All Comments on 'Some Things Are Meant to Be'

The story could have been told in one page. You took your time at explaining every little detail, but when it came to the actual relationship you brushed by it. It felt like a very elaborate seven coarse meal, and when you got to the main coarse, you served hamburger.

Very well done and handled with sensitivity.

The characheters were nicely drawn and the scenario quite realistic.

The writing style flowed well and made it an easy read. The story wasn't too long - it takes time to develop the plot and characters.

Regards, DJ

Fascinating - a tense, well written, well thoughtout tale. It held me enthralled from the opening to the satisfying end. Kudos to the author.

As Blue88 said, it was tense. A lot of strong emotions, well-expressed.

I did think that it could have been a bit shorter and tighter--but a good story.

ohio

Some things are meant to be, but better communication skills between the couple would have helped.

Boyd

Excellent story. She got her head out before it was to late and they both solved their problems and saved the marriage. Handled in a very realistic way, I would have done similar. You built tension very well in this one. Thanks for a real emotional read.

Some may have found it too long, but when it's this good a story, it's worth reading every word!

You write in a living context so that all of your characters seems very credible. I too share Ed's view that a spouse do not have to be caught in a compromising position to be kick out. The whole point of marriage is to know that your spouse "forsakes all others" and put you first. Otherwise what is the point?

Thanks for writing and I await your next submission (the story length fit well to tell the details of Ed's story).

SleeplessinMD

But I sat and thought about why for a while. I mean:

-She didn't cheat on him

-He didn't sit by and wait for it

-He was proactive

I guess when I honestly REALLY thought about it, I couldn't find a reason not to like it. It actually was a really good story. Sure she betrayed him to another man, but it wasn't more embarassing than harmful. And he returned the favor with her secretary. I'm not sure why, but after thinking about it, it was a very good read.

So I guess in the end, I have to say I did like it.

I wish she hadn't see him at the bar, that sorta killed some of the reconcile for me, but not enough to harm the story.

Since I can't give a 98% I'll just round up too 100 (^_^)

-Risq

Very good story. The characters seemed genuine throughout. But, caller-id, husband and wife both having a cell phone, and the item description being printed on receipts from Walgreens never happened in the late 70's; more like the late 80's or early 90's.

Author - you were in full stride on this theme. Your depth and detail put us in the scenes and in his mind.

His lifelike reactions were appropriate to his pain. I can't say that I would or anyone should have done anything different in the reality and respect you painted.

KUDO's Author - the length was needed for the depth which was appreciated.

Thanks Author - I / we look forward to your next marital consequence which you handled very well in this one.

With High Regard

Realistic characterization, especially of Colleen. So many people on Lit don't seem to understand that women are so much more driven by emotions than guys. Emotional neglect is their primary reason for cheating.

Great job. Thanks.

Phil

I was so proud of Ed and i was so happy that he threw that bill out on his face i had a feeling when i was reading the story this was gonna happen and eds wife colleen was going to be in trouble wwith Ed i cried for Ed and his family those kids meant the world to them Keep up the great writing .

Pat Murray

Atlanta,Ga.

And it didn't involve another man in their home or her with the man anywhere.

I would say Ed was aggressive not just proactive. When you question the actions of the wife [most of them] they get very defensive.

I guess the fact that she admitted she was wrong and was sorry was enough for Ed. Well, he calculated she was telling the truth about it. That's important.

This story had a realistic feel and good pacing. I particularly liked the fact that the husband addressed the problem as soon as he had confirmation of a lie; actual sexual infidelity was an unnecessary trigger. That aspect of the story was refreshing.

This story was a truly believable tale of marital strife and a husband and wife who manage to survive betrayal and lack of communication to reforge their relationship. Others have complained about the length, but I thank the pace greatly increased the tension overall, so I wouldn't have cut the raw length. I do think that some aspects of the characterization could use more exposition, so that we have a better feel for why the characters do what they do. Even with that said, I think that this is a weel-crafted tale. I particularly liked the college-dean-becomes-salesman schtick: it might seem offputting to a lot of readers, but I know several people who have left careers like this in order to start something new and fresh. The notion that he got the sales fever from a chance remark in a store was for me charming and completely believable.

There were a few difficulties with conveying his new job, relations with coworkers, etc. For one thing, why did his "old friend" keep him waiting for 2 1/2 hours? Why wouldn't a busy man arrange lunch with his buddy? I think this relationship, protagonist to store owner, needed a little clarification. In one sentence, you referred to Audiomart's decision as "his," and he lost his name when discussing transfers. Just a little point. Retail sales and sales management is a complex business where personalities and presuasion dominate - both with the customer and the co-workers. It takes a good amount of writing to convey those relationships, and if anything, you were a little light on some of the details of growing relationships, especially after he became a store manager. I'm not convinced I understand why his staff is willing to go out on limbs for him. Given the nature of sales, I understand easily why the antagoniwst is so willing to undermine him any wau he can; sales can be a dirty game.

