"Where's dinner?" her husband called out to Janice when he got home from
work. "If you don't mind, I thought we'd go out to eat." she yelled from
upstairs in their bedroom. Normally, her husband preferred a home cooked
meal, and Janice expected him to object to her suggestion, but he surprised
her. "Let me give the Carsons a call. We were suppose to meet them later for
drinks anyway, so they might as well join us. How's The Landing sound?" "I
thought we might go over to Don's place. We haven't been there in a while."
Janice replied quickly. She was hoping to run into Simon again since he
lived so close to the small tavern. This was the reason she was getting
dressed up. "Okay, I'll tell them to meet us there for supper, then we'll
all go to the Landing for drinks when we're done." Tom yelled back. Janice
wasn't the only one with a motive for wanting to go out. After hearing from
Jack about how the hot redhead drained his balls this morning, he wanted to
see her again. In a perverse sense, this was Tom's way of getting even with
Simon. Several nights over the past six years he heard Janice talk in her
sleep and mention his name, but when he asked her about it in the morning,
she denied having any feelings for him anymore. Tom didn't believe this, and
suspected his wife was still in love with her former boyfriend. He didn't
plan last night's jaunt on the patio with Simon's wife, but when it was over
Tom looked at it as a macho victory over the man his wife still cared for.
Janice finally came downstairs and announced she was ready to go. The way
she was dressed removed any doubts Tom had on how Janice felt about Simon.
Instead of the blouse, jeans, and sneakers that she usually wore, Janice was
decked out in a short pale-blue skirt, a tight fitting white sweater, and
heels. Right then, Tom made up his mind he was going to fuck Simon's wife
again, even if he had to go over to their house like Jack did.

"Bob, will you tell him I need those shot glasses back. I only got about
five clean ones left!" the owner of the small tavern pleaded. "Hear that,
Simon? Don's cutting you off. Time to go." "I'm not getting in that fucking
boat again!" Simon shouted without even looking up. "What's your position on
cars?" Back and forth they went, Bob trying to get Simon to leave, and Simon
trying to get Bob to stay and drink with him. In the end, Simon won, but
only after Bob made him promise to eat something. Bob had seen his best
friend like this before, and knew all to well how belligerent he could get.
Don came over to the table then and asked, "Can I take these away now?"
"Shit, it's about time!" Simon said. Playfully, and not too hard, Don hit
Simon over the head with a tray he was carrying. "What are you doing here
anyway?" Simon finally asked Bob. "Remember, you and Mel were suppose to
come over for dinner tonight. Well, if Mohammed won't go to the mountain,
then the mountain will come to Mohammed." Bob said as Melisa and Bob's wife
Sue walked in. Simon became very quiet when the two women sat down to join
them. While Sue and Melisa discussed the differences between life in the
woods and big city, Bob studied his friend. Something was troubling him, and
had been all day. He then noticed that every time Simon looked at Melisa, he
did so with a scowl. They must be fighting, he thought, and sensed that
things could get ugly, especially considering how much Simon had to drink
already. When Don came over to their table again, Bob promptly ordered steak
dinners for everyone. From past experience, he knew this wouldn't change
Simon's mood, but it would sober him up and make him more reasonable. Melisa
and Sue continued to talk up a storm during dinner and, thankfully, Simon
didn't argue when Melisa suggested he quit drinking, at least until they
finished eating. The food did help. This, plus making him drink several cups
of coffee after dinner and splashing his face with ice-cold water in the
small bathroom, had Simon coherent now. He could focus his eyes, and knew
where he was and who was with him. When he talked, his speech wasn't slurred
and he could be understood. "You okay, pal?" Bob asked before they went to
rejoin their wives. "Yeah, I'm doing better, thanks. Almost like old times,
huh? Me getting fucked up, and you coming to the rescue." Simon said as he