Unbroken Promises

by Dianne Stevens

  That stopped her cold in her tracks; but, when Susan turned around to question him about the last remark he made, he was nowhere to be seen. Surely, that was a slip of the tongue for him to word it like that. Susan didn’t feel as arrogant as she had felt before; and, if the truth be known, fear had crept in.

  Susan tried to put the conversation with Jordon out of her mind and have fun at the party.

  The stereo played rock-n-roll in the background, low enough for everyone to talk over but loud enough to be heard. There were about 10 women lounging on sofas and surrounding chairs, all laughing and giggling as if they were teenagers. A hostess walked around serving drinks and hors d oeuvres—some shockingly in the shapes of male body parts.

  Susan had never heard of such a party. There were all kinds of naughty toys and nightwear for sale. The items were lying on a table in the center of the room, visible for any who wanted to look at or examine. She was amazed; she honestly didn’t know they made such things. Some of the things were so funny, a little embarrassing, but funny. Susan bought a few of the less shocking items.

  Susan politely turned down all the alcohol being served and made her way to the table that had a large bowl of icy red punch. She picked up a tall glass that was sitting beside the punch bowl and helped herself. It wasn’t long after she had finished the punch that she began to feel dizzy. Then an absurd thought reached her brain, “you’re drunk.” Susan gasped, it was true, someone had put alcohol in the punch, and she was drunk.

  She had drunk very little her entire life—the wine on her wedding night and a glass at a few other special occasions, so it only took the one glass to totally wipe her out.

  Susan had parked her car at Patty’s mother’s house. She knew she was in no shape to drive home so she asked Patty to drop her off at the ranch and told her she’d pick her car up sometime tomorrow.

  Susan was having a hard time opening the front door. She waved a hand at Patty and told her she could go ahead and go because Susan didn’t want to take a chance of her running into Jordon. After she unlocked the door, she decided not to try to make it up the stairs—stairs that looked as if they were made of 200 steps instead of 12. Therefore, Susan stumbled her way to Beth’s room to sleep. When she got there, she just fell across the bed, clothes, shoes, and all, and went to sleep.

  Jordon and Jesse watched her come home and go into the house drunk. Jordon had followed them to the party and waited until he saw Susan climb into Patty’s car to come home. Jesse turned to Jordon.

  “Well, what cha’ gonna do, Bubba?”

  “I’m going to do what I warned her I would do.”

  “Jordon, have you tried talking to her? Have you told her that you thought at first it was a joke that Beth was playing on you with some of her friends?” Jesse reasoned.

  “She has not even given me the chance to get close enough to talk to her. The other night when she turned her back on me and walked off was the first time we spoke to each other in a month. She’s acting the same damn way she did the last time, like a pouting child and a whore at the same time. I gave her time to be mad and get over it, but she’s gone too far. I’m not going to put up with this shit anymore. If she wants to run around with single friends and act single, then so will I.”

  “Jordon, I just don’t think that’s a good idea. I know I was young and don’t remember too much, but enough people have told me about how wild you were. I mean, compared to the way you were and me now, I can’t hold a candle for you to see by. I don’t understand how you think this will help anything.”

  “Susan made the choice for both of us. You saw her tonight. She has never been drunk a day in her life, and now she comes home so drunk she could hardly make it through the door. And the dress she has on is so short and tight that, if she bent over, her ass would show. She’s been running around this whole month with that no-count Patty. What in the hell would you do? Just sit by and watch? Let her treat you like dirt? That’s how she’s been treating me for the last month,” Jordon said heatedly.

  “No, Jordon,” Jesse sighed. “I wouldn’t just sit by and watch. I really don’t know what I would do,” Jesse replied exasperated. “I only know that I love you both, and I don’t want to see y’all throw away 16 years of marriage because of pride and revenge.” Jordon didn’t say anything, just stood there absorbing what Jesse has said. He didn’t want to end his marriage either. Susan was his life, but he knew he had to do something drastic to stop and wake her up so this crap would end and never happen again. Once in a lifetime was enough.

