Marriage Exchange

*

Friday, Marybeth arrived atMarriage Exchange at exactly 8:30 a.m. as she'd been told to do. Tara was there and introduce her to Stacy who would be the first person she'd work with in terms of collecting information about her and Brad.

Stacy was another stunning person: long black hair, with natural curls in it, high cheek bones that provided angular relief to her crystal clear complexion and full lips. Stacy was also about Marybeth's height and full bosomed. Stacy's legs were sheathed in a long, maxi-length dark gray skirt with a slit up one side. As she walked in her low heels, Marybeth could occasionally see significant flashes of skin well up Stacy's thigh. The whole package was alluring and Marybeth actually felt herself flush at her unusual Sapphic reaction.

Having met Tara a few days earlier, Marybeth had started dressing better again. She wore heels, snug designer jeans that showed off her best assets, and an expensive looking summery blouse and a colorful scarf that called attention to her slim neckline and breasts. She had a light sweater in her oversize purse. She'd actually admired her flat tummy in the mirror that morning as she'd stood assessing her nude body after her morning shower. She recalled thinking, "It's a shame Brad will never get to touch all this lovely real estate again." She also wondered if anyone would ever find her interesting enough to explore the secrets her body held.

"Shall we begin?" Stacy said, after she'd led Marybeth into a nicely decorated and comfortable meeting room. The two sat; both chairs were padded in comfortable leather. The table between them had a posh inlay of leather also. The surroundings were rich and suggested a successful organization.

Stacy went on, "You and I will spend this morning together. After lunch, you'll meet with Mike Connors and he'll continue with you in the afternoon. He's new to this office, but one of the co-founders ofMarriage Exchange, so you'll be getting the best all the way along today." She smiled in an engaging way. Marybeth felt herself relax.

Stacy continued, "The three of us will meet again for the last half-hour of the day to wrap up and cover any unasked questions. I'm going to collect a lot of standard information and then start to ask you some very personal questions that I hope you'll answer candidly. Sometimes, it's just some little fact that helps us trip the scale in the right direction so bear with us. Of course, all of the information is confidential. We do record our sessions so we can go back and review the information, but the tapes are destroyed after a month or you can have them back."

Marybeth nodded; she'd been ready to start all week.

Stacy started with the usual questions about Marybeth's demographics: address, birth date, parents, health, financial status, job position and nature of work. Then the questions became a little more personal: how she felt growing up, her relationship with parents and siblings, her friends and how they interacted, her education, her work and her co-workers.

The questions then got into her emotional life: how she felt about things in general; what made her happy and sad; what brought joy to her life? Did she have a narrow or wide range of emotions? Was she quick to anger ... or laugh? Was she forgiving and tolerant?

Marybeth felt well grilled about her 'public' life by the time the pair took a fifteen-minute break about ten-thirty. She walked around outside to clear the cobwebs from her head and get a little exercise and fresh air.

Stacy started the late morning part of her interview with an interesting question: "Marybeth, when you first saw me, what did you feel?"

Marybeth stammered a little at the directness of the question. Finally, she garnered the courage to answer it accurately; "To tell the truth I had several thoughts. Well, first you come across as very professional and competent. Perhaps it's the way you dress or carry yourself, however, I felt I was in good hands and made the right decision to come here." She paused and went on, "You are also a beautiful woman. Everything about you has, errr ... sex appeal, and I wish I had the ability to always look as nice as you do -- to be sexy too."

Stacy didn't bat an eye, but made a minor notation on her note pad. Finally she looked up and said, "You're normal and I appreciate your compliments. To tell you the truth, I'm drawn to you as well. Your jeans are tight enough to show you have nice legs. You are sexy in your own way." She grinned.

Marybeth almost gasped.

Stacy added with a laugh, "Don't worry, I'm not hitting on you. If I ever did, I'm pretty direct and you'll know it. Besides I like guys."

After that, the questions got very personal, including Marybeth's sexual preferences, experience and predilections. When did you start having sex? Did you like it? Have you had many partners? Who was the best? Why? What do you like most about it? What have you done? What would you like to do again ... not do again? What do you fantasize about?

