence is gone. You know that macho male ego thing that you guys have? Well his is kind of shattered because some asshole beat the hell out of him and took all of his money. Maybe talking to you would help him."

"You know how that works. When you have to help someone through their problems it makes you feel like the strong one. I think that might be good for Rick. I'll send him over in a little bit. But there's something I wanted to do for you too."

I couldn't help looking at her boobs again and she noticed and smiled as she wrapped her arms across her chest. "You're gonna be just fine," she smiled. "But that's not what I had in mind. You know I'm a married woman. Besides you're not that kind of guy." I shrugged and tried to smile.

Her arm dropped and I could see how hard her nipples had gotten. At that moment I was giving a lot of thought to what it would be like to be between her thick curvy legs. Her voice, as smooth as silk drew me back from my naughty thoughts.

"Donnie, I know you're going through something really rough. I don't know if you and Penny will make it through this or not. But I thought that maybe you'd like to get away from everything for a while. So, I work for a travel agency and we book a lot of big group tours and trips and I was able to arrange something for you if you want it."

I just smiled at her and thought again about telling her what a piece of shit she was married to. But I realized that telling her would only hurt her. There was also the fact that with both the ass whipping I'd given him and the thought of losing his marriage, Rick was probably doing his best to be the husband she deserved. Why should I put her through that kind of pain just so I could get some pleasure from her? Doing that would make me as bad as Penny and Rick.

"It's a cruise, Donnie. We have a client that is a large singles web site. They've arranged a cruise for a lot of their members on a large cruise ship. They have already paid the fees for their members and there are still cabins available on the ship. They've already made their profit so it won't matter if one more single guy is on the cruise. Ten days of fun, sun and laughter to help heal a broken heart. Who knows you might even meet someone."

"I'll think about it, Tanya," I said. "But I really don't think I should be trying to meet anyone until my divorce goes through."

"See what I mean," she smiled. "You're a good guy to through and through. Whatever Penny did, I hope she realizes how stupid she is. Let me know about the cruise, Okay?"

I'd done as much as I could towards rectifying my situation with Penny. My lawyer was working on the divorce and I was working on my life. I'd asked my boss for a transfer to another area and told him about why I needed to leave the area. It took him a couple of days but he came through for me.

We had a plant in Phoenix that had been interviewing engineers for over a month. A new place seemed to be just what I needed for a new start. The warmer weather and chance to drive my car year round also appealed to me. I'd be leaving everything and everyone I knew behind, but that's what getting a new start is all about.

I spoke to Judy about my idea to leave the area and she sounded really sad about it. When I gave her my reasons she agreed with me and told me she'd been feeling the same things. She was still getting over Ed's death. Her feelings were much the same as mine for trying to get over her daughter's betrayal. She'd been considering moving to the east to live with her older sister and mother who shared a house in New York. Hearing me talk about my move had started her thinking about it again. I got her to promise not to tell Penny about what I was thinking about doing.

"Honey, I won't have to tell her," she says. "That girl is obsessed with you. She spends most of her time now following you around. She's so afraid that you'll try to hook up with some other woman that she's going nuts. She was furious when you stood on the porch talking to Tanya the other day. She came home and cried for hours, calling Tanya every type of whore there is."

"I think her greatest fear is that you'll become attracted to Tanya and tell her what happened. Then you and Tanya would hook up and she'd be history." She laughed after she said that.

"It's really not that farfetched," I said.

"It really is," she said. "Donnie you really love my stupid daughter. I could see the wheels turning in your head when you spoke to her the other day. You were trying so hard to come up with a way to take her back. But I was glad that you couldn't. She's my baby and I love her, but I love you too Donnie and we both know what she's like."

"Well at least when all of this is over, you'll have a friend in Arizona to visit when it gets too cold in New York," I said.

"And you'll have someone in the rotten apple if you want some non-southwestern culture," she laughed. "Donnie, promise me that we'll stay in touch."

"It's not like I have a choice," I said. "I only had two people that I loved and one of them doesn't really love me. That means you're all I have left."

I was glad she'd told me about Penny following me around. I started to watch for her whenever I went anywhere. One evening, I went to a movie and looked around me as I got out of the car in the parking lot. I spotted her watching me and decided to have some fun with her. I looked at my watch as if I was waiting for someone. Then I pulled out my phone and used my Fandango app to buy my ticket. I called Judy and told her to call Penny and let her know that my date was waiting inside the theater for me.

