Intro

As I waited for Albert to get home on leave from his deployment to Iraq, I was a nervous wreck. My best friend Steve had been trying to calm me down; we talked every day on the phone since things started to fall apart. My dear friend Julia was wonderful; but if I told her what was going on, the whole Legion would learn about my disaster. I almost lost Albert to a psycho! How did I not see it?

When Albert left, I started going to the local American legion, where I was surrounded by loving people who were like family to us. We had been going there for some time now, since he signed up, so I felt safe, and spent a lot of time there. You see, I worked at home, as an over the phone interpreter, so I was stuck alone at home all morning. In the evenings, sitting alone at home became so depressing; I had to get out.

I used to wait at home for messages from Albert, but it took a while before he started messaging, I mean weeks at a time. No phone calls, just messages. After the messages started to come in, I was thrilled; I loved to hear from him. I missed him so much! Since he left he had been very cryptic in his Facebook messages. He said his Army unit had a very special mission, and that he couldn’t talk much; so he had not called since he left three months ago. He messaged once in a while, just told me he was O.K., but very busy with some secret squirrel stuff that I wouldn’t understand anyway. I didn’t ask questions, I just messaged back. I often reminded him of how much I loved him, and always assured him I would be here waiting for him.

He had started texting more often, asking for nude pictures of me. He said he was lonely and missed me, so I started texting him flirty and sometimes sexy pictures to remind him of me. They were always well received, and that made me happy. He made me feel good; he was never that complimenting while he was home.

I finally got a fuller message; Albert asked how I was, and then told me he was not coming home on leave. Since Albert left, he messaged me on Facebook and we talked a bit. On the phone, all he did was text “Send more nudes”. He kept asking for me to do things for him, sexual things. I was happy to send what he wanted and added a few extras; I figured he was just lonely. This latest message about not coming home had come from messenger, and it had hit me hard.

A few months after Albert was supposed to come home on leave, I started getting strange messages on Facebook, some men sending friend requests out of the blue. I kept deleting them and didn’t want to even deal with it. One day I decided to look in my “other” folder, and read a message from a stranger. The man said that he loved my pictures and would love to meet me. I asked him what pictures, and he said he had seen my pictures on my “other” profile. It took me a while to get a straight answer from him, he was being difficult; but I finally got the link from him.

As I sat there looking through a profile that claimed to be mine, I felt my heart sink; it was unbelievable! I cannot describe the feeling of devastation, like I was sinking fast and about to drown. It was a profile with my nickname and last name, “Sil, Clifford”. I screamed when I saw all the pictures I had sent Albert posted in there. Most of them were on the wall, of me wearing only an apron, me in the bathtub, me in a bikini. The nude ones were in an album labeled “Eye candy”. I started hyperventilating, felt like my heart was going to flip right out of me. I called Steve crying and screaming; I could not believe Albert would do this to me. I couldn’t call him; and I could not take the pictures down. Steve asked me to hang in there; he would come over right away. He lived 2 hours away, but made it here in an hour and a half. He held me in his arms while I sobbed desperately. He said it must be a mistake, but there has to be a way to get it to go away. He got on my computer and looked around in that profile. We couldn’t do much but he told me then, that he found some videos as well. And, there was a link to some camera that he couldn’t see. Apparently it said you needed to ask her (me) for a code to watch live. Watch what? I just couldn’t deal with it; this was too much.

Steve stayed that night and held me all night as I curled up in his arms. He made me feel safe, and I was able to sleep for a few hours. I was so angry and could not process the idea that Albert would have posted my personal pictures and videos online for everyone to see. I can’t believe it, why? I had tried to message Albert that night, but Steve stopped me. He said I needed to calm down first, before messaging something I couldn’t take back. I had to trust him on that one; besides I was too tired to fight him about it.



