Thinking Ahead

Cheating by a spouse is usually discovered when a friend or associate brings something to the attention of the other spouse that is suspicious or incriminating regarding actions of the adulterer. Sometimes, it is discovered when the other spouse does something unusual or not to character thus catching the adulterer in a compromised situation or they're caught in a little lie that might seem innocuous. This tale of how I caught my wife was sort of a mixture of all three.

You have several options when you discover your spouse is cheating or has cheated. Each situation has its own variables that should be looked at in the cold light of day but most are handled on an emotional basis since it does affect certain primordial instincts. This short story describes how I handled the situation when I discovered my wife cheating. I think history indicates it was the right response and that I made the decision as unemotionally as possible based on where I wanted my life to go.

Here's my tale:

I'll tell you about my wife Kathy. She's 24, stands 5'10" at around 120 lbs. She has beautiful facial features and with her long, dark brown hair, nice breasts and shapely ass she is a knockout and I often wonder why she chose me as her mate. I know she was going with some guy who was wealthy and good looking before we met so it intrigued me sometimes why she broke up with him and picked me. However, I never questioned her on it and was satisfied that we were one. Maybe I should have been more discerning and checked into it before talking marriage..

My name is Jack. I'm 25, 6'0" and weigh in at 180 lbs. I work out at a gym a couple of days a week and we run every morning before going to work (weather allowing) and feel that I'm in pretty good shape and am not carrying much excess weight. My average looks don't make me stand out in a crowd but I still have a full head of hair. I don't know how much longer I'm going to keep my hair as my father lost most of his at a young age. I can only hope I got my hair genes from my mother's side of the family if I want to .

Kathy works as an executive secretary to a VP at IML Industries and I work as an investment counselor at an accounting firm and hope to start my own office within ten years. We both like sex and like to do oral pleasuring as well as genital copulation. Neither of us are turned on by anal penetration so we never did it. I thought that our sex life was good as we made love several times a week and she never complained that she needed more. The only thing that bothered me was that Kathy could be a little too flirtious with other men at times. I laid this down that her exceptional good looks had attracted men over her life time and she liked to have them fuss over her. Their reaction to her flirting was her assurance of her femininity and attractiveness. I didn't think too much about it though and enjoyed taking her out to show her off. I guess it was my ego thing.

Before we were married we had discussed what was allowed and what wasn't in a relationship. She had been raised in a family that strove to incorporate religious values into family relationships and she indicated that she wanted the same values in her marriage. She wanted children, as I did, and we both felt that children were the heart of a marriage and they were needed to sustain it over the long term. We both vowed that mutual love, trust and respect were the keys to assure a loving, long term relationship so I felt that, with that understanding, when we married, we would have a lifetime relationship. However, we decided to hold off on having children for a few years until my career solidified and we could afford a home to raise our family in. Until then we rented an apartment and lived the life style of a young married couple and save for our dream.

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We had been married three years when Kathy started to make noises about starting our family so we sat down and looked at our finances. Even though real estate prices had escalated we both felt that due to low interest rates we would be in a position to make a down payment on a home in a few months. So we set a date when she could go off her birth control pill. We made beautiful love that night as we were both excited about the future and our desire for children.

It was only a few weeks later that I heard some disquieting word about an indiscretion on Kathy's part with another man. I was at the office coffee pot getting a cup when Fred Haskin from Customer Relations came up.

"Hi Jack. How are things going with you?"

"They're going fine as far as I know, Fred." I chuckled in response.

"You know that I spend quite a bit of time in social activities with clients and yesterday I was at the Marriott for lunch. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but I think I saw your wife coming out of the elevators hanging on to some guy around 1:30. It may mean nothing but I thought you ought to know. Those elevators only go up to the rooms."

I was momentarily stunned and hesitated before replying, "Thanks Fred. I'm sure it was nothing, but I'll ask Kathy about it when I get home tonight."

"I'm hoping what I saw was perfectly innocent Jack, but I thought I needed to tell you. I hope that maybe it wasn't Kathy but just a look alike."

We parted and I didn't get much done the rest of that day. I just wanted to get home and confront my wife. Later, on the way home I had second thoughts about a direct confrontation and decided to hold my emotions in check and go for a more subtle approach in case Fred had mistaken some other woman for Kathy or there was an innocent explanation.

I usually get home a little earlier than Kathy and start dinner after changing. When she arrives she changes and we have a glass of wine before dinner. This is the time when we can relax together and discuss the days activities. I thought that this would be the appropriate time to see if there were something in what Fred had seen at the Marriott.

When Kathy came in she kissed me on the cheek and went upstairs to change. I got a couple of glasses of her favorite wine and took them into the living room where we usually relaxed in our small apartment. After a few minutes Kathy came in and sat across from me in the Lazyboy. Picking up her glass of wine she took a sip and lay back in the chair with a sigh.

"Well, how was your day?" she asked. "Mine was pretty busy."

"Why, what's going on at IML?"

"Nothing much with IML but John is getting a divorce and he was pretty down about it."

John was her boss and the VP of Human Resources at IML. He was in his late forties and very virile and handsome. He'd always came across as a womanizer to me.

"That's a surprise. What happened to John's marriage? I thought he and Denise were forever."