Penny got out of her car and started walking toward me angrily. I quickly ran inside the theater and told the man at the ticket kiosk that I'd ordered my tickets online. He looked at his computer and handed them to me and I went to the right side of the building just as a pissed off Penny came in the door. She tried to walk through in the direction she'd seen me go in and was stopped by the security guards.

By the time she'd been escorted to the ticket Kiosk, she realized that she had no way of knowing which movie I'd come to see; and there were at least fifteen movies playing at the theater.

Two hours later I left the theater. "Bye," I yelled, waving as if I'd been talking to someone. "I had a great time. We'll have to do this again."

"Stop it, Donnie," said Penny. "Just cut the bullshit routine out. You went to the movies alone. I've been watching you since you left the building."

"Get used to it, Penny," I said. "I won't always be alone. Sooner or later I'm going to meet someone that I will want to date and maybe more. Maybe I'll even meet the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with."

"You've already met her dummy, she looks just like me," said Penny. "You just need to get your head out of your ass and start trying to get over my one little mistake." I laughed out loud and drove away.

I realized then that everything Judy had told me was true. I trusted Judy. I was sure that she wouldn't let Penny know about my plans, but I still needed a way to get out of town without letting Penny know where I was going.

The answer came from the most unlikely of sources. The next day, I'd just gotten home when I heard a soft knocking at the back door.

I went to the door and opened it. If I'd had to make a list of everyone I thought might possibly be there, I'd never have given him a place on it.

Rick stood at my back door much the way he used to when we were friends. The only difference now was his body language. He knew that he didn't belong here anymore. I don't think he was sure that I wouldn't simply beat the fuck out of him again.

"I didn't want to come," he said nervously. "She made me." His eyes darted quickly over his shoulder. I saw Tanya looking over at us from their back porch. She smiled and waved.

"Come on in Buddy," I said loudly enough for my voice to carry to their house.

"I've done everything you've asked," he said nervously. "And I appreciate you not saying anything to Tanya. But if Tanya hadn't made me come over here I'd have had to call you anyway. We have a problem."

"WE don't have shit," I sneered. "We have nothing in common."

"That's very true," he said. "But neither of us wants to see Tanya hurt, right?" I nodded.

"And both of us have a problem with your psychotic ex," he said. "She's been threatening to tell Tanya herself, if I don't try to help her get you back. She says that it's unfair for one of us to get to keep their marriage if both of us cheated. She came to me yesterday. She's blackmailing me into giving her info on you and wants me to put pressure on you to take her back."

I just looked at him. If he was hoping that I'd be sympathetic, he was disappointed.

Suddenly I realized that I could use him to solve my problem. "Rick, do it," I said. He looked at me strangely. "Does she know about the cruise that Tanya arranged for me?" I asked.

"I don't think so," he said.

"That's your info," I said. "Give her all of the information about the cruise. That should keep her happy for a while. It will be especially good if you tell her that you've been trying to get me to forgive her. Make her think that if we're on that ship together with nowhere else to go, there might be a good chance that we'll talk."

"Okay," he said. "I'll do anything to save my marriage." I just stared at him.

"You can go now," I said.

The next day I got a call from Tanya. "Donnie, somehow Penny found out about the cruise. Should I book her on the wrong cruise or something? Or did you want me to book her in the same room as yours, or one close to it?" she asked. "I could book you guys together even though it's a singles cruise."

"Tanya, don't you get a commission on the cruises you book?" I asked.

"Well yeah?" she said. "But I don't need to try to get rich off of my friends."

"Tanya, make the bitch pay through the nose," I said. "You'll be doing me a huge favor. And you'll be helping me more than you'll ever know."

"Are you two getting back together?" she asked.

"No chance of that," I said.

"But why?" she asked. "What are you two angry about?"

"She cheated on me, Tanya," I said sadly. "I walked in and caught them. There's no chance for a mistake or a misunderstanding. I saw them with my own eyes. There's no chance for us getting back together. I just need to get away from her."

For the next few days I started getting ready for my move. I looked at houses over the Internet. I contacted moving companies and I called the new office in Phoenix. Everything was ready for the move. I still spoke to Judy over the phone. One of us called the other at least twice a day. The saddest day before I was ready to leave was the day that Judy left for New York.

I went over to her house to say goodbye and naturally Penny was there. She'd been so busy getting ready for the cruise that she hadn't been following me for the past few days.

She smiled at me when she opened the door for me. "I miss you so much Honey," she said.

I ignored her and headed for Judy. Judy gave me the longest, tightest hug of my life. It was all I could do not to let my hands drop from her waist to her ass. I was sure that she could feel my hardening dick pressing into her stomach, but she didn't let on.