The next morning, Steve had to leave for work, so when I woke up he was gone. He left a note in the kitchen, stuck to the coffee pot, which he had set up already. “Love you, gotta go to work. Stay off the internet for now. TTYL, Kisses.” I started crying again, feeling so utterly alone. As I sat down with my coffee, I considered my options, I could stay off the internet, but I could not stop my mind from running away from me. My heart was broken, and all I could think is that I would end up homeless. Would I be one of those people who park outside the fast food place down the street? They park there to spend the night and have a bathroom and food. Will I be one of them now? Am I going to have to put all my things in storage and move out before Albert gets home? Do I wait for him and talk first? I had so many questions, and I was starting to freak out again.

That night I went to the legion, and drank with friends. As I drank, the pain started turning into bitterness. I didn’t want to tell anyone in there what was going on. When I left, I told my friends I was going home, but stopped at a bar down the street. I danced and drank until the pain had become something unrecognizable. I was so lonely and angry, I didn’t care anymore. I woke up the next morning to banging at my door. I had drank after getting home the night before, and fell asleep watching TV on the bed. I couldn’t feel anything but a dull headache. I was still so hurt by what I had found on Facebook. I went to open the door, it was Steve, and he was upset. “How dare you frighten me that way?” He said he had been messaging and calling, I didn’t answer, so he called my friends. They told him I went home, but he wanted to make sure I was home safely. I went to get my phone and realized it had died, and I didn’t plug it in; I felt so bad. He was understandably angry; I apologized and told him I would like him to help me behave. I wanted to be safe, I knew he loved me and he cared; I owed him that much. We installed an app on our phones that will track me, so if Steve gets concerned, he can look up exactly where I am. The tracker app also had a panic button in case of emergency. If had any problems, I could hit that panic button, and the police would be called automatically.

We had coffee and sat down to look at the computer. I had not looked at it after Steve had been there. Steve wanted to fix things, he also wanted to see the link and find out what it was. He finally got an answer to his request message; he got the code. He asked me to go sit on the couch, and let him look; no need for me to freak out again. He watched it and then he freaked out. I laughed, “I thought we were not going to freak out, you scream like a girl. How bad can it be?”

Steve carefully asked me, trying not to alarm me, if I had a camera in the house. At first I couldn’t figure out what he was talking about, and then it hit me. “Yes, there is a camera! It’s in the bedroom”. Steve sent me to go look at it, and check to see if a little red light was on. I found the camera, and noticed a teeny dot of a red light on top. He said “Unplug it form the wall, NOW!” I unplugged it and asked what on earth was going on. It seems there was a live stream video from the camera to the web site where you could see me. Steve was able to see me on his phone!

I explained between my tears and grumbles, that Albert had gotten that camera some time back. He thought it would be exciting to have it in the bedroom so we could record ourselves once in a while. He said he would leave it on, in case he wanted to peek at me while he was at work. The camera was connected to an app on our phones. It had been sitting there for over a year, and I had forgotten about it. All this time it had sat there on the dresser, watching us from between the row of books. So now Albert was sharing the password to OUR camera? I was so mad; I punched a wall and cracked my hand. I tried to message Albert, but again, Steve took the computer and the phone away from me. He asked me to calm down, and handed me an Alka-Seltzer for the hangover. He filled the bathtub for me and even put bubbles in it. He then helped me into the tub and gave me a glass of wine. He brought a little stool and sat next to me. He let me vent and scream and argue until I tired out. Steve stayed with me that Friday night. I had missed several days of work, and was starting to stress out, because I need to keep working to pay the bills. Steve gently reminded me that even though Albert and I had separate bank accounts; we were still married, and I had access to his account. The wheels in my head were turning now.

That weekend, we went out and had some fun. We went to a matinee, then lunch. After that, Steve was so patient, and took me to get a haircut, color and style. I got my nails done, and a pedicure. I do regret the wax though, that was a bad idea! I had gotten carried away, and ordered one. Never again; I am not that kind of masochist! We went by the store, stocked up on chocolate, ice cream, pop corn and wine. We went home and watched movies; we drank the wine and had a blast. I forgot about all my problems for the night, what was the use of it? I decided to deal with it later, and Steve promised to help me with it. I fell asleep on his lap while watching a movie.