Marybeth decided this was the most complete interview she'd ever had. Somehow the morning flew by until suddenly Stacy's phone buzzed to indicate noon.

As they stood to go to lunch, Marybeth volunteered, "All this talk about sex made me hot and bothered. The first male I meet better watch out."

Stacy laughed and confided, "Frankly, I am too. Mike probably won't notice, and even if he does he'll act professionally. By the way, he's going to join us for lunch. I thought we'd go to a little sandwich place around the corner." She grinned at the clear indication that Mike would be the first male I'd see.

Mike was waiting in the lobby of the small office and after a cordial introduction; the three walked the hundred yards or so to the Greek restaurant on the corner.

Marybeth studied Mike as they walked. As Tara and Stacy were beautiful, Mike was handsome. He stood just over six feet tall, with short wavy dusty brown hair. He was smooth shaven and thus his square jaw and clean-cut look were amplified. He had square shoulders and no doubt worked out to carry the physique evident on his body. He had trim hips, a cute little behind, and what looked like long strong legs. Marybeth now felt even more bothered.

Mike was very polite and held the chairs for both Marybeth and Stacy. Marybeth wondered if the two of them were an event. She started to hang on his every word, his voice so well modulated and masculine. She checked his left hand and for some reason was glad to see he wore no wedding ring.

"So are you all answered out?" Mike asked with a touch of humor in his voice.

"Well, let's just say I've never spent such a concentrated period of time talking about myself -- and in some sensitive areas too."

He turned to Stacy and asked with a chuckle, "How'd she do on all the sex questions? Did you finish?"

Stacy said, "You can listen to the tapes later but she seems above normal on the scale. That's good; we're more likely to find her someone quickly that way. I'll explain the side to side variations to you later."

Marybeth asked, "Huh?"

"Oh, we use some research instruments that allow us to portray your answers on a multi-dimensional grid. What the resulting polyhedron looks like -- up, down, left, right, and all the other dimensions -- helps us understand both you and Brad better, plus it helps us match you to some other people with a much higher degree of success than any dating service ever dreamed about. Isn't that right, Mike?" Stacy turned to him clearly with a desire to impress, and Marybeth suddenly realized two things: Stacy and Mike had not worked closely before today, and Stacy appeared attracted to Mike. She wondered if Mike had been Stacy's date the night before and then decided the two did not have that kind of chemistry yet. She could see the unrealized potential between the pair and felt glad that they worked together.

Mike picked up the lead and answered in a professional tone, "I worked at two dating services before this -- e-Harmony and Match.com. They're the leaders in what they do. While I worked, I also went to grad school and came across these new techniques and instruments that we use now, and then co-foundedMarriage Exchange. I couldn't wait to apply some of what I learned. The company is now five years old and our success rate is phenomenal."

Stacy said in a flirty jest, "You don't need to sell it, Mike. She's already bought."

He retorted with a chuckle, "No, but I am bragging. This is really good stuff." He turned back to Marybeth, "You should know that about a year ago, based on the instrument's use on a couple of thousand individuals, the whole shebang got updated and refined. The improvements are wonderful. Further my partner and I have integrated what we call E.H.T. into our approach and it's made it almost foolproof."

"Oh, I wanted to know more about E.H.T.," Marybeth said jumping into the conversation.

Mike began, "Well it stands for Extended Hypnosis Therapy. The term 'extended' means it lasts for a long time; it also takes a long time, relatively, to make happen. The technique was created to deal with addictions -- nicotine and drugs; and then began being used in other areas such as treating post-traumatic stress, anxiety and such. The problem with it is that any therapeutic benefits tend to wear off unless they were reinforced in some subtle ways. We learned how to make the benefits last longer -- a few months anyway - and also how to avoid any feeling of violation or doing something against your will. Then a couple of us got interested in using the approach to help improve relationships, and," he gestured, "Here we are."

"Who's your co-partner?"

