A Despicable Human Being

Melvin allowed a finger to tap Abigail's wedding band.

"Remarried, I see. Who's the lucky guy?" he said. Abigail's eyes moved down to her fingers, and her face dropped, a small blush reddening her cheeks. Did she think that Melvin wouldn't notice? Melvin was more than happy to take the chance to embarrass her, and he was more than curious at what sort of man she had roped into marriage this time.

"He's great. A banker," she said, covering her wedding band with other hand. Melvin pictured her husband in his head. He'd be a geeky looking nerd with a bow tie and thick glasses, a man from the same mold that Melvin had been shaped. The banker would be loaded, of course, to satiate Abby's monetary needs, and Abby most likely was banging the pool boy or the milk man or the mail man or the UPS man or all of them meanwhile on the side. This was her modus operandi, and why mess with a good thing? It had worked before, and it would work again. If she ever got caught with one of her boy toys, she'd simply move on to the next hapless loser with a wad of cash.

Melvin felt a flush of anger try to rise to his cheeks, and he took a quick swallow of water to cool himself down. At this moment, he hated Abby. Hated everything she stood for and everything that she had put him through. She was a despicable human being; a woman who used her sexuality as a weapon to intimidate men, strip them of their defenses, and slice off their masculinity. Then again, wasn't Melvin planning to use his own sexuality as a weapon against her? He wondered if he was no better than she was. A sick feeling wormed its way through his stomach.

"You ok, Uncle Mel?" Tina asked, concerned. Melvin's discomfort must have been apparent on his face. He nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said, but it was a lie. He wasn't fine. The world seemed suddenly very heavy; exhaustion threatened to force his eyes closed. The weight of everything careened towards him, attempting to plunge him into the recesses of a deep personal hell. He made his eyes stay open. Abby smiled politely at him from what seemed like an eternity away.

A hand slipped under the table and rested on his inner thigh. It took him a moment to realize that it wasn't Abby's hand. It was Tina's. The hand began to caress his thigh. He looked over at her, and a sly grin curved her lips. Her hand began to slide down further towards his crotch.