Steve helped me with the Facebook issue that weekend. He was able to get the nude pictures removed and the profile suspended. I was relieved for the moment. I then messaged Albert, who was confused as to what on earth I was saying. He asked me to slow down, wait half an hour, and stay near the phone. I told him that I had Steve with me, so I felt calmer than I would be any other way. About half hour later he called me on the phone. I was mad about that too; if he had a way to call, why hadn’t he? All these months of silence! He said that he had asked special permission to call as an emergency, and he had to go to a call booth to do it. I told him what happened and asked how could he do this to me? He asked me to let him talk please, I had been ranting for a few minutes now. Albert said he had not done this, and had no idea what was going on. He said he lost his phone on the way there. He had not bothered worrying about it, because he figured he would just get a new one when he got home. He wasn’t going to be able to make calls in Iraq anyway, so why worry? He said he never thought of telling me about it. I was so confused now, if it’s not him, how did someone figure out who I am or how to get to me? He said, well, they can see our texts, and our messages. It suddenly dawned on me; all this time I had been sending pictures and videos to some stranger! I felt my blood go cold. I apologized for going off on him that way, Albert said it was understandable, and he could understand how I would be beyond mad. He said he had to go soon, but just wanted to clear things up over the phone, so we could talk it out.

After that call, Steve and I talked; he said that there was more. The person posting as me was posting that she (I) was lonely, desperate, and horny. He had not wanted to tell me that, because I was hurt enough. He said there were details about me in there, and he was now worried. We couldn’t see the profile anymore, because it was taken down, at least for now. Steve said that another similar one could pop up. But if I keep that camera off, I’d be safe from future invasions.

Steve came up to see me, often spending the weekend at the house with me. He was such good company and a relief. I felt safe when he was with me; things were starting to become a bit frightening. I had blocked Albert’s old cell number, but somehow I still received messages. They came from other numbers, telling me to plug the camera back in. I didn’t want to talk to that person, that was until I got a threat. It said that if I didn’t plug the camera back in, he would come in and plug it himself. I didn’t answer that message, how would anyone even know where I am?

One evening, I was at the legion for karaoke and came home tired. I was going to bed, and as I turned off the bedroom light, I saw the teeny red light. I felt my heart skip a beat. I immediately unplugged it again, and then I got the gun from under the bed. I called Steve, and told him, then called Julia and asked to stay at her house for the night. I had to tell her I thought I had a stalker. I told her half the story, keeping all the “fur-balls” out. She said I should call the police, but I figured they would laugh at me. I would have to return home anyway to get back to work in the morning. I stayed home that night, told Julia I changed my mind; I may have just been overreacting. It was late and my mind was playing tricks on me. I slept with my gun on Albert’s side of the bed, it went under the blanket. I didn’t want to worry my friends, and Steve was too far to keep running up here.

One night, I heard someone banging on my front door. I ran to go look, and peeked out through the blinds keeping the house dark; I didn’t want to be seen. I then heard the door handle jiggle and a key go in. I was holding the gun, aimed at the door. I was shaking, but kept it aimed right at the center. As the door flew open, I shot three shots. I heard someone hit the floor like a sack of potatoes. CRAP! I walked up and saw a man sprawled on the ground, and a gun near him. I grabbed it and backed up quickly. After turning on the light, it hit me. Holy cow; I’m a good shot! But now there is a dead man at my doorstep. He was face down dressed in a black hoodie and jeans, and now he was bleeding all over the floor. He seemed dead, and anyway, he wasn’t getting back up. I went out the back door and around to the front. I just didn’t want to hop over him; it’s bad luck. I got my neighbor, Sam, and he came over and helped me drag the man inside a bit more, just in case. Then I called the police, and after that, Steve.

