by Susan Thomas
I met Gary at university and we married just after I left. He was the most wonderful man and I adored him in every way. Eventually we had two children: Ruth, our first born, and then David. Gary was very close to his parents, Steve and Carol. Steve had invented a new way of making a washing machine and his factories made him very wealthy indeed. Both my parents in law were generous and kind with very strong moral principles... totally unlike most modern day industrialists as far as I can see.
Steve and Carol had another younger child... Sally. Steve once told me that Sally was a 'force of nature'. He said it with love but he was right; she had to excel at everything. Notice I say had to and not did. Oh, she did as well but it was the fact that she wouldn't rest at anything until she was the best. She was outstanding academically and at several sports, and into everything at school. She took on bullies and won and was, of course, school captain before she left.
Once I heard Steve say about Sally, "She'll either end up as the dictator of a large country or as a saint. I'm just not sure which."
Carol and I laughed but Gary sat thoughtful and then looked up as if puzzled and asked, "Only one country?"
Sally worked in finance and I know her lifestyle worried everyone. She seemed intent on accumulating wealth for the sake of it and gave little thought to who might get hurt along the way. She drank heavily, used cocaine, and swore terribly. Once she moved to New York we saw very little of her and that worried us all even more.
Now my parents in law loved being with their grandchildren so we all went on holiday together to a rather lovely beach resort. I'd taken Ruth and David to buy an ice cream when a group of crazed young men came to the beach to kill for their religion. I watched my parents in law and then my husband gunned down and saw them turn their attention to those of us at the ice cream stand. Just then armed guards gunned them down. An elderly British couple looked after the children while I rushed down to the beach. Gary was still alive but he lasted only a short time, and I staggered away to ring my mum and dad. I couldn't get them so I rang Sally instead.
Sally didn't seem to understand me so the older man took the phone and explained everything. He shut the phone off and said simply, "Sally's on her way now." Sally was my saviour. She seemed to arrive instantly but I realise that wasn't the case. My elderly benefactors cared for me and the children and I am ashamed to say I went utterly to pieces. Sally handled everything for months and I thought that there was the saint Steve talked about and I grew to love her. Eventually my parents took over, and with treatment I gradually began to improve.
I felt ashamed of myself. Sally had given up her job for me and the children and my parents had sold their business and retired; all had made sacrifices because of me. Gradually though I saw that my mum and dad were happier; my mum took up quilting and water colours and Dad golf and an allotment. They both loved being retired, while Sally got married and was happy. She had a little stepdaughter and then came the news she had given birth to a baby daughter... Rose.
Finally, I was told that I no longer needed to attend for treatment and I decided I wanted to see Sally. I needed to see her to assure myself she was happy and that looking after me had not destroyed her life. I spoke to her on Skype and asked if I might visit, and could not be in any doubt that she was delighted with the idea. The whole plan excited me: this was my first real bit of independence since the murders on the beach. Mum and Dad were a bit unsure but I organised the whole thing.
It was then I discovered that I was now a wealthy woman. Because Gary had died after his parents he had technically inherited half of Steve's fortune. As Gary's wife and heir I now was the beneficiary. Since Ruth was still not quite five and David not yet four, I decided to splash out on first class air travel. Such luxury, but the flight attendants were wonderful with the children and our long flight was relatively problem free.
Sally met us at the airport; she didn't have her children with her as Sam was looking after them. One look at her told me she was more than happy. There was a strange calmness about her... a sense of inner peace I'd never seen in Sally before. She looked extremely well and greeted me with a lovely warmth that made me relax immediately.
I was overwhelmed by her home; it was large and lovely and set in the most beautiful, peaceful valley. It seemed that Sally lived in a sort of private community which owned the whole valley. Sam was gorgeous and I could see why any woman would fall for him. Sally had a stepdaughter that she simply referred to as her daughter. Lily was pretty well the same age as my Ruth and after a few minutes of shyness the two girls got on well, kindly allowing David to tag along. Rose was a most beautiful baby and very hungry for the breast... she had a sort of ruthless determination that suggested she had inherited more than a little of Sally's drive and would be quite a handful as she got older. It was all idyllically domestic and I detected nothing in the least odd. That came the following day.
The next day was Sunday and the custom in the community was to go to church. I don't think either Sally or Sam had any strong religious belief, but it was just what most residents did. The minister who married Sally and Sam had left. His wife's parents were ill and they had moved back to their home town to help them. The temporary incumbent was a single man while the community sought a married couple. He was stationed by the door when we went in. The children (other than Rose) had gone into the Sunday School and I was being greeted on every hand by the very friendly residents of the community. Then I was being greeted by the minister whose name was Tom Chambers.
He looked to be in his mid to late thirties but certainly older than my thirty years. He had light brown hair cut short but somehow looking as if the wind had rushed through it, a ruddy complexion, green eyes, and a large smile with excellent teeth ... and a look that suggested he would like to be mischievous but knew he had to behave. He was lovely and warm to me and I felt truly welcomed. Suddenly Sally was cutting in... quite rudely I thought.
"Come along Anne, we need to get seated. Best we're at the back in case Rose starts playing up."
The minister tried to speak to me again but Sally cut him off and hustled me away. To be honest I was a bit puzzled and I saw that Sam was too. After the service, which was lively and better than most I have attended, the minister tried again to chat to me but Sally was really downright rude to him and cut me off. I saw Sam frown, but you know what it is like after any crowded event, people swirl around, and I lost what was happening.
To be honest I forgot what had happened because we were having lunch with some of Sam and Sally's friends and the rest of the day rushed past in a pleasant way. That evening Sam and Sally wanted to go to bed early. Rose tended to wake them a lot and I remembered how important sleep becomes when you have a baby. I checked my children and then decided to get some water from the kitchen before retiring for the night. On my way back to my room I heard a strange sound coming from Sam and Sally's bedroom.
I knew the sound: I recognised it because as children my sisters and I had been spanked by our parents. Times have changed; I don't spank my children but I recognised the sound, and was intrigued, so went and stood by the door to their bedroom. It was much clearer there: smack, smack, smack... fast and regular with little cries from Sally. Sally being spanked! I nearly rushed in to rescue her from the abuse, but then I hesitated. One doesn't rescue Sally. It would be much more likely one would rescue Sally's victims. I decided that it had to be part of a sex game and I began to blush. Oh Lord, of course... soon they'd be bonking away and I'd be standing there eavesdropping! I rushed away, my face burning.
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