Bases Loaded by Lolah Lace Page A

Tess’ consent. I didn’t think Tess would agree but much to my surprise Connie talked Tess into checking herself into a mental health facility with minimal security. She made it seem like a vacation for mental clarity. That’s actually what she called it.
    Tess was embarrassed that I knew the truth. I told her it wasn’t her fault and she had nothing to be ashamed of but somehow I don’t think she believed me. In this brief time Connie and Tess were together they seemed close. I didn’t know why Tess stayed away from Connie. Seeing them together now made me question a lot of things about Tess. Connie had a gentle way about her and Tess listened to Connie.
    Tess was only going away for a month. I couldn’t leave her now. I couldn’t file for divorce while my wife was in a mental institution. It seemed heartless and mean. I wouldn’t kick her when she was down. I couldn’t add to her heartache and pain. What kind of man would I be? What kind of father would I be?
    How the hell am I going to break it to Kari that yet again there is a bump in our road to happiness? I know that I will spare her the gory details. Tess would never want anyone to know. Throughout our marriage she didn’t even want me to know. I don’t agree with that but I can respect it. Some things are better left buried deep within. I understand her reasons for keeping these horrific acts to herself.  The things she endured in her childhood are horrific. I have never experienced anything that comes remotely close to that.
    The only real secret I ever kept from my childhood was that Jeremy Mendoza had a crush on me in junior high and all the way up until senior year of high school. He hid his homosexuality really well. I think I was the only guy that knew he was gay. I don’t know why I didn’t kick his ass. I would fight anyone for any reason. There didn’t have to be a good reason for me to brawl. Instead I ignored Jeremy’s little teary eyed speech about liking me. I keep him close and when we got to high school I let him watch me have sex with girls. It was sick shit I know and something I don’t want anyone to know about. But if Jeremy learned anything from me, he learned to fuck. So I’m sure all his little gay boyfriends were satisfied.
    Shit! I did have one more secret. I fucked Jeremy’s mother. He didn’t know about it. Shit! I was a fucked up teenager.
     
     
    CHAPTER 5
     
    MASON
     
    I had learned a lot pertinent information from my sister-in-law Connie. Most of it made me mad, some of it almost bought tears to my eyes. Tess’ uncle was a monster. I had to see this child molesting rapist with my own eyes. I had to see evil in the face.
    I drove the forty miles to Long Grove. I had the address and the phone number. I got the details off the internet. I checked the Illinois Sex Offender Registry and there was a photo of that motherfucker with all his convictions listed along with his parole date. I decided that I wouldn’t involve Connie in anything I was doing. My plan was just to see this man. I needed to asset the threat. I had a daughter of my own, a daughter that I cherished. The thought of any man touching her, violating her and stealing her innocence made the bile rise to my throat. I couldn’t sleep knowing James Milton Cooper may be preying on defenseless little girls.
    I p ulled across the street from his shabby decrepit wood framed home. The yard, the house and the fence were in ill repair. I had never met this uncle. He was in jail at the time I had married Tess. My investigation turned up a wife. This bastard had the nerve to be married. He got out of jail and went back to the waiting arms of his wife. Connie said they called him Uncle Jimmy. He had two sons, both are losers. One son is a drunk and the other son is in prison.
    I wanted to hurt this old man I had never met, this sixty-three year old freak. The fifteen years he spent in prison weren’t enough. He should burn for what he did to Tess and what I suspect