I was up with the police talking until morning; they told me they need me to come sign my statement later at the station. I left the house, while they finished up. After picking up a sandwich, I went to the legion to have some coffee and eat. The bartender let me go into the back room and use a cot that was folded in the corner. It was there in case someone got really drunk and had to sleep it off. I slept there most of the day, and then I stopped by the police station on the way home. They told me they had found Albert’s phone in the man’s pocket, but they had to hold it as evidence. I didn’t care, I was relieved it was over finally, and I now I would be able to sleep better.

When I got home later, the door was unlocked, and there was blood on the floor still. I thought the police would clean that up! It was creepy and gross. Sam, the next door neighbor helped me clean it up. He didn’t come over often, because his wife would get upset and jealous. I was a woman alone, and she must have been worried that I would snag him. I don’t want him! He’s like half my age, well not really, but seems that way to me; I had no interest in him in any special way.

I had to message Albert on messenger, and tell him all that has happened. I left the message there for when he was able to read it; I hoped it would be soon. He usually would take a day or so to answer, partially because of the time difference, and partially because he didn’t go online often. He was working long hours, and probably stressed out and didn’t want to worry me.

I was finally resting from all this drama, when I got a text, asking me to send a nude picture again. It was just like the old ones; I felt a shiver run up my spine. I got the same text all day over and over while I worked, “send nudes”. I wanted to hang up the phone (work) and run away. I finally answered he texts, and asked who that was. I got a text telling me that he still has the video of me involving the cucumber and other various vegetables. Crap! I forgot about those. Who has those? I asked again who it was that was texting, but all I got was “It’s me honey, Albert”. I said no, that is not Albert, and I am sure of it. I then got a picture of Albert! How is this possible? First it was his only his face, and in the next one he was in uniform. Then seems he was getting mad because he wasn’t getting what he asked for. I couldn’t do it, I was afraid of the way he sounded so intimidating and disturbingly upset. That night, I got a nude picture of him. He was laying on a bed, over white sheets. I messaged him on messenger earlier in the day, and he had not answered; I had nothing. I was going to bed late, and a little concerned. I was almost sure he didn’t send this; but who did then? That was Albert in the pictures; I had never seen those before. He seemed to be in a hotel room, so there was a small seed of doubt there. I went to bed with my stomach in a knot, and Albert’s gun next to me. I couldn’t sleep; I could hear the house creaking in the night. I could hear the neighbor’s cat hiccup!

As soon as I was drifting off to sleep after taking a sleep aid, the phone rang and scared the socks off of me. It was Julie; she asked if I was home; I said I was. She said she just got a message and it had come from an unlisted number. The message said it was from me, and it said I was home alone and was bored. It was asking who wants to play a game with me. After that message, Julia received a topless picture of me holding a whiskey bottle between my boobs. I remember that picture! I took it last year; it was saved to the cloud in my smart phone. I never sent it to anyone! I was drinking at home with Albert, and I took it while he was outside smoking. I was in the bath tub, and was about to send it to get him back in, but he had returned before I got a chance. How on earth did it go anywhere? Julie said it was unlike me to send things like that, especially to most of my friends on my contacts list, as far as she could tell. And seems there was no way to delete or take it back. I started having a panic attack. What can I do? Julie said she would think about how we could control the damage, and get back to me. As soon as we hung up I looked through my phone. All my pictures from before Albert left were already on the cloud. I don’t understand the cloud! Did someone get into my cloud? How do I delete the pictures? What the Fuck was a cloud anyway? I suddenly regretted not being with the times, and neglecting to learn about technology. I was about to delete the ones for the past months that I sent to whoever said was Albert, when I received a text from Julie. In the message said she was coming over now. I was searching online on how to go into the cloud and delete the pictures. I was distracted, and wandered into forums and information when I heard a knock at the door. It must be Julie!

