A Conspiracy to Commit...

Felix came back about ten minutes later and sat down. "What are you doing tomorrow morning, Barry?" It was almost a rhetorical question, since I had been waiting in the wings for the past several days to come on stage and get involved.

"Nothing much planned. I have been sleeping in late, it would be nice to get up earlier for a change." I thought a little humor might lighten up all our moods. No one rose to the bait.

"Good. Then I want you to meet me at Elmhurst College at 10:00. I've talked to a professor friend of mine who has an extensive background in marital relations. He's written several books and teaches both undergrad and graduate level courses in Human Sociology. I told him about your situation and he's very interested in talking to you, if you would like that." Felix flexed his jaw as he waited for my response.

"If you recommend him, then I'd be more than happy to meet with him. Maybe he could offer some theories about Carol's behavior. Or maybe he'll tell me it was all my fault." A further attempt at a little humor. Same flat response.

"His name is Dr. Jack Lee. I've attended a number of his classes and this guy has some really sharp insight into the interactions of married couples. I'm sure it won't be a waste of your time and you just might walk away from the meeting with some of your own insights into this crisis with Carol." Felix had seen just how ragged I was around the edges. He thought of Dr. Lee as someone who had the ability to sort through all the psychological damage and then give some rational advice for me to act upon.

"Sounds good to me. Somehow I knew that I would have to get some professional advice on how to handle all of this mental upheaval that is now a part of my life. All of the anchors that I felt were holding my sanity firmly in place seem to have come loose all at once. I'm a ship floundering on the rocks."

Now there was a chance to have a professional psychologist walk through my marital disaster with me and then give me his analysis and suggestions.

The three of us continued to chat about the way things were developing at this time. We all agreed that this weekend would be the best time to push the situation to the next level with my phone call to Carol.

"When I call Carol tonight, I'll tell her I'm flying back home on the Friday evening flight and I should be home by nine o'clock. That phone call will ratchet up the next level that Phil and Les have in their plan.

"So, I guess the next two days will be used to concentrate on what I will say to her when I call her on Friday night. Maybe the professor will be able to give me some advice in that area." I puffed my cheeks as I exhaled slowly. "Ten o'clock tomorrow morning at Elmhurst College. Any particular place we should meet?"

"Let's make it at the Student Union building, near the South entrance. It's just a short walk from there to Dr. Lee's office."

Tomorrow just might be a key day in solving the riddle of who Carol is in this sordid mess. That thought perked up my sagging disposition.

Josh sat there nodding his head as another aspect of the plan went into place. Tomorrow his agenda would include several new items from tonight that would have to be squeezed in between his other "official" activities. Having me spend time with a marriage shrink sounded like a very good thing to him also.

"Seems like we're zeroing in on a D-Day plan here. You guys do your thing with Dr. Lee for as long as you need. Just keep your head down Barry, so as not to tip our hand till Friday evening.

"On Friday evening, the three of us should meet at my house around 6:30. I'll get some Chinese takeout so we can eat and talk in private. Then we'll have to get over to your house before nine and you'll make the call to Carol." He looked at us to make sure we were in sync with his plan.

"That phone conversation will be very important. We need to consider exactly how you are to sound and what script you will need to follow when you talk to her. No doubt that her part will be well rehearsed. Something tells me that this situation has been well thought out by Phil and Les. Assuming that Carol is only a dupe in all of this, they will have told her exactly what to say and what demands they might want to foist upon you."

Felix took up the issue of the critical phone call. "Let's all think about the approach that Barry needs to put forth on the phone call. Should it be angry? Threatening? Loving? Should he sound hurt and remorseful?" He wanted to make sure that we had given it a full measure of our attention. "Or hungry? It's something we should discuss on Friday night over Chinese." That was his attempt at some humor. Josh and I just smiled.

The meeting broke up and I was off to the Sheraton for another night in exile. Two more nights on the road and then I would be sleeping in my own house. How many more wrinkles would this ugly situation gather before it came to a conclusion?

