I was triple dog dared

... to write a short story by Cricket. Crazy girl.

~So here it is~
(Click on the "Want more?" if you are interested in my first-go-round.)

The Day of Reckoning

Some history first.
I was looking for love. The kind that would last a lifetime. What a joke, eh? Anyway, One sad and desperate time fell on another sad and desperate time, and I felt.. well, sad and desperate.
That's when He came along. My savior. Or so I thought.

He was so charming. He said all the words I had been longing to hear my entire life. He was affectionate without being too clingy. He was sexual without being pushy about it.

And then it happened. He asked The Big Question. I, of course, said yes. He was the man of my dreams - almost. He did already have kids of his own, but I had spent time with them and loved them like they were mine.

The kids ended up being a perfect addition since I was unable to conceive. Just another way I failed Him.

But I should stop using the capital H now. After we said our vows, everything changed. He showed his true colors. I was no more than a slave to him, and a horrible slave at that to hear him tell it.
Gone were his charming ways and affection. He was still sexual, but selfishly so. He made it very clear my pleasure was the least of his concerns. He was also very clear about my past: I didn't have one before him.

The children grew up, and had lovely children of their own. Our grandchildren loved to come visit us and explore the old house.

And that brings us to The Day of Reckoning.

You see, I did have a past. A very colorful past, and I kept a record of it. Every little detail of my 'indiscretions' was written down. I had saved these journals. I had kept them in the same box marked "Baby Clothes" all these years. Well, I had to mark it with something he wouldn't be interested in, right? Also, I made such a fuss about keeping them -just in case- that he allowed me to hang on to it. Stupid, stupid man.

When our grandchildren were teenagers, they still loved to explore the house. They found the box marked "Baby Clothes". They knew they might have kids one day, and wanted to see if it was anything they would want later. It was. They found my journals. Now included in all those journals were the years of my marriage. The grandchildren could read for themselves what a mean hearted man their grandfather was.

They decided on a plan. They wanted gool ol' grandpa to finally know those things he had denied me all these years. They were going to make him listen to what I had done, pre-Him.
But these are clever children! They were going to tell all without revealing it was me they were talking about - until the very end. Then whether he liked it or not, he would know all I had done.

After many hours of spilling the beans on my exploits, and revealing that it was really me, he was stunned.
Not because of what I had done (even though there were some shocking moments).
Not because he had been married to that type of woman (although I'm sure he wouldn't have gone through with it had he known back then).

But because he finally realized my biggest secret. I had allowed him to treat me this way. He never had any real control over me. I was still the vivacious independent woman he had just heard about.

And now he knew I still had some exploits during our dull marriage. After all, a woman has needs...