I was not thinking again, and had let my guard down. I ran out to the living room in my t-shirt, and opened the door. It was not Julie; it was some woman that looked like a crack-head. She was disheveled, her bleached hair looked stringy and seemed as she had not had a shower in weeks. Her clothes were very nice, but her face was so pale and she had dark circles under her eyes. Just the sight of was enough to startle me. We had enough people around town asking for spare cash outside stores and gas stations. She looked like one of them, so I expected her to ask for money. What is she doing out here in the middle of the night? She asked if she could come inside, it was cold out. She said her boyfriend left down the street after an argument, and she said she would like to use my phone to ask for help, and maybe some water. I felt bad, and could not say no. I let her in, and walked to the kitchen to get her some water. She followed me, which made me very nervous. I wanted to be kind, but she was in my personal space, and in my home. She said her name was Mary, and she lived across town at the foot hills. I walked to the living room and asked her to please sit down and wait there. I turned on the TV, and went to get my phone from the room. I went to my side of the bed and grabbed the phone; when I turned around she had walked in right behind me and sat on Albert’s side of the bed. I told her, “If you don’t mind, can we talk in the living room?” I had a very clear reminder of the gun under the blankets about a foot from her scrawny butt.

We walked back to the living room, and I handed her the phone. She called someone and asked them to meet her down the street at the Jack in the Box. I went to the kitchen to grab some water for myself. When I came back, she drank the water, thanked me and left. I didn’t give this a second thought.

The next morning, I called Julie before work, and asked how come she never made it last night. She said she had not texted me; she had fallen sleep after she spoke with me. Well, we talked a little; I told her about Mary and then logged in to work.

Later that day, I got a notice from Amazon. Somehow they e-mailed me receipts for some items I supposedly purchased. I bought sex toys, some clothes, a curling iron and some coffee. I called the bank and talked with them. They said I had also bought from other stores that morning. Some exercise equipment, a set of pots and pans, oh and a cruise. I told my bank I did no such thing! They asked me to come in and speak with them. I asked them to cancel my bank card immediately. They agreed, but said the information was not from the bank card, it came in to the checking account with all my checking account information. That is why there was an issue. After this, before I got to the bank, I started getting texts form my friends, who had received the picture from the night before. Some were happy thinking I was flirting with them, others asked what game it was that I wanted to play. Oh crud! My sister Carla said I was nuts, but mom and dad were not impressed. At least they asked her to check on me. I started to feel sick.

Later that day I Julie called again, she said that the Facebook page was back online, with a variation of my name. I had friend requested her and all my other friends, saying I was hacked and this is my new account. As Julie accepted, figuring that was what had happened, she found a handful of semi nude pictures of me. The pictures were right on the wall, and said that I was bored and lonely. The albums held more of my personal pictures, and one album was nudes. To my horror, there was a video of me, with the stupid vegetables! NO! I called Steve, and again I screamed and cried as he tried to get a word in. He immediately reported all of it as fast as he could, until his boss walked up behind him. I was still on the phone with him. I heard him fumbling to explain to his boss that I was hacked and he was trying to help a friend in an emergency clean up. His boss said “oh wow!” Apparently he was watching all my pictures go by. I wanted to curl up in a corner and stay there. I had no idea how to make all this go away.

A few days later, I was up late at night watching a movie in bed. I heard the front door, I was terrified, I had no idea what to expect now. I grabbed the gun and tiptoed out. As I came down the hallway, I felt a hand grab my wrist and slam it on the wall making me drop the gun. Then I heard Albert’s voice. Albert had home; he had asked for his leave after all and wanted to surprise me. He sure did just that! Only thing that saved us was my shadow coming down the hallway, created by the bedroom light. As soon as it sunk in that it was him, I melted into his arms and wanted to just stay there. His smell calmed me; he had to hold my face up so he could kiss me. I had burrowed my face in his chest as I wrapped myself around him.

After talking with him all night, and filling him in on my whole adventure, he said that the girl I described was his ex. Her name wasn’t Mary, she was Maya. He left her because she was heavy into drugs. She had promised to clean up, but it didn’t last long. She was resentful and angry when he had left her. When I showed him the pictures he had sent me of himself, he said they were old pictures of when they were briefly together. I was so relieved to know it wasn’t him fooling around.