The central character question is that of the wife, as you'd expect in any first-person husband narrative. ;) There are several mysteries here - they begin as Dean and Assistant Dean of the Music School at a college, and we never quite grasp how that working relationship was going. Perhaps this was intentional, meant to tell us just how clueless the hero was about his wife, but I think it's just an oversight. Later he tells us that she is uneasy about his earning potential as a salesman - presumably the uncertainty of sales, as opposed to the security of a tenured position. To me, this means clearly that they are not communicating, and his descriptionj of her as fiery-tempered and sarcastic indicates that the communication problems aren't likely to be one-sided. We also see the long hours retail management inflicts are a cause of unhappiness in the home - here the husband falls into the trap of assuring his wife that "things will change soon," and thinking that success would be rewarded (by her.) In my experience, once a wife is running up the neglect flag, promises of future change and prosperity are meaningless, unless family financial survival is at stake. Clearly she's confident that she can carry enough financial burden with her important, steady job, and so she doesn't want his success at that price. Given the temperament mismatches, lack of effective communication, wifely unhappiness with husband's career moves, and moving the family, a situation has been created that could easily destroy the family. Nicely set up.

Now we come to the critical series of events; the BBQ and the concomitant conflict. The oddity here is that the wife waits up to ask him if they can have a party. Odd, perhaps. I think, though that what the husband finally realized later was true; she is feeling so neglected that she's (wittingly or not) on the prowl for adulterous relationships or a replacement husband. The key here is that she doesn't want HIS friends, but her colleagues (his ex-colleagues - he's sure going to like that, I bet) and their church acquaintences. To me, it's stalking ground. She expresses contempt for his co-workers, and only allows him a few of the "better" people to come. This should have set off a huge warning bell. Her scathing contempt is contempt for HIM and what he wants to do. Even if she has little in common with these people, why would she scorn them? He's in trouble, his marriage is drifting towards the rocks, and he has no idea.

That is why the seduction is so fast - to me, ANY sympathetic man was likely to get her emotional attention, and we know already that the antagonist is a practiced seducer. He would see the signs, adapt to her signals, and close with this desperate woman quickly. The real surprise is not that they began a clandestine relationship so fast, but that in three or four days they had not progressed at all in initiating a physical consummation. She still had scruples to overcome.

The husband's realization of troubl is well-executed; it's completely believable that he would be taken aback and confused by her vehement disdain for him. He's been living in the fool's paradise of normal life, thinking things were fine. He finds out that he doesn't really know his wife or what she's capable of at all anymore. He waits, watches, realizes the extent to which he can't predict her actions, and then makes a solid attempt to save the marriage by communicating. Her curt dismissal, saying she "couldn't fit him in," was beautiful in its hardness. She's begun to separate herself from him permanently.

His proactive actions to find a way to communicate are very good. Others have complained about how he pulls a stranger (and wifely subordinate) into witnessing her deception, but it makes sense. He knows there's something wrong, and he needs a witness to her deception. Once she''s lied to him about where she is, he takes action. Action which results in reconciliation.

I have one major problem with this story - they did not seek counseling before reuniting. They have serious problems involving careers, communications, and expectations. I would not be willing to accept her with complete openness until the real cause of her contempt was uncovered AND she learned to control her tongue and temper. He on the other hand needs to find a way to prioritize his life. The Deus Ex Machina of financial success won't help unless they agree as a couple on things. As it stands, I would expect divorce in three years.

Good story.

improvement over your previous. great little read, i enjoyed the trip, gets a definite thumb up. a fan always.

First of all, sorry for my English, I'm Italian. Bravo! Good story, nice fantasy and well written. The only thing that I did not appreciated was that funny baseball cap, if I should be not joking I could say that American people knows only caps of sports :-) in all stories of this amazing site all the husbands use it when they want to discover a cheating wife, that's strange, lol. I give you 4 for the cap and also for a serious reason: there is one possibility that puts a doubt in me, Colleen knows that her husband was in the restaurant, she could manage by herself the situation also without telling Bill that Ed was watching them, putting a show for her husband being a candid and faithful spouse for returning home. After the story could take other directions, Ed is sure that all is coming back to the best and her could take Bill like lover with few explanations, the body language can all. Regards and sorry again for my comic English.

Angelo

He left the whore off too easily

that Bill had sex with Colleen on several occasions, and that Colleen was playing a game with her husband while he was in the bar (with his stupid baseball cap on). She made it appear that nothing happened, and indeed it did not at that instance. But she could easily have met Bill when they left the parking lot. The husband did not follow her because he was duped, so he never knew.<p>

My guess is that the affair continued after the reconciliation, and for that reason the story needed an additional chapter. Not only Colleen, but the reader as well, continued to get screwed.<p>

When a gullible amateur tries to play Sherlock Holmes, he sets himself up as a bumbling fool.