Somehow in Phil's plan, I didn't think that I was supposed to come away clean. Carol's 'friends' had to have something nasty in store for me.

Yet, knowing what we found out about them, could also be the opportunity to throw a wrench into their well-laid plans. Since they are unaware that I know so much about them already, it's very possible that I will not play their game the way they planned it. If I cut their plans short, and refuse to get involved, then Carol and her 'friends' would twirl in the wind without my involvement in their scheme. What would they do next? Do they have a plan B?

Getting back to my room, I immediately called Carol at our house. As expected, the answering machine came on with her cheery voice telling whomever to leave a message after the tone.

"Carol, what's happening back there? I haven't been able to reach you in the last several days. Are you all right?" A long pause. "I'm a nervous wreck out here not knowing if you are sick or where you might be? I truly love you...and I miss you." There was a high level of angst and concern in my voice. "Please let me know that you are all right. Call me on my cell phone. I'll have it on all day tomorrow. Please call me. I'm going to be coming home on Friday night if I don't hear from you."

Undoubtedly, she would access the voice messages from wherever she was staying. This message should reinforce the fact that I was in Boise. Did it sound urgent enough for her to call me? Was her master controlling her in such a way that she wouldn't feel a full measure of guilt by not calling me?

Another unanswered phone call to the house and another 48 hours of suspense before I make that critical phone connection to the number that Carol wrote in her note.

Instead of going down to the workout area, I just filled a tub with hot water and soaked in it for a long while. Taking a really hot bath had become somewhat of a routine for me when I was on the road and I needed to relax myself in the evening. I would chuckle as I got out of the tub, pink as a boiled lobster. But, hot water always did the trick for me.

I didn't need a sleeping pill and went to sleep as soon as I crashed in bed. Tonight, my last waking thought was of the meeting with Dr. Lee in the morning. I wondered what he might have to add to this marital crisis I am having with my wife.

Sleep came quickly and peacefully.

*

Chapter 11: The Good Doctor

My wakeup call came at 8:00, but I was already up and getting dressed. Surprisingly, I had regained my mental and physical strength with that great night's sleep. I was feeling very rested and my energy level was quite high. It was 8:40 on the dashboard clock as I pulled out of the parking lot and headed east. I would stop for some breakfast as I got closer to town.

The Student Union building was almost dead center of the campus. I had gotten there early, by at least 30 minutes. I sat there watching the never-ending hustle and bustle of young college students passing in front of me. A wave of nostalgia washed over me as I reflected upon the great days I had at Harvard as a student. Good days...exciting days.

Felix caught my eye and I waved at him. We chatted a little as we walked from the SU building to the faculty office area. Dr. Lee's office was on the 2nd floor. He was waiting for us to arrive. Felix had called him earlier to confirm our appointment.

Dr. Jack Lee was a short person. Maybe 5'4"at the most. He had a distinguished 'professor' look about him. His smile was warm and friendly.

"Gentlemen, come in and take a seat." Dr. Lee said to us as he moved over to close the door behind us. The three of us sat in chairs facing each other.

Dr. Lee had a rather large office for a college professor. His desk was located diagonally in the room, out sight of the doorway. This made everyone step into his office in order to see him. No standing in the doorway conversations for this man.

The long paneled wall by the side of his desk was covered with a great number of diplomas and professional certificates. All of them were silently shouting out his academic achievements and honors.

Personally, I shied away from such a display of intellectual achievement. Somehow I thought of it as a massive ego trip. But, everybody has their own views of how to present themselves to the rest of the world.

The other major feature of Dr. Lee's office was a large tan leather analysis couch against the opposite wall, flanked by a rather large tan leather wing back chair. For an instant, my mind flashed a scene with Carol lying on the couch with Dr. Lee sitting in the chair with a note pad in his hand. The mental vision vanished as quickly as it had popped into my mind.