I had to use my identity theft insurance to clean up the mess. It seems Mary, or Maya, had gotten access to my phone after I had let her use it. We also had to go get a restraining order to keep her away from our home, because I was now very freaked out. The guy that had Albert’s phone was Maya’s current boyfriend, Fred. Fred thought we had money and he could come and get at it, since I was home alone and vulnerable. Maya was angry because she found out he was fooling with my pictures and watching the camera. Now she was enraged, since I shot him, and looking for revenge.

Everything was going to be all right now; Albert was now here to hold me and make me feel safe once again. Steve was relieved as well, because now he knew I was safe, at least for the time being.

While Albert was home, he took me to the phone store. We got all new phones and phone numbers. We had a great time while he was on leave, and I forgot all about the crack-head and the jackass. We went to the legion and they had a party for Albert, with karaoke and food, friends, drinks and cake. We went to a ballgame, and visited friends. The two weeks he was here flew by so fast. We went to see his family, and had barbecues with them and with friends. We even went out to the zoo! No more calls, no more issues, it all seemed to stop when Albert got home.

We spent a lot of time home with each other, mostly running naked around the house. I left all the issues behind and stopped all the suspicions in my mind about Albert. I could clearly see now that he was the same Albert he always had been. He was so handsome; his Army haircut made him look irresistible. His arms were strong and muscular, I loved staring at him in his shorts. When we were home, he spent his time chasing me and pulling down my shorts, or sneaking up behind me in the kitchen, putting his arms around my waist and nibbling my neck. I couldn’t believe how blessed I felt.

Sex was different, but amazing as always, he had a way to make me melt into him.

The only thing that had me a little confused is that it seemed that Albert has changed a little. Maybe it was my imagination, but the way he touched me was not the way he used to touch me before he left. He was not as affectionate as he used to be. Now he was affectionate only when he wanted to have sex again, and it was mostly groping. I dismissed the idea, thinking that being away for so long, and in uniform the whole time, he was out of practice. The one thing I couldn’t shake is that he closed his eyes a lot while we were having sex, or just wouldn’t look at me. It seemed to me that he couldn’t focus; maybe he just had too much on his mind.

The time Albert was home for leave came and went too fast. I loved having him go, but letting go of him again was difficult. The one thing that made it easier is that it’s not the first time I say good bye at the airport. I think it gets easier with practice.

When Albert left, I felt so alone again. Do you remember when you were little, and you used to hold on to a friend’s hands and you both would spin? I felt like that, like I was spinning with a partner, and they left; I felt so lost. As usual, I went to the legion to find my friends, and Julie would come over and stay with me sometimes, and we would stay up late watching movies.



After Albert left, my friend Vivian started spending more time with me at the legion. We used to stay late, dance, drink and have a good time. A few times, she had asked to come stay the night at my house, so she wouldn’t have to drive home after drinking so much. I could control my drinks, but she would just let go. I loved the girl, and coming home with me was fun, but it wasn’t good for me. We would end up drinking more when we got there, and I had no problem sharing my food and alcohol. I also had no issue playing loud music, dancing, talking and having fun. She loved to borrow my lingerie and we would take pictures of each other. My issue was, that in the morning I wanted to work. She would wake up and want to continue having fun. I would hand her coffee, and the plan was to take her to the legion to get her car. Most times she would say she wasn’t ready, later. I explained that I have to work, I can’t miss more days, but in the end we would have coffee, watch a movie, and I’d finally take her home around noon. This was making my paychecks smaller. The good news is, that I wasn’t thinking of the guy I shot, and the crazy woman. It was best to have someone to keep me company and keep my mind off things.

After a few weeks of this partying twice a week, Vivian told me. Her boyfriend kicked her out, and she had nowhere to go. She wanted to stay with me for a week, while she got her things together and went to stay with her family in Oregon. I said O.K., I figured it would be a week, and she knew I had to work. She agreed to keep quiet in the daytime so I could work.

