A Series Of Unfortunate Decisions

"Bruh, you should go home. You know what Dena would say if she knew that you were going to the strip bar." Jace gave me the look that told me to do the right thing. Go home to my nagging wife and try to fix my marriage. There was no question as to what I should do, my wife and future kid was counting on me. That was the problem, I was too young to be tied down with a family. It wasn't what I wanted. "Why do I bother? You're going, aren't you?"

"Yeah, he is! 'Cuz he ain't whipped like you!" Neil stuck his tongue out and grabbed his genitals. "My boy knows how to par-tay!"

He handed me another beer, we clinked our bottles together in cheers, and downed the contents in one gulp. The cycle repeated itself many times on the way to the strip club. Once we were there, Neil disappeared with the two of the dancers, not to be seen again. I promised myself one show, one lap dance and then I would go home.

When I woke up the next morning, I was in an unfamiliar setting. It was dusty and dingy. There was someone sleeping next to me. She was young from the looks of her face, probably 18. Only 10 years younger than me, but it felt like a lifetime in my eyes. The startling reality hit me, I cheated on Dena, with some barely legal stripper. Dear God, what had I done?

"I have to get to class," The homewrecker said. Her perky attitude was only matched by her rack nearly touching her nose.

"High school?" I asked, my voice filled with nervousness.

"No silly boo, Psych 101. I'm in my first semester of college. I told you that last night."

After she left, I hurried and checked out. I thought about stopping at the florist for flowers but Dena would see right through that. Instead I would appeal to her sense of compassion and love.

When I pulled into the driveway, I was greeted with everything I owned strewn on the lawn. Dena saw me through the window, and came outside. "How nice of you to make an appearance at home, Richard. Must have been tough to pull yourself off the skank you were with last night."

"It's not like that."

"It never is. I'm supposed to believe that you were at Jace's, you weren't. Or Neil's, even if you were, you weren't alone. I called them both. You don't want to be with me," She shrugged off my attempt to hug her. "Your touch makes me cringe. I have tried for so long to pretend that you would grow up, that you would be the man you promised to be. I deserve better, so does your unborn child. You want to live the life of a bachelor, be my guest."

"I don't. I want you. I want our life together. Dena, you and the baby are all I think about."

"Until some nubile twit is on her knees in front of you. My mother put up with this behavior from my father for years, I won't do it. Get your stuff off my lawn and look for divorce papers."
"I won't sign them. I love you, and you owe me a chance to make things right."

"Not signing the papers, won't stop the divorce from being finalized. And I owe you nothing. Jace told you not to go to the strip club, he warned you what would happen. You decided to go anyways. Now you deal with the consequences of your choices." She went back into the house. Anger welled up within me. She stepped back out. "You need to get off my property."

"Ungrateful bitch!" What was I supposed to do with no home and no wife? I called Jace, "Hey, Dena threw me out. Can you meet me at the bar?"

We agreed to meet at a local coffee shop, he couldn't go to a bar because it was a "work day". I got there first, so I ordered the coffee. He walked in, "Bro, what happened?"

"I messed up. I messed up bad. You were right, I shouldn't have gone last night. Dena found out and threw me out, said she's filing for a divorce. And she doesn't know that I screwed some girl last night. I don't know what to do."

"Get your life together. She loves you, maybe this is some tough love thing. There is no way that Dena will divorce you, if she sees you trying. That's all she wants, Bro, just to see you start to get your act together."

"I don't know. I mean I was freaking out because of the kid, and I think that upset her."

"Well sleeping with someone else, wasn't the way to save your marriage. I mean what were you thinking?"

"I was drunk."

"And you wanted to go back to a bar? You have a lot of work to do, Bro. Nobody can do the work but you."

1 Month Later

The sun drifted through the see-through curtains of the motel room, I had been living in. Dena's lawyer had sent over the divorce papers. Which meant I downed a fifth of vodka and played with the thought of killing myself.

After all the work I had done to improve myself, I got a job and didn't go the bar for 2 weeks, and Dena still wouldn't take me back. Obviously, she had made up her mind and couldn't see the effort I was putting into saving our marriage.

The gun was on the nightstand, tempting me to pick it up. I had played Russian Roulette last night, and had somehow managed to stay alive. I wondered if I would win a second time. After the barrel was spun, I locked it into place.

One bad decision had led to this nightmare. Would another get me out of it? I pulled the trigger...