Smiling at me, Dr. Lee began to speak. "My friend Felix has told me quite a bit about your current predicament, Mr. Knoll. It seems to me to be a rather bizarre turn of events. I am very interesting in hearing what your thoughts are about the reasons that might have brought your wife to accepting the domination of another man." His voice was clear and without any hint of an oriental accent.

"First Doctor, please call me Barry. I am more comfortable without the formal Mr. Knoll."

"Very well, Barry. I can do that so long as you call me Jack instead of professor or doctor. No sense in making either of us feel uncomfortable while we're here."

"Great, Jack. I'm relaxing already." I said with a smile on my face. "What would you like to know?"

"Let's start off with some background about you and Carol. Tell me about your dating. Things you two talked about before you got married. What made you think she would make a good wife for you? When did you decide to propose to her? How did that event take place?"

Gathering my thoughts for a moment, I began to talk about Carol and I in our pre-marriage days. We met on a blind date set up by one of her friends. It was a great first date, we got along very well and other dates soon followed. There was no sex between us until after we were engaged. My mind was filled with all of the wonderful experiences that we shared together. The dialog lasted for almost 45 minutes.

"Was she a hesitant bride? Did she seem to have second thoughts about getting married? Then tell me about your honeymoon." Dr. Lee would interrupt every now and then to clarify a statement or to ask some probing questions.

"Carol was a happy anxious bride, not a reluctant bride. She and her mother spent several months doing all the detail planning for the wedding day. We started to have sexual intercourse shortly after we were engaged. Sex with her during that period before the wedding could only be described as ravenous. She couldn't get enough sex from me. I was one happy and contented guy, looking forward to having this sexy woman as my wife for the rest of my life.

"She seemed to wrap her new status as my wife around herself as soon as the ceremony was over. It surprised me just how easily she slid from single woman to the role of loving wife. I was thrilled with her.

"Our honeymoon was sex-filled and exciting. We melded together almost as one person from that very first evening. Several times I heard her talking to herself quietly. 'Mrs. Barry Knoll'. Her voice was very sweet and mellow as she spoke those words.

"I would say that our honeymoon lasted the entire first year of our marriage. The first bump in our idyllic relationship came in our second year, after a visit to her gynaecologist. That's when she was told that there was a problem with her fallopian tubes. Some form of obstruction was blocking passage to her ovaries.

"Carol went into a deep funk for several weeks, even though the doctor told her an operation had a very high chance of removing the blockage. She did not come out of her depression as fully as I thought she should have. I suggested that she first get some counselling and then when everything was in place she should have the operation.

"That suggestion did not go over very well, and somehow we just moved away from the subject for the next year. Only rarely did Carol mention her infertility problem to anyone..."

The download session lasted for almost two hours before we finally arrived at the events that took place on Monday night when I got home to find Carol's note and the DVD.

Just as I was about to continue, there was a knock on his door. Jack called to the person to enter. A young lady entered, carrying a tray of sandwiches and cold drinks. This intrusion was a welcome break for me. After talking about the wonderful life that Carol and I had for such a long time, coming to that Day of Infamy was just like ripping loose the scab of a fresh wound.

"I took the liberty of ordering us a light lunch so that we could continue this discussion without serious interruption." Jack said as the young lady set down the tray and began to move out of the room. "Thank you, Becky. We should be done here in time for me to make my 3:00 class."

I guess that Jack was a good judge of people, knowing that the next part of my story would be heart rendering. The friendly taste of the ham and cheese sandwich brought some comfort level to my mind before going on with the hard part of the Carol and Barry story.

Then, between taking bites of my sandwich, I managed to tell Jack all the details and the emotional trauma that I experienced as I witnessed the words and actions of my once very faithful wife. He only interrupted a couple of times to have me clarify my description of the event and my feelings at that time.

Once we had covered the 'Day of Infamy' completely, he asked me to move on to the recent discoveries that he obviously knew from previously talking to Felix. He wanted to hear my version of what was coming out of this marital crisis.

