An older man wearing a thick and dirty brown trench coat, a wrinkled button-down shirt and slightly soiled gray pants shambled up to a park bench to sit.  As he plopped down, a cloud of dust erupted from his clothing.  The man leaned back on the bench and took in the scenery.  He watched as ducks swam in the man-made lake a few feet from his seated position.  The sunlight danced joyfully over the waves caused by a slight gust of wind.  The park was nearly empty and he enjoyed that.  He looked over to his left and saw an attractive, curvy woman jogging along the path in front of the bench.  The old man removed a tattered fedora from his head, revealing a thick head of white and surprisingly clean; hair.  He greeted the woman properly and gave her a smile.  The woman, obviously unattracted to the man, nervously waved to him and then picked up her pace, anxious to get away.  He could faintly hear her utter “loser” as she trotted off down the path.  He continued to look at the water.

            About a half hour after the dirty man sat on the bench, a younger man dressed in a flawless black tailored suit approached the bench from the opposite direction of the young woman.  As he approached, the sunlight, which seemed previously to be at one with the lake, began to dance off of his pristine alligator skinned shoes.  He greeted the dirty man and removed his coat, revealing an athletic physique wrapped in a crisp red skin-tight shirt.  He wore no hat, which allowed the wind to play gently with his jet black hair.  The well-dressed man sat down on the bench to the right of the dirty man.  Both looked at the lake for a while.

            “Your late,” the dirty man said dryly.

            “I apologize” said the well-dressed man, “you know traffic is hell coming from my neighborhood,” he rolled up a sleeve slightly, showing a glistening gold watch surrounded in princess cut diamonds. “Besides, I think I made good time, don’t you?”

            The dirty man looked at the well-dressed man, “I suppose traffic is a little hectic, especially these days for you, is business good?”

            “Business is fuckin’ amazing!” The well-dressed man replied, “I got so much inventory, I’m running out of places to put them! But you already know I plan to extend.”

            “I do,” replied the dirty man calmly, “now why don’t you tell me why you wanted to meet.”

            “Straight to the point? Oh, that’s so not like you, but fuck it right?”  The well-dressed man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an old, leather bound book.  The edges of its pages were yellowed and slightly curled.  The spine of the book was worn thin, with thread protruding from various areas.  The well-dressed man leaned back on the bench and crossed his legs, flipping the pages nonchalantly.

            The dirty man raised an eyebrow upon seeing the book, “And what are you doing with that?”

            “The reason for this meeting,” the well-dressed man replied, “people are quite creative.” he closed the book and sat it down between the two of them.  “How is it that you never told them?”

            “Told them what?” the dirty man asked, looking at the reflection of the sun as it slowly began to dip behind the horizon.

            “I have known you for my entire life,” the well-dressed man replied, “we have been through a lot of shit together, why is it that you haven’t told anyone that I’m really your brother?”

            The dirty man looked at the well-dressed man. Both of their eyes locked, the well-dressed man with sharp piercing dark eyes, the dirty man with a weathered and pained look.  The dirty man looked back across the water.  “I did not write the book,” he said plainly “what people write is no concern of mine, nor should it be any concern of yours.”

            “It concerns me a lot!” shouted the well-dressed man. His voice echoed across the park like a gunshot.  He regained his composure and began to look at the ground, once he collected his thoughts, he spoke again.  “This book, and books similar to this have me portrayed like some jealous offspring of yours, when we both know that I helped you every step of the way.  I made everything with you as your brother.  But you, YOU picked THEM over me.  When there was nothing, there was me…. and you.  You have the whole world thinking that I’m nothing! Because of you people hate me…I get blamed for shit that I didn’t have a hand in and to be honest, their hate for ME, fuels my hate for YOU!”

            The dirty man sat and thought for a moment.  “I’m sorry that you feel the way you do, but as I said before, I may make many things, but I haven’t wrote or said anything bad about you.  I ask you brother, you say you get blamed for things that you had no dealings in, you mean to tell me that to get to the level of success that you are at right now, your dealings were for the good of mankind?”

            “I’d say so!” the well-dressed man replied quickly “true, lies were told, promises were made that I couldn’t realistically keep, but how can you make an omelet without breaking some eggs?  Although people see us differently though, we are actually very much alike.”  He grinned.

            “Oh?” said the dirty man.

            “Yes,” said the well-dressed man, “look, I started with nothing after having my own brother turn me away and portrayed me like I’m a jealous bitch, so I lied to a few people, made deals with some people and now look at me! I’ve got a booming business! So much inventory I don’t know what to do with em all!”  He picked up the book and patted the top of it with a manicured hand.