  Jordon eased the phone off the receiver and listened to Susan talk to Patty. Patty invited her to go out dancing with her and a few friends. Jordon held his breath in the hope that Susan would turn her down. It crushed Jordon when Susan reluctantly said she would meet them there.

  She told Patty to wait for her outside the dancehall so she wouldn’t have to walk in by herself.

  Jordon showered and dressed in his new tight jeans and green shirt that the sales clerk said matched the color of his eyes. He pulled on his new cowboy boots, tucked his wallet in his jeans, and left the house. He was going to be at the dance hall before they arrived.

  When he got there, the huge speakers blasted an old country song and couples were two-stepping across the dance floor. The cigarette smoke was a heavy fog that enveloped the entire place, stinging his eyes. Jordon ordered a beer and pulled out a stool that stood facing the dance area. A few minutes later Jesse hauled a chair up beside him.

  Jesse tipped his hat, “Followed you; come to keep you out of trouble,” he said bluntly. “You know this is the place Beth and Cody come to when they go out. They might be here later, too.” Jesse said, trying somehow to prevent a disaster.

  “Maybe they won’t come tonight,” Jordon said hopefully. He didn’t want either of them to witness him and Susan here tonight, but he was determined to go through with his plan to wake Susan up.

  After Jordon downed a few beers, he walked up to a woman and asked her to dance. They walked on the dance floor as a country waltz began. Jordon was an excellent dancer. He’d always loved dancing when he was young and single, but he’d never wanted the bar life in his marriage, which was why he searched for a woman with the morals Susan had when he decided to settle down.

  Jordon and his partner, Molly, danced through the next three songs, and then he thanked her and went back to his chair for another beer. While he was sitting down, someone came up behind him and put hands over his eyes. He knew it was a woman from the sweet smell of her perfume and the softness of her hands.

  “Guess who?” came a vaguely familiar voice.

  Jordon tried to place the voice but couldn’t. “I give up,” Jordon said as he took her hand in his own and looked up into the eyes of one of his old lovers. “Well, well, what a pleasant surprise to find such a lovely lady attached to these lovely hands,” Jordon said as he smiled at the lady.

  “Jordon!” The lady said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “It has been so long.

  What have you been doing for the last 17 years?” Lola asked.

  “Been missing you, sweetie.” Jordon put the question back on her, “What have you’ve been doing?”

  “Jordon, I promise you, you don’t want to hear about my last 17 years. You are here to have a good time, right? Well, I don’t want to depress you and ruin your good time,” Lola laughed.

  Jordon was glad to see Lola and thought she looked pretty good. He could tell there was some truth behind her joking and that she really didn’t want to discuss anything sad tonight. And that was fine with him because he didn’t want to talk about stuff like that right now either. He was here to have a good time.

  Lola was standing between his thighs with her arms draped around his neck. His hands were around her, lying on her bottom when Susan and Patty finally showed up. When he saw her, he gave her a single nod and turned his attention back to Lola. His sole intention tonight was to put Susan out of his mind as if she didn’t exist. He wan
ted her to see him as he once was and realize what she was turning their marriage into by her foolishness.

  Jordon unwrapped Lola’s arms from around his neck and led her onto the dance floor for a two-step. If he remembered right, Lola was also a good dancer. They used to dance until closing then go to one of the closest hotels and stay until noon.

  After the two-step ended, a slow song began, and he and Lola just more or less swayed and rubbed to the music.

  Susan was reluctant about coming to a dance hall. She was beginning to feel guilty about the way she was acting. She couldn’t believe she agreed to wear Patty’s britches. Her mother would die anew if she could see her now or know what she’d been wearing and doing for the last month. She didn’t even want to think about how she might be hurting God. She was nothing but a hypocrite. She knew she had to change this jealous and revengeful streak in herself or she was going to wind up in hell.

