so there was more than one rat in his house
@ProblemAgain: Bingo! He wasn't 100% a rat, though...he provided two houses for her and the kids, did more than his fair share to support them all, while she worked too, and was very present in the kids lives, living there on and off over the years. To me, that's not enough if you won't marry their mother and give the family your name, but at least he was taking care of them.
Years later, I ran into him while out. I asked him how married life was...he said "I ain't married." I rocked his world by teling him he was, in fact, common law married and the "wife" and kids had just as much rights as if they had gotten married. Turned out she was holding themselves out as married and he wasn't correcting her, they were living together and had kids....more than enough for a Texas common law marriage: (1) telling others (2) intent (3) cohabitation.
I knew that and enjoyed every second of dropping that one on his lap and balls. Then I turned and walked away, never looking back, giggling the whole time. 4951