     “These are your lies,” he continued, “books like these fill people’s heads with thoughts of you being some kind of hero.  There’s stories about you doing horrific things to people just to “test” them.  In this book you promise to better people’s lives but you have harmed countless people to maintain what you have.  This work of fiction masks your misdeeds. It is written that your supposed to be some great leader, but if you look close enough, people that work for you eventually work for me!  I’ll tell you why they do, because even if I lie, cheat and steal my way to greatness, I give them tangible proof that if they work for me, they get rewarded.  You? Well, they just have to wait for you to get off of your ass to help.  Or you do nothing and they praise your decision making regardless.  Tisk, tisk.  You’re no more than a charlatan!”

            The dirty man’s eyes began to water.  “It’s true,” he exclaimed, “there are things that I have done that I truly regret.  Each day that passes I see more and more people hurt by my actions.  The difference between us brother is that I believe that people will see my actions as a great good for them all.  I want them to heed my words and understand that through me, their worries, pains and frustrations will be resolved.  I cannot deny that I love people so much so that it has damaged my relationship with you and many others like you; however, if you were to join me again, we can right all wrongs, both yours and mine, for the good of all mankind.”

            The well-dressed man chuckled aloud.  “Bro,” he replied smugly, “between the two of us, who looks like they know what the fuck they are doing?”  He got up from the bench and stood in front of the dirty man.  “You could dress like me and live like me any time you want, but instead, you choose to look ragged and depraved.  You’re so ashamed of who you are now that you dress like a damn beggar but you want ME to join YOU?  Above all else brother, you are a businessman, like myself, I learned a lot from watching and studying you.  You know that the path you are on and tactics that you use are bullshit.  So I will provide a counter offer, how about you join me?  I’ll let you keep your space and people will respect you more!  I’ll just want one thing before this…merger…is to take place however.”

            The dirty man cocked his head to the side looking quizzically at the well-dressed man.

            “All I want,” the well-dressed man replied, “is your undying love and loyalty to me.  I will no longer settle for a mere partnership, I want it publicly stated from you that although you will run your “area” (the well-dressed man made air quotes), I have the final say in decisions made.  It seems like a fair offer really, given the condition of the world these days.”  He smiled as he looked down on his seated brother.  “Don’t you agree?”

            This time, the dirty man laughed which caused the well-dressed man to scowl.  The dirty man stood, now face to face with his brother.  “Pledge my loyalty and love to you?  It seems like you want to be treated like a king?”

            “No brother, more like a…..GOD!” the well-dressed man interrupted.

            “Ah!” The dirty man continued, “you always were ambitious, that’s something I admired about you from time to time.  You will never lose my love, which is something that I offer to you in waves.  My loyalty however, is to the people.  I have let them down too many times to hurt them further, so to that request, I say no.  As for this…..”merger”, as you call it; you have proven time and time again that power is something that you should have in moderation.  If I give in to you, I know that the world as I see it, will be driven into lunacy and ruin.  I know my greatest work will be squandered and abused by you.  That is why I say no again to you.”

            The well-dressed man’s cheeks flushed red with anger.  “Fine!”  He shouted, “you have left me no choice but to destroy you and everything you love!  I’m done with this fucking conversation it’s getting me nowhere!  I have tried to reason and bargain with you but you’re too full of your own shit to see what everyone else sees.  I am better than you!  I am better than your precious people!”  The well-dressed man’s hands began to ball into fists as he spoke.

            The dirty man wrapped his arms around his brother and began to hug him tightly.  The well-dressed man did not fight or struggle against him, he simply stood there in his brother’s embrace.  “I hate you,” the well dressed man continued, through clenched teeth, “one day, you will look up and see me standing over you, I promise I will make that day unbearable.”

            The dirty man continued to hold his brother, unbothered by the statement.  “I know you will try your best.”  As soon as the two men separated, the well-dressed man began to walk away.  He stopped for a second and shouted over his shoulder, “the next time I see you it will be war, as I said, I have a large surplus and I will expand the business, once I takeover Heaven my overstock of souls will be taken care of.  Goodbye Jehovah.”  A gaping hole appeared on the sidewalk.  Sulfur and hell flames leapt from the crag violently.  The well-dressed man entered the hole as if he was descending a flight of stairs.

            The dirty man picked up the book his brother had brought to their meeting off of the bench, he slid his hand across the large gold cross on the cover.  The words “THE HOLY BIBLE” stretched across the top of the beaten down book.  The dirty man looked back at where the sidewalk hole was to discover that it had sealed back up and looked as though the concrete was never disturbed.  “Goodbye Lucifer.”  The dirty man said sadly.  He began to read the book as he walked away.

END.

“Alright babe I’m heading out,” Walter shouted as he opened the door, “when I get home from work we’ll go to the movies, cool?”

