“Alex saw me to the door. When I got in, I started crying. Everything reminded me of you. Alex suggested that I spend the afternoon at his home while he was at work. I could spend a night or two in a guest room until I could compose myself. He went back to work. I packed a few things, went to his house, and spent the afternoon relaxing. Then I fixed him supper. I decided that, since he was such a ladies’ man, he probably knew a bit about the aftermath of cheating and perhaps could help me.”
“Did he?”
“Not really. He said some husbands just got a divorce and never talked to their wives again. Others managed to stay together but he couldn’t give me any details. He mentioned one of his lovers who was still with her husband after three months, but he hadn’t touched her in all that time.”
“That doesn’t sound very promising. Go on.”
“After supper, I told him the whole story, how I told Natalie I was bored, how you tried to surprise me and how I reacted. Then he told me that he had seduced a lot of women and destroyed a lot of marriages. That’s why he was touched when he saw me as the victim of a cheating husband. He had begun to feel bad about his prior life and was wondering what he may have been missing by not settling down. He told me how comfortable he had felt spending time with me and how nice it was to come home to someone waiting for him with a home-cooked meal.
“Honey, I can’t really explain what happened next. I should have just come home. But instead, I cuddled up to him as we watched TV. I joked that he was getting a taste of what an evening of married life was like. When the show finished, it was late, so he offered to let me sleep in the guest room. But then he joked that I could sleep with him and not have sex. ‘I mean, isn’t that what married people do all the time?’ For some stupid reason, I agreed.”
Bill glared at me. “I see. You decided to let him give marriage a test drive. Or where you test-driving him? Never mind. So, you slept with him. Naked?”
“Yes, honey. That’s how I always sleep.”
“He was naked, too?”
I looked down and whispered, “Yes.”
“Of course. Go on.”
“We just got into bed, I kissed him goodnight, and turned away.”
“Let me get this straight. You ‘just’ gave him a passionate kiss and turned away. He turned towards you, cuddled up against your back, pushed his cock against your ass, wrapped his arm against your belly and pulled you back into his naked body. That’s all. I imagine you slept very well.”
“Yes,” I mumbled. I realized how bad that sounded.
“Well, continue your story,” he snarled.
“I got up early and fixed us breakfast. Then I kissed him goodbye, and he went to work.”
“A passionate lover’s kiss, I suppose. Were you still naked?”
I blushed. “I wore an apron.”
“I’m sure you looked very sexy in it. But you still didn’t go home.”
“I called Natalie, and she told me how foolish I was behaving. I realized she was right. But I had promised to fix Alex supper, so I decided to go home after that.”
“Just out of curiosity, what did you cook for him?”
“Tuesday, I made my white lasagna and on Wednesday I made Beef Stroganoff. Oh, and I made Eggs Benedict for breakfast.”
“I remember you made Eggs Benedict for me on my birthday, two years ago. I really loved your lasagna. What’s it been, about three years since you last made it? I don’t think you’ve ever made Beef Stroganoff for me, but I’m sure it was delicious.”
“I’m sorry, honey, I’ll…”
“Never mind, I get the picture,” he seethed. “But you still didn’t come home.”
“We shared a bottle of wine with dinner. Then we watched TV, but I sat apart from him. I told him it was so he could see what marriage would be like after a few years. Then I told him I was going home. He pointed out that I had drunk wine and suggested I spend one more night.”
“You had shared just one bottle with dinner, hours before?”
“I know, honey. I certainly could have driven home. I guess I just wanted to feel his body one last time. But we didn’t have sex!”
“No, all you did was get into bed with a man you had strong feelings for, both of you naked, kissed him, let him rub his body against you, then cuddled with him all night. But you didn’t have sex, so that’s alright! Gee, I wish I had known that rule. Eight nights I slept alone in my hotel room, tossing and turning, wondering if I had a wife to come home to. I could have checked out of my room and moved in with Janet! That would have saved me almost a thousand dollars. Instead of being alone, I could have been cuddled up to Janet’s beautiful body, kissing her, rubbing myself against that firm ass and fondling those luscious tits. I’m sure I would have slept a lot better! I should call her up and see if she wants to make up for lost time!
“But not tonight. It’s after 11PM in Paris. We didn’t get to bed until well after midnight last night and got up early this morning to catch our flight. She’s probably asleep and I’m dead tired. I’m going to sleep in the guest room.” He got his carryon bag and pulled out my passport, wedding rings and birth control pills and set them on the table. “You didn’t use any of these things last week. I always wanted kids, but you kept putting me off. Well, you may be having someone else’s. I don’t suppose I’ll need this anymore.” He took off his wedding ring and put it on top of the pills. Then he grabbed his suitcase and went upstairs.
I collapsed to the floor, sobbing.
Epilog – Ten years later
I learned several lessons from my ordeal. One is about the nature of surprises. First of all, you have to be open to them. I loved it when he surprised me with flowers, but I complained to Natalie that they were always carnations. Yet I imagine that if he gave me a rose, say, I would be disappointed. Doesn’t he know my favorite flowers are carnations? Also, big surprises are dangerous. After all, they all involve a certain amount of sneaking around. Even something as innocuous as a surprise birthday party involves plotting behind the subject’s back, lying to them, deceiving them to get them out of the way, and so forth. If the subject is observant or suspicious, she may become distressed, wondering what the hell is going on. Is the surprise at the end worth that grief?
Making the trip to Paris a last-minute surprise was even more ridiculous. It would have been better if he had surprised me with it two weeks earlier. We would have spent two weeks researching, planning, anticipating, working together – we would have enjoyed the vacation for three weeks instead of just the one week we would be there.
As for my boredom, that was mostly my fault. I should have been satisfied with my comfortable lifestyle. If I wanted a little spice, I could have provided it myself. I didn’t have to cook spaghetti every Wednesday. True, some dishes take longer to prepare but I could have prepped a lasagna the night before, say, and then just put it in the oven when I got home.
As for the sex being stale, that was mostly my fault too. I had insisted we do it only at night in our bedroom. I also told him I disliked doing it from the rear, as I wanted to look into his eyes as we made love. But I came like a firecracker when, Saturday afternoon, Alex came up behind me, pushed me over the back of the sofa and just took me. Or Sunday evening while we were dancing, when he pushed me against the wall and had me standing up. Of course, it made things easier that we were naked both times. But I could have just not gotten dressed one Saturday and invited Bill to join me. Imagine if he had come home after work and found me in the kitchen wearing nothing but an apron! I could have bent over, wiggled my ass, and said, “Honey, I need some help. Could you please stir my pot?”