"I wish you'd hug your wife like that, instead of my mother," said Penny. "In a way it's a good thing mom is moving to live with Granny and Aunt Nina. I think you're getting confused about who you care about." Judy and I both laughed and moved apart.

Penny was driving Judy to the airport. I finished my goodbyes and promised to call Judy every day.

"I wish you'd call ME so we could talk," said Penny. "You do know that you're wasting your time, right? This divorce is going to take decades. By the time we actually get to court you'll have forgotten why you wanted to divorce me. I also know that you took a big chunk of cash out of our account. I didn't say anything about it because I did too. Isn't that a strange coincidence?"

Again I just walked away from her. She'd been so happy it looked like she was going to explode thinking about the two of us on a cruise together. She was acting as if we were going on a second honeymoon instead of the two of us going on a cruise on the same ship but not together.

In fact, the chance that I might hook up with other women while she was there never occurred to her.

Three days later, I was ready to leave on my trip. Tanya had made arrangements that assured me the cruise would be everything I needed.

Just before the ship was scheduled to leave I called Penny.

"Penny, I'm going to be away for about ten days," I told her. "If you need to tell me anything concerning our divorce you'll have to just talk to my lawyer."

"Well thanks for telling me," she said happily. "I hope you enjoy wherever you're going. Maybe when your trip is over you won't want a divorce anymore. Maybe something might happen while you're away, that will remind you of just how much I love you and that we need each other."

"Fat chance of that," I said laughing.

She laughed too. "Is it that hard for you to admit that you still love me, Donnie?" she asked.

"No it isn't," I said. "I do still love you. I just wish you loved me enough that I was enough for you."

"You ARE, dummy," she said sadly. "Have you ever heard the expression, "Once bitten, twice shy? In our case it means that I've seen what my life without you is like so I'm not going to do that again."

"Yes Donnie, I'm human. I made a mistake. But love had nothing to do with it. It was only about sex. Something drew me to Rick and even I don't know what it was. Maybe we'll find out what it was when we go to therapy. But you are the only man I've ever loved."

"Since you're so into old sayings," I said. "Have you ever heard that you can't fight nature?" She looked at me strangely and just sighed as I hung up.

Six hours later the ship was at sea. It was just about to get out of cell phone range when my phone rang. I looked at the screen of my iPhone and smiled. I saw the scenery going by as I looked out my window. And yes I know that windows on a ship are called portholes. Maybe Penny had a porthole to look out of but mine was a window.

"Where the fuck, are you?" she screamed. "I've searched this entire God damned ship and you aren't on it."

"Who said I was?" I laughed.

"How the hell are we supposed to get back together if we don't spend any time together?" she screamed. "You won't let me come home. You won't touch me or let me touch you and you barely speak to me. I'm going crazy. I love you Donnie."

"Alright Penny," I said. "As soon as the cruise is over, I should have cooled down. You can come home. But we won't be sleeping together."

"I swear I'll do whatever it takes to earn my place back in your bed and in your heart," she said just as the phone started crackling. "I love you Donnie." Then the phone went dead.

I was still laughing as I crossed yet another state line. I took the time to call my only friend.

"Hi Judy," I said as she picked up the phone.

"Donnie," she squealed happily. "God it's been a long time since you've called me."

"Almost four hours," I said laughing.

"I'm beginning to think I made a mistake," she said. "Do you have any idea of what it's like living with two crotchety old women?"

I started laughing. Judy always cheered me up.

"Stop lying, Judy. I can't believe that anyone would ever not want to be around you," I said.

"Donnie do you know what time does?" she asked.

"They say that time heals all wounds," I said.

"They're wrong," she said seriously. "I guess I'd forgotten that my sister and I just never got along. She and my mother have been together for so long that their personalities have become similar. So now I can't get along with either of them."

I laughed again.

"Are you checking your rear view mirrors to make sure you're not being followed?" she asked.

"It's pretty hard to follow a truck when you're on a ship," I said.

Now it was her turn to laugh. "I'm not going to ask how you got her on that ship without you," she said.

"Remember those Calgon commercials?" I said. "I had my own ancient Chinese secret."

"I loved those commercials," she said. "I guess I should go and make mom's tapioca. Drive safely Honey."

I got to Phoenix late the next day. The first thing I did was get my Mustang off of the trailer and into the garage. I'd been so glad that she'd never have to endure cold winters again that I hadn't given the heat and possible sun damage to my paint any consideration.

I spent the next few days getting everything settled and set up in my new house. I made appointments for the cable guy and all of the other guys to come out and do their things. But somehow when it was all said and done the place was beautiful but it didn't feel like home it just felt like a place.