“And dinner!” Janet shouted back from the kitchen, “I’ll do my best to be ready on time!”

“Ha!” He shouted back “you know there is no way in hell that’s going to happen!”

“Get out of here before I say something I can’t take back!”  She replied as she charged at him playfully.

Walter blew Janet a kiss and closed the door behind him.  Janet returned to the kitchen to finish washing the dishes that had piled up in the sink.  She thought about her husband and his playful ways which made her smile.  She truly loved her husband and considered herself a very lucky woman.  To Janet, women are considered lucky to have a man, let alone one that is willing to be the sole provider for the household.  Janet had no issues with being an at home wife, since it was a childhood dream of hers.  Ever since she was a little girl, she thought of having the type of life that she saw on television.  The big strapping husband would come home from work and a beautiful, petite wife would practically float to him and greet him with a kiss.  The house would be spotless with a hot meal in the oven.  All those television lives were perfect.

Janet did everything she could to keep that image of how life should be alive and well in her household.  When Walter got his promotion, she quit her job (per his request), she even quit going to college to pursue her degree in childhood development.  Over the course of their four year marriage she began to gain weight due to a combination of daily stress, unemployment and other things.  She almost broke down into tears when she stood on that scale and it read “185 lbs”.  Oh, how she worried that she was not going to fit the mold of “petite” wife.  To Janet, the crash diet, fasting and extra exercise was more than worth it to keep Walter happy, even though she did not tell him about the steps she took to keep her hourglass figure.  Nothing on this earth was more important than Walter, her man, her guardian, her king.

Janet dried the last glass in the sink and put away each dish with care, readying her mind for the other chores that she needed to finish throughout the day.  As she entered the living room, she looked out the windows toward her rose bushes that were in full bloom.  Walter didn’t want the flowers, but she made sure to remind him that she didn’t want to move to their home in Georgia from Oklahoma where her entire family lived and that he owed it to her to make the home as comfortable for her as he could since she had no other support, (other than him).  He eventually gave in and huge rose bushes were planted that weekend.  *That’s how much he loved me.* She thought.  Just past the bushes she could see her neighbors, the Maygroves, arguing on their front porch.

“Cassie keeps getting into arguments with her husband,” Janet said to herself aloud, “honey needs to get it together.”  Of course, Janet has bared witness to other men sneaking out of Cassandra Maygroves’ home on a few occasions, but that was none of her business.  Besides, if she was to say anything, she may end up as those other people who argue and fight constantly with their neighbors, no, she didn’t want that.  She left the Maygroves to their argument as she entered the basement to do the laundry.

Separating the clothes is a tedious job, but it had to get done.  Janet passed the time by thinking of the afternoon ahead.  A nice dinner at The Acre, an exclusive, reservation only restaurant that she wanted to dine at since it opened nearly four months ago; followed by the movie of her choice “Miracles of Love”.  Of course, Walter didn’t like the mushy stuff, but the previews hooked her!  A story of a playboy type of guy that falls for a simple homebody female.  From the look of the preview, the guy gave up his lifestyle for the woman he loved.  The story closely resembled her relationship with Walter and she was eager to see it.  The movie debuted the previous Friday and a date between her and Walter was scheduled, but Walter had to work overtime at the last minute.  Tonight would be different however, she already mentally picked out the dress she wanted to wear, a short backless black dress that clung to her hips with perfection with her open toed heels.  Walter LOVED open toed heels, so much in fact that her closet seemed to overflow with them!  She laughed to herself thinking about how she looked in heels, each time Walter saw them on her, he would freeze in his tracks and do a corny jaw drop stare.

As she finished separating the whites she heard a loud thumping sound coming from upstairs.  Initially, she ignored the thumping and continued her work, but the thumping became for rapid, almost impatient sounding.  She threw the whites along with a little bleach in the washing machine and hurried upstairs toward the noise.  The sound increased with each step she took until she reached the living room.  Once upstairs she was able to identify the sound as knocking, not thumping.  Janet remembered that she ordered some new clothes online and hoped that she wasn’t missing her delivery.  She ran toward the front door and opened it with haste.

“Hey!  I’m here! Don’t go just ye-!”

Janet saw a very angry George Maygrove standing in her doorway.  The large man stood quivering with anger, his face red as the blood flushed his skin, his hands were clenched into fists.

“Where’s Walter?”  He said immediately, “I need to have a word with him.”

“Mr. Maygrove, I-I uh, Walter is at work, is everything ok?”  Janet asked worryingly.

“No, everythings not ok!  I need to see that motherfucker!”

“Please George calm down, come inside.”  She stepped aside and allowed George Maygrove in.  He entered the living room and sat on the sofa, his eyes roved around constantly as though he expected Walter to emerge from any door.