1-Wife lies to husband to have secret meeting with Don Juan character and gets caught holding hands with him in Hubbie's parlor. Wife is so guilty and marriage is so toast, cause ... 2-If meeting was even the slightest bit innocent on wife's part she would have divorced Hubbie in a microsecond for him having beat up the guy that was getting her a really great deal on Tupperware, then 3-When the wife drives away from Bill in the parking lot, why doesn't Hubbie walk up to Bill and say, "I thought the first time I kicked your ass, I made it perfectly clear you were to stay away from Colleen!" And then proceed to meet out proper justice, AGAIN. And finally 4-When Colleen later asks to come back, ask her the $64 question," If Bill's BS hadn't gotten discredited because he got fired, wouldn't you still be seeing him and have bedded him by now and isn't that he just managed to get fired, NOT your love for me, our marriage or our kids, really the only reason you're back here now?" Bye bye, Colleen.

Now this is about "Real Life" marital problems! One can get so tired with authors making ordinary wives out to be complete sexual sluts when we all know that women are more into the emotional aspects of a relationship then the sex. Just the opposite of what most men go for when married! Keep on with the realistic stories... We need the balance they bring! I for one love these versus the erotic sexual scenes that get boring after reading hundreds of the same!

Your story was well written and the plot was okay. I found all the build up to be well done. Then, the plot fizzled and went nowhere.

I like "happy endings" that are well and reasonably scripted but this one was like a pressure cooker that had reached a dangerous level then had the heat turned off and all the steam just blows out.

I was looking forward to a bit more "bang"

but sometimnes IT needs a little push. TK U MLJ LV NV

Nice to see a happy ending. The lack of communication,the distancing and the emotional seduction are far too real based on experience and when colleen chose to tell Bill,a person she despised, her feelings rather then her spouse the cheating began and would have gone further.And she listened to Bill as telling the truth rather then asking her spouse.Hubby did the right thing by breaking contact,if he had let her stay it would be saying "everything is ok" when it wasn't and it forced both of them to think about their relationship and what it meant.To reconcile you need a new foundation. I agree that the story is set in the 70's but the tech is much later.The other problem is since she knew he was at the hotel why didn't he think her performance was an act? Her later explanation does help but why wasn't he a little concerned? and yes this also tells the truth that men cheat because they are turned on women mostly aren't sluts they usually are looking for someone to appreciate them and fill an empty space.

Well edited, interesting characters, solid plot, pace, etc. Thanks for submitting.

Just mindless and incompetent prattle.

Everything positive that was said in previous comments goes for me too. The author did An excellent job of how the real world can cause a marriage to go sideways. Bill's snake in the grass characterization was definitely hiss-worthy. Very satisfying in terms of the unequivocal way he was dealt with.

The unspoken core values that were demonstrated more then talked about, were the strength that sustained the narrator. He was willing to try a new vocation and work hard to master it. He actually worked too hard and his marriage went seriously sideways due to this.

Yet he acknowledged his mistakes and tried to find middle ground withthe wife UNTIL she committed actions for which there is no compromise. Taking care of the kids was foremost in the narrator's mind. The wife wasn't demonized but she wasn't absolved either.

The lead character trusted until there was clear cut reason not to and then cut few corners on verifying what was going on to make the best possible decision. I could nit pick about some decisions the author made but those items would stand diminutive by praiseworthy points by a 19-1 ratio.

This was a pleasure to read from start to finish. Some commenters said this ran long and maybe it did, but I enjoyed every word. *****

but i still think she was emotionally cheating and having an emotional affair.

I still do not get how you can change the locks on your door and keep your wife out. Not in this country. Only if she beat him up .haha and filed a police. Report. 98% of time the male beats the wife. So much for. Bullshit.

That DREMAN is no longer posting. This story is one of the best posted on this site.

They sort of did couples counseling, but she needs help to figure out how she was so easily turned, and how she could be so venemous towards him.

A position like that would be six figures. If $75K was a big increase then he wasn't that great of a salesman. Colleen was an idiot and greedy at best. Bill's enticement was that he was a better salesman and made more money. Once Ed heard that, he should have filed for a divorce.

Your story reads like a dime store novel from the 40's. You can't punch people out, get them fired for personal reasons, and conspire with others to invade others' privacy without running afoul of the law.

It doesn't really work on a realistic level because of these major detail flaws.

Or should that be 'sucked his balls so hard they popped right off'? That's the only explanation for him taking the bitch back. Even AFTER the blow-up, the whore cried to fucking BILL! And yet he took her back. This is a joke

This author has done some good ones and some really bad ones. This was one of his best. Too be he's not still writing.

Colleen could not be thrown out of the house ,if she called the police he had to let her in or leave himself. In court she gets custody and he gets screwed . Glad they worked it out but your story line was a fantasy in our court system today. Why she left the home is another story.

How could a smart woman be so stupid so quickly? It's hard to believe she's the same person in the second half of the story. However, I am a sucker for a happy ending and I enjoyed it.

Couldn’t finish, lock out, mother an child separated, tooooomuch……..

Supposedly educamatec woman, come on.

LOVE slap-hapy-papy #9

Why does Ed think he exaggerated for Colleen about Bill's rant during the outburst in front of the company's management, calling her a slut? He could very well have told the truth about fucking her last night, given how Colin got angry at her husband and blamed him for everything that could happen now. She could have met her lover and carried out her threats and expectations. Once, having started communicating with Bill, lying to her husband for Colleen became as easy as pissing two fingers.