  The only thing that kept her going at this time was curiosity. She had never been in a place like this before. She decided before she left that she would see what it looked like and just sit and watch people dance a few minutes. She knew she wasn’t going to dance; for one reason, she didn’t know how.

  As she was looking the place over, through the dim light and heavy smoke she spotted Jordon. Her heart fell to her toes. When he nodded to her but still kept holding the woman in his arms, Susan realized then that things between them were very, very dire. She knew now he meant what he said about her pushing him too far. He was at the point that he didn’t care if she was mad at him or not and that was terrifying.

  Susan was watching the way he was rubbing his body against the woman’s and thought she was going to be sick. She couldn’t get over the fact that he knew she was here and didn’t seem the least bit concerned that she might be hurt or mad about what he was doing. If fact, he didn’t even seem to be surprised to see her. She thought he would be furious when he saw her, but it was as if she didn’t matter to him any more. He didn’t even look at her now as he walked back to the table with the woman still on his arm.

  She didn’t take him seriously when he said he had had enough before she left to go to the toy party. Maybe she did go overboard in trying to get even with him for letting that twin rub all over him. Heck, he was doing more than that himself right now to the woman on his arm and didn’t care if she saw or not. When they were dancing, the woman’s breasts were rubbing against his chest and he was grinding up against her. “Why didn’t she stop her rebellion and talk to him when he tried to talk to her instead of wanting to hurt him more?” Susan berated herself.

  “Oh, good lord, what had she done?” What was so bad, she knew without a doubt, was that, if she walked up to Jordon right now and demanded the woman get off of him, he would tell her it was none of her business—the way she told him before she left to go meet Patty.

  A couple of men came up to her and asked her to dance, but she told each, “No, I don’t think so, but thank you for asking.”

  Although Jordon was acting as if he didn’t know Susan was there, he was aware of everything she did. He could tell she was wearing make-up again and she had her hair fixed in a way that made it look shorter. He couldn’t believe she was wearing blue jeans. She had never worn anything but dresses her whole life. When she acted crazy the one time before, she still wore dresses even though they were not the modest dresses she normally wore.

  As Jordon stole glances, he found her stunning; and, as much as he hated to admit it, the jeans did look good on her; although he preferred the way she looked in a dress. The jeans made her look like she gained a little weight. Her butt really looked big but he always did love her poochy butt. He sure didn’t want any other man lusting after her and watching her backside as she walked away. Jordon hoped this night ended well, but right now he had a point to prove and he was having fun doing it.

  Beth and Cody did come, but Jesse met them at the door and filled them in on as much as he knew. They were both scared. This didn’t sound good at all to them. Neither Beth nor Cody wanted Jordon or Susan to see them so they went to another room that had the pool tables.

  Beth peeked in and saw Jordon sitting with a group of people around him laughing and cutting up. And, between his legs with her back against his chest, stood a pretty blonde lady about 35. Jordon had his arms draped around her waist.

  Beth looked for Susan and finally found her sitting alone at a table away from everything.

  She could tell people were with her because of the other drinks on the table. Beth thought they were probably dancing or walking around.

  Susan looked like a lost little girl; but, from what Jesse had told her about what all Susan had been doing, she deserved some of this. Beth didn’t like the idea of Jordon holding another woman between his legs; she thought that was a bit much. And he did look as if he was having a blast. He was dancing now. “My goodness,” she thought, “where did he learn to dance like that? He’s a professional.” Beth couldn’t ever remember seeing him dance.

  When Beth looked back at Susan, she looked as if she was wiping away a tear. Beth looked to her right and saw one of her teachers from high school. She heard he was recently single so she walked over to him to say hello. “Hello, Mr. Smith, how have you been doing?”

  “Well, hello to you, Miss Elizabeth, but please call me Robert. What brings you out tonight?” He asked.