Janet entered the kitchen and poured George a cup of water.  She approached him and offered the drink which he took without a word.  He gulped the contents down like a man in a desert would.  She sat down next to him.

“I saw that you and Cassie were arguing earlier.  Does this have anything to do with Walter?”

“Well,” he said through clenched teeth, “if you consider your husband fucking my wife then yep, it’s SOMETHING!”

Janet was taken aback, unsure of what was just told to her.  “What?”

“Yep, that’s right!  Found out about the shit this morning.  The bitch left her cell phone unlocked and I needed her mother’s number, I’m planning her birthday next week….well, I WAS planning it.  I saw a number on her phone that I didn’t recognize very well so I checked the texts.  I had a feeling for a while that she had something going on, but I never really caught her ya know?  I knew what she was up to but  wanted to confirm it.  But sure as shit, I saw it!  W-A sending texts to her… shit like ‘last night was amazing! ‘Hey sexy’ ‘Can I see you?’  W-A!  The only WA I know is Walter Alton.  Your husband!”

Janet remained dumbfounded on the sofa next to George Maygrove, a thousand thoughts flooded her mind.  She thought of all the sacrifices, lost time, lost career opportunities, leaving her family behind all for the betterment of her marriage.  She searched for words to say but found none.  George looked at her face and saw the destruction his words caused.  He too, found himself lost for words.

“Are-are you sure it was Walter?”

“Yeah,” he sighed, “when I put the initials together, I asked her outright, she confessed to everything, midday rendezvous, sneaky little texts they sent each other, the last time they were together was last Friday, a day I had to pull a double shift at the plant.”

Janet’s heart froze in her chest.  Last Friday Walter told her that he couldn’t make their movie date because of work obligations, now she knows he was …with her.  A tear slipped out of her eye and trickled down her cheek.  Janet stared blankly at the carpeted floor searching for words to say, her mouth opened several times to speak, but no words left her lips.  Witnessing her obvious hurt, George placed an arm around her shoulder and sat quietly for a few minutes.

“I’m sorry you had to find out like this, I came over here ready to beat your husband’s face in, but I never stopped to think how this will affect you.”

Janet thanked him for attempting to comfort her and asked if he wanted something else to drink, but he refused.  George stood and put his empty cup in the kitchen sink.  When he turned around, Janet was behind him, eyes reddened from crying.  “Once again,” he said to her, “I’m sorry, I’m gonna head on out.  But your husband is not off the hook with me.”  As he tried to walk past her she blocked his way and began to unbutton his shirt.  He grabbed her hands before she could get too far.

“You sure about this?”  As he raised an eyebrow quizzically.

“I’ve never been surer of anything in recent years.”  She replied.

Janet jerked George’s shirt from his shoulders and began to unzip his pants.  He grabbed her once again and slung her against the kitchen sink, pinning her against the counter top.  With a bit of force, he pushed her head over the sink and slipped her white lace panties to one side under her sundress.  He pulled out his penis and entered her from behind as she moaned and gripped the faucet.  George began to thrust harder and harder each moment while clutching tufts of her hair in his tightly clenched hands.  The passion was intense as both George and Janet took out their frustrations on each other.  Beads of sweat fell from George’s forehead onto the back of Janet’s dress causing a damp spot.  Janet could feel that George was nearing his climax by the speed and intensity of his pumping hips.  She began to push back against him, ready to receive his fluid.  George jerked Janet’s hair savagely, causing her head to snap back nearly giving her a whiplash as he ejaculated.

Hot fluid filled Janet as she continued to hang over the sink.  A smile crept across her lips as she felt George’s manhood slide out of her.  She remained bent over the sink reminiscing about the incident that just happened between them.  She could hear George zipping his pants back up, once he was finished, he turned her around to face him; their eyes locked.

Sweat streaming down his face George asked her, “how long have we been doing this?”

Janet smiled, adjusting her dress and undergarments, “About a year now, do you want to stop?”

“Oh no!” He replied quickly, “are you going to tell Walter?  Cuz I haven’t said shit to Cassie!”

“I haven’t said a word to Walter, and I don’t plan on it, I don’t plan on telling him about what you found out with him and Cassie either.  On another note, you got to finish just now, but I didn’t, can you do a round two later today?”

Walter smiled broadly as he walked closer her, kissing Janet sweetly on the lips.  “Our usual spot tonight at about eleven-thirty or so?”

“I’ll see you then.”  She said softly.

George finished buttoning his shirt and walked toward the front door, after giving Janet a parting kiss and a slight pat on her ass, he left the home.  Janet stood on the front porch and watched George walk away.  With a short giggle to herself, Janet entered her home, quickly in route to the basement because; after George’s visit, her panties had a few more stains that the washing machine needed to take care of.

END