"I did too but I guess there was some cheating going on and I haven't determined whether it was him or her who was doing the cheating. But John was really in a funk today and I talked him into taking me to lunch at the Marriott today to try to get his mind off his problems."

I breathed a small sigh of relief that she had admitted she'd been at the Marriott today and confirmed Fred's identification of her. However, it didn't explain why she was coming down from the rooms.

"Was it a long lunch?"

"No, we were back at work by one o'clock. I had one glass of wine and he had a couple of scotches. It seemed to help him as he was looking better when we got back."

A little lie? Fred said it was 1:30 when he saw them in the hotel. Was a half hour or so enough to warrant suspicion? It still didn't explain why she, and I assume John, were seen coming down in the elevator, but she wasn't volunteering anything further. I thought I'd better end the questions before she became suspicious . This was going to require more thought and investigation.

"How did your day go?" she asked; changing the subject.

"Fine. I talked with Sam Hopkins for awhile and we're invited to their place this Saturday for a barbeque."

"That's great. I'm looking forward to it. I haven't seen Sally in awhile. By the way, the IML annual picnic is scheduled for the following weekend. I'd like to go."

"Fine with me. Let's plan on it."

She looked happy and put her arms around me and kissed me. Somehow, I wasn't sure how to respond. Was she kissing John earlier today and sucking his cock. The thought made me nauseous and I broke free and headed for the bathroom. She looked shocked as I left her.

"What's the matter honey? Did I do something wrong?"

"I just felt sick to my stomach for a minute. I'll be right back."

I had to think. When I got into the bathroom I sat on the toilet seat until my stomach calmed down and then tried to rationalize the situation and the issue of her possible cheating. Okay, there's some smoke here. It may not be a fire but definitely smoke. Can I trust her without knowing? We want kids and she wants to get pregnant soon. What if I don't do anything to find out and we go ahead and have a child. Then if I find out she's playing around later and want to dump her I'm faced with child support payments for twenty years and the cost of a college education because the court will award her custody. They always favor the mother in these cases. Those child support payments will mean it will be difficult to remarry and support a new family. So before Kathy and I can proceed any further to make a family I've got to find out for sure whether she's been cheating on me. If she's screwing around now she will most likely do it again sometime. I don't need that in my life. I've got to confront her.

At that moment there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Are you okay honey? Can I get you anything?"

"I'm okay now. I'll be right out."

I splashed my face with cold water, dried it and then rejoined her in the living room.

"Kathy, we need to talk."

"What's the matter honey?"

"Kathy, someone saw you today at 1:30 in the Marriott coming down from the rooms with a man. I need an explanation."

She went white and fell back in her chair. She wasn't expecting this and I'd hit her cold with it. I continued my attack.

I assume it was John you were with so I you to tell me why you were up in a room with him today. If you can't provide me with a plausible explanation I'm going for a divorce. I need a wife I can trust and if you can't assure me that you're trustworthy we are finished. I don't want to go ahead and start a family and then find out you can't honor your marriage vows and are willing to spread your legs for someone else. So tell me."

She suddenly started crying and I had my answer. God, I didn't want to lose this woman but I could see no other solution.

"Okay, that's it. I'll spend the night in the guest room and I'll move out tomorrow. We'll go for irreconcilable differences and split all assets 50/50. I'm glad you didn't wait until we had children to hop into bed with someone else. I don't feel I've wasted too much time with you. There's still plenty of time to find someone who will love me and stay faithful. You notice I'm not asking you why you cheated. Maybe you can explain it to your folks. I'm sure they'd be interested. I thought we had an understanding regarding love, trust and respect in our marriage but you just threw them away."

Tears were running down my face as I got up and moved my belongings into the spare room and then went out by myself and got something to eat. Later, I went home and she was still sitting in the chair. Her makeup was smeared from crying and she looked at me with sadness.

"I'm so sorry Jack. It was only the one time. He was so down and I felt I could cheer him up. He was so nice and I don't know what made me do it. If you could forgive me it will never happen again."

"You can forget your wedding vows to forsake all others over such a weak excuse? That means you don't put much of a value on those vows, your parents, our marriage or me. I'm sorry, I've always been faithful to you and I expected the same from you. I still love you and I expect that will fade with time but I can't trust you anymore and I've lost my respect for you. This marriage has got to be over right now. I'll get hold of a lawyer in the morning and we'll go from there."

When I went to the spare room I could hear her crying long into the night. I didn't sleep too well that night either. I got up early, showered, dressed and went out for breakfast. Getting into work I called and made an appointment with a divorce lawyer and then took the rest of the day off to take care of credit cards, bank accounts, will and insurance policies. I also had my name removed from the lease on our apartment. After meeting with the lawyer he said he would have the papers drawn up and ready for signature in a couple of days. Then I went out to look for an apartment.

I found a nice one bedroom efficiency unit within walking distance of my work and gave out the required deposits to hold it. Afterward I went back to our apartment to start packing.

EPILOGUE

Kathy and I were divorced in three months. She didn't contest it. I later found a woman who was as anxious as I to remain committed and faithful. I love her without reservation and she returns my love passionately. After five years we had two children who are being raised with strong values in loyalty and respect for the family and one another.

Kathy remarried a year after the divorce and was divorced again within two years. She just couldn't keep her legs together as I'd feared. Her mother and father don't communicate with her anymore.