Mike replied, "Rachel Star. We were grad students together and then co-foundedMarriage Exchange. We got the Atlanta office started and then I decided we needed to expand and so she started a Washington office. I stayed in Atlanta until I groomed someone that could run it. I moved here about a month ago after we'd made arrangements for this office, clerical help and such."

Marybeth was enthralled with Mike's enthusiasm about the profiling instrument and E.H.T., as well as the new office. She asked some polite questions and relished his answers. She'd certainly lucked out in finding this place, and prayed that it would work on Brad. All that, plus she hoped she'd get to spend more time with Mike than just the coming afternoon. The trio finished their sandwiches and drinks and walked back to the office. Mike ducked into a newspaper shop for two minutes and then caught up with women just as they reached the office door. He had a flat package under his arm -- a couple of magazines.

As they walked in the office door, Stacy excused herself and said she'd rejoin them about 4:30 p.m. Mike led Marybeth back into the same interview room they'd used that morning and the two sat comfortably at the table.

"Marybeth, I want you to close your eyes for a moment -- until I tell you." She could hear the rustling of paper, no doubt Mike's package. A few seconds later he said, "OK, open you eyes."

In front of her on the table were four men's magazines -- well, not entirely:Playboy,Hustler,Playgirl, and a magazine calledCouples.

"Which of these magazines would you like to read first?" Mike asked in a soft voice. He went on, "Don't think about your response, just react. Speak now."

Marybeth blurted out, "Couples."

"Why?"

"The copy and photos on the cover make it clear it contains graphic pictures of couples making love, in one case in a group setting. I've only seen that in a couple of porn films Brad showed me. I'm curious, plus that kind of thing turns me on."

Mike picked up the magazine and set it aside, "All right, what one would you choose next? Just blurt it out."

"Hustler."

"Why?"

"I saw it once before. It's crude, raw, rough sex. Graphic. Again, it turned me on. I'm not sure I'd do any of that stuff, but it's fun to think about."

"Why notPlayboy orPlaygirl?"

"Both too tame. My dad hadPlayboy lying around the house as I grew up, it got to be just another magazine. The women in it were too 'processed' -- they weren't real. Dimples were added and beauty marks removed, if you know what I mean.Playgirl is about the same, except for the male body. Well hung guys, but I need to feel something about the guy -- either love or lust, but passing interest as I'd have at aPlaygirl photo just doesn't cut it -- well, at least most of the time." She blushed.

"Fair enough," Mike said. He gathered the magazines and handed all of them to Marybeth. "Here," he said. "Take them home and study them over the weekend. You'll be tested on them on Monday." He chuckled and then sat down and made some notations on pages in his portfolio.

Mike finally looked up and said, "OK, for the next few hours, we're going to talk about Brad. So close your eyes and take a deep breath."

Marybeth did exactly that to get her head in gear.

Mike said, "We'll start with the easy stuff first. Give me his demographics -- his bio if you will; all the kind of information you probably gave Stacy at the start of this morning."

Marybeth laid out what she knew about her husband: birthday, where he grew up, parents, family, financial status, job, friends, and so forth. She talked fast and ignored the small microphone sitting before her. Mike also wrote rapidly as she talked. Finally, she ran out of the 'public' things to say about him. She was surprised she knew so much of his background, and doubted if he'd ever paid that much attention to her life.

Mike then pushed into a new but related area; questions like: How did you meet? When did you have sex? How was it? What did he say? How did he react? Did he follow up or did you? What were your later dates like? Was sex a regular occurrence? When did you start living together? Why? What did each of you get from cohabitating? How did your relationship change over time? Why did you two decide to get married? Was the engagement different from just living together? How did things change during that time period? What was the wedding like? How did Brad behave? How did the frequency with which you had sex change over time? Why?

Then Mike took yet another tack: Who are Brad's friends? Does he bring them home? Have you met them all? What percentage of time is he with them? Do you detect anything emotional in his relationship with them? What do you know about the home life of his friends? What do they do together?

Mike's questions then shifted and got into Brad's anger, distrust and dissatisfaction with life. He probed to find Brad's open sores that he said they might find a way to exploit. Mike also bore in on Brad's sexuality even further: What turned him on? How did he react to things you did together? Did you and he have any joint fantasies you explored? Was he all male? Do you describe him as an alpha? How would he have reacted if you had an affair?