That didn’t go as planned, Vivian would wake up and have coffee with me, She was supposed to go watch TV with the volume very low, so not to make noise. That, or go fix her affairs so she could move on. She sis none of those things. As soon as I sat at my desk, she wanted to help me. She would start sweeping, moving furniture, washing dishes. I couldn’t work with all the noise. I would get off work and try talking with her about it. I was trying to be polite. She said she was just trying to help, and started to get her feelings hurt. She decided to go lock herself in the spare room for the day. The next day, she came out for coffee, then back into the room. I was relieved, but then, at noon, she wanted to go to the legion. She got upset when I told her, I can’t possibly go drinking every day, much less that early. She would mellow out for a day, and then we would start the cycle over. After two weeks, I asked when she was going to go to her family. She said she had not finished getting her belongings out of her boyfriend’s house. So I went and asked our friend Lenny, to help us with his pickup and go get her things. We went on a Saturday morning and helped her load up everything. Her boyfriend Ben was polite and stayed in the patio watching TV and drinking beer. Once we got all of Vivian’s things loaded, (with her wandering off half the time), we asked where we should take them. She said “I don’t know, I don’t have money to get a storage room”. I felt like banging my head on the hood of the truck. I asked Lenny to take us to a storage place nearby, and I would pay for the space. I just wanted her to go away; I could explain my predicament to Albert later.

After we got all her belongings in storage I asked Vivian if she had spoken to her family. She said “kind of”. I was losing my patience fast, and I didn’t have the heart to kick her to the curb.

About this time, Julie told me that apartment lease was up, and she would need thought it would be a good idea if she stayed with me in the spare room. It could not have come at a better time. She could be company, and now I had the perfect excuse to ask Vivian to go. Her feelings would be hurt, but telling her I am renting the room out would be a good excuse.

It was sad to see, that you have a good friend, and you find out that living with her is not as fun as partying with her. I learned my lesson, and I truly believed Julia would not be such a pain in the ass. I knew that Julia had a job, and she wouldn’t be so wild. I appreciate wild, wild is fun, but it’s not practical. Julia had a job, she was a secretary for a small real estate agency. She would answer the phones, and help in the office, and sometimes she would go show rental properties. So she would be out in the day time while I worked. This may be the answer; no more sleeping alone.

As much as it hurt me to ask Vivian to go to her family, I had to do it. I felt so bad, that I gave her money for the trip home. She said she knew she had to go, and start a new life, she was just scared. Well, she went home, and Julie moved in. It was good to have her at home, I didn’t feel as lonely now. Julia was mellower, and she wasn’t so overwhelming. Vivian was great, but she had sucked the life out of me. I was so exhausted for some time after she had left. I was able to get back on track and on my schedule again.

When Vivian moved in, I had to move odd stuff out of the spare room. Albert’s duffle bag was in there. He had told me those were extra things he didn’t need out there anymore. He could leave them home now. I had gotten lazy about opening it up, and then forgot. I dumped on the bedroom floor and started sorting things. There were some of his civilian clothes, books, movies. There were some extra uniforms and some Army gear. As I sifted through his clothes to take them to the washer, I found a pair of women’s panties. I felt my stomach clench into a ball. Lately, nothing should surprise me, but this was a huge seed of doubt. They were light blue, satin with a little bow in the front and a little lace decoration on the sides. I didn’t know what to think now. I called Steve, and told him about it. He said I shouldn’t panic, because nothing is gained by panic. Albert is far away, and it’s difficult to communicate properly as it is. Messages easily lead to more misunderstandings. Maybe these panties were left behind by someone else’s laundry and got tangled in his. I tried to accept that, and not let it get to me, but it still felt like one of those sticky weeds that get in your socks. It doesn’t hurt, but it sure is annoying and won’t go away.

Read more by clicking on the blue roses below.  The story is on Tablo.  Thank you.  ~Sam