As I listened to myself telling Jack just how I felt during this horrendous period, it was almost like an out-of-body experience. Those feelings that had engulfed me on Monday night were all so new and so strange to me. It was as if I was in the room listening to another person spill their agonizing guts out into the open.

I told Jack about the confusion in my mind as it became apparent to me that this crisis was brought on by an outside person intent on doing something other than just seducing my wife. I seemed to be caught in the proverbial 'rock and a hard place'.

The 'rock' was my job at GeoTex and the 'hard place' was my marriage to Carol.

There seemed to be some corporate treachery that had something to do with my job at GeoTex, and then there were the adulterous actions of my wife, which were a direct threat to our marriage. But both of them were tied together, with me in the middle.

Jack was intensely interested in my attitude toward my wife and our marriage at this phase of my discovery. Had I come to any real conclusions about where our marriage was headed?

"What if she was conned into this relationship without knowing its full intent? Would that make a difference for you, Barry?"

My answer was simply that I wasn't sure how I would eventually react toward her once all the pieces of this puzzle came together. This break in trust that she shoved into my face might make it impossible to fully love and trust her again. Those questions would have to wait for their answers after the phone call and my face-to-face confrontation with Carol.

"Your story has my complete attention, Barry. I am very anxious to find out later just how it all turns out for you and your wife. Will you be willing to return and let me know the conclusion to this crisis when you finally bring it to a close?"

"Certainly, Jack. I'm sure that I will need to have someone like yourself to vent whatever emotions I have after this whole episode is over." This seemed to be the right time to ask some of my own questions of the good doctor.

"But right now, Jack, I am very interested in what you think about the crisis so far and what might have driven Carol to go off the way she has." Pause. "Maybe you have some insight into what motivated her to act this way?" There was a definite plea for help in my voice as I looked across at Jack.

"I won't tell you that this is one of those classic cases of marital infidelity. Even taking away the possibility that your wife was purposely seduced for some other devious reason, there is a common pattern in Carol's behavior.

"I have written several books about this female response that causes them to engage in extramarital affairs. I have named this specific dysfunction: Psychotic Transfer Response. Or just: PTR.

"My research indicates that there are a number of women who have this latent dysfunctional tendency. For the most part, there never occurs a situation or traumatic event that is capable of triggering the dysfunction. But, when some event or combination of events overwhelms these susceptible females, their mind does a flip-flop on them.

"Before the dysfunction is triggered, these women consider themselves model wives, and many of them are deeply religious. They would never even consider having an extramarital affair. But then, something shatters their mental image of the perfect person that they secretly strive to become.

"That something, that trigger, might be financial difficulties in the home. If the woman cannot afford to dress herself the way she envisions herself. Or it may be that a child of hers is impaired or fails in school when she sees her family image as bright and scholarly. Or she sees herself as less of a woman because she is infertile and cannot bear children.

"All of these types of 'failures' are seen as major obstacles to their achieving the level of happiness they feel they need and deserve. No matter how hard they struggle to attain that mental image of the perfect woman, it's always just out of reach for them.

"They have tried their best to be the perfect wife or woman, but all that effort only turned out to be a failure in their eyes. Then, it's as if their minds just give up and surrender. The trigger, whatever it might be, goes off. Their mind switches to another mode and they seem to seek out happiness and gratification in becoming just the opposite of their perfect good woman. They become the perfect harlot." Jack paused and gave me a long serious look. A look that seemed to question whether or not he should continue. He nodded his head and began where he left off.

"I think Carol has suffered from a PTR episode. It seems that the trigger for her PTR was her frustration at not being able to conceive and compounded by your long absences. A situation came along at the right time and Carol then flip-flopped from a righteous faithful wife, to use her own words, to a fuck slut for a domineering male who was not her husband.

"Also, making that video of her adultery for you to witness was intended to further brand you a cuckold. And, it makes me think that she has also transferred all of the blame for her infertility and other failures as a woman from herself to you alone."