The questions went on and on, and Marybeth realized that Mike was methodically searching for the weaknesses in Brad's behavior, disposition, performance, preferences, and fantasies. Somehow,Marriage Exchange would find the chinks in Brad's armor and use them to advantage. They'd slip in the Trojan horse and then the job would basically be done.

*

Marybeth arrived home exhausted from the intense questioning she'd undergone all day. Stacy had made her promise to relax over the weekend.

Brad was particularly surly when she walked in the door. She hadn't expected him to be home until after sunset since he usually played 'hoops' until he had to come home and eat, consume a prodigious amount of beer, belch a dozen times, and then lamely try to have sex with her.

"Why are you late?" He demanded. "Where's my dinner?"

She brushed off his comment with a remark about workload at her job and then set about fixing dinner. Brad got into the beer right away, not a good sign unless she could get him to consume so much that he eventually passed out in front of the television.

He grumbled and sniped at her as she worked in the kitchen, actually tossing a nearly empty can at her as she rushed some hamburgers to the table for him. She then had to scurry to clean up the spilled brew before it stained the carpet.

If she hadn't found the glimmer of hope atMarriage Exchange, this would have been the night she probably would have walked into the bedroom, packed a suitcase, and then walked out the door into the night, risking that he might get physically abusive with her in some way.

Brad wolfed down his dinner, making crude remarks about how he wanted to fuck her and make her his woman tonight. When out of sight, Marybeth just rolled her eyes, and went to get him another beer. Then she had what she thought was a stroke of genius: she'd make him a boilermaker. She poured a little of the beer from the can and poured in about an ounce of Jack Daniels -- Brad's favorite hard liquor. She carried it to him as he watched TV.

"Honey, I know how much you like your beer," Marybeth crooned as she delivered the special can to him. "This one's special; see if you like it. I made it just for you."

Brad gave her a suspicious look and sniffed the can then took a sip. Marybeth adopted the posture of the doting wife and stood near him with a calculated look of trying to please him. "Hey, this is good. You put some Jack in this? Good girl." He turned back to the TV.

She smiled and clapped her hands, apparently pleased that she could please her man. She kept delivering those to him for the next two hours, the dose of Jack larger in each succeeding can.

Brad passed out about ten o'clock. Marybeth put a pillow under his head, covered him over, and turned the television volume down slightly on the twenty-four hour sports channel. He'd be out until around six in the morning when he'd have to get up to piss; he wouldn't bother her then. He'd just go back to sleep on the couch again, probably after taking a pile of pills to mitigate the terrible hangover he'd have by then. She grinned at her sweet revenge.

As Marybeth closed the door to the bedroom, she thought how diabolical she'd been. I'll have to tell Stacy on Monday she thought -- or Mike. She found herself attracted to the two of them.

*

Monday morning, she enthusiastically strode intoMarriage Exchange ready for another full day of questioning. She wasn't disappointed. In the morning, Mike and Stacy each interviewed her further, the emphasis shifting more towards her husband and his terrible behavior. She told them about how she had fended him off all weekend, keeping him in an alcoholic stupor. She urged them to move quickly.

After lunch she was introduced to other people new to the office, Philip and Natalie, both also beautiful people and skilled interviewers who led her deeper into a psychological assessment of Brad, and, of course, herself. The quartet of interviewers met as a group with her from four to six o'clock, probing a few untouched areas as well as searching further for any hidden areas any one of them might have missed that could provide a leverage point for dealing with her husband -- or, for that matter, matching her to some highly desirable mate.

Marybeth picked up some Chinese takeout on the way home, however, Brad wasn't there when she arrived at the condo. She ate and eventually put the leftovers in the refrigerator for him, if he ever came home. One could hope.

About midnight she heard the door slam, announcing Brad's presence one again. He came into the bedroom and she could smell the stale smoke and beer on him before he even got near the bed.

"Oh, yuck!" she said with an acidic voice. "You need a shower. You smell terrible."