  “I came with my cousin, Cody. We needed to take a break from studying for awhile. Um, Robert, there is a favor I would like to ask you. You see that pretty brunette over in the corner?

  She is my sister, and she has been sitting over there by herself for a long time. Would you mind going over and asking her to dance? She’ll probably tell you no because she doesn’t know how to dance, but tell her you’ll teach her,” Beth pleaded.

  “No, I don’t mind at all. Is she single? She is very attractive,” Robert asked with obvious interest.

  “Uh oh,” Beth thought, “I hope I am not making a mistake by doing this. All they need is for things to get worse than they already are.” But Susan had looked so pitiful to her.

  “No, Robert, she is VERY married. She and her husband have been fussing a little bit, but they are very much in love. Just ask her to dance, nothing more, and you must be a gentleman at all times with her. She is very naive and innocent and not used to any of this,” Beth specified.

  “Beth, I am always a gentleman, but I must ask, if she and her husband are so ‘married and in love,’ why is she at a bar?” Robert inquired as he tipped his cowboy hat, turned and walked toward Susan.

  Beth groaned inwardly. She did not like his cynicism. She now remembered that characteristic about him when he was her teacher. “Oh dear Gussy, what have I done?” Robert walked confidently up to Susan. He thought to himself when he got closer that she was indeed lovely with her dark brown hair and smoky blue eyes. He tipped his hat, “Ma’am, may I say you are a very lovely lady, but I must ask, why are you over here all by yourself?”

  “Thank you sir for the compliment, but I’m not alone really. It is just that my friends haven’t left the dance floor since we got here,” Susan laughed a little.

  “Well, then, we must join them. Would you please dance with me?” Robert said as he held out his hand.

  “I would love to dance just once, but I’m afraid I can’t because I don’t know how,” Susan said.

  Robert grabbed her hand and gently pulled. “Did I forget to tell you I was a teacher? I will teach you. This is a very simple dance. People make it complicated with all the twists and turns, but it starts out very simple. Come on, I promise you will learn easily and I will not allow you to embarrass yourself,” Robert said confidently.

  Susan believed he could teach her so she stood up. “Okay, show me what to do, but tell me the truth. You’re not a dance teacher, are you?”

  Robert laughed a little then. “No, ma’am, but teaching is teaching so come on. I will count the steps out for you. It will be easy, you’ll see.”
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br />   Susan was very nervous when they stepped out on the dance floor, but Robert was a very good teacher and she learned the steps easily. It was fun, and no one was noticing if she made mistakes. They stayed on the floor through three dances. Then Susan told him she loved it but she had enough. They were walking back to her table when Robert paused.

  “I am hungry. Would you like something to eat? Even if you don’t, please come sit and talk with me while I eat. There is a snack room downstairs; we won’t even have to leave the building.”

  When he saw Susan was about to decline, he went on. “Please, Susan. I want absolutely nothing from you except a friendly conversation over nachos.”

  “I guess it will be alright. You said the snack room is in this building?” Susan asked timidly.

  “Yes, ma’am, you can see it from here,” Robert said as he pointed over the side of the rail to the downstairs dining area. He placed his hand on her back as they walked down the steps.

  If Jordon thought he was mad before, he was in a killing mode now. He wanted to kill the skinny little bastard. How dare he lay a hand on his wife, and where in the hell did they think they were going? He was about to get up and follow them when Jesse placed a hand on his shoulder.

  “They are right down there about to sit down to eat. I heard him order nachos before they went to the table. So just keep an eye on them from here. Don’t go down there and make an ass of yourself,” Jesse instructed, as only he could get by with saying.

  “Did you see him put his hand on her back? Who the hell is he?” Jordon bit out.

  “Yes, I saw and it was not inappropriate, so calm down. From what I could find out, because I knew you would want to know, is that he is a teacher and a basketball coach at the school. So chill out, he is not going to run off and rape Susan,” Jesse said.

  “I do not like you wording, little brother,” Jordon warned.