All Comments on 'That Which You Don't Have...'

Great idea and story. It's hard to tell a new story from the old twist of cheating wife. You did a great job. I liked the idea that the husband did not actually sleep with any of his "dates". I look forward to more from you.

Good plot. Good writing.Thanks!

Either sirsemega is HDK, or HDK is pissed that sirsemega stole one of his future plot lines.

It's a good story with an off-kilter point of view. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This story really put a smile on my face. Thank you!

Great plot line, one of the better stories I have read on here. Great job keep it up.

Probably it would not work with many couples but it tells us how to preempt by starting to listen. The husband declared her a cheater because she was cheating emotionally and decided to level the playing field. The author really created a lot of interesting characters here. He is a good storyteller and creative too!

I will join the chorus and compliment you on your writing, which is fresh and interesting to say the least. Like others I smiled as the tale wound to a conclusion that was left slightly open ended, as it should have.

Decent work.

Wow a husband with a brain! Rare. I liked his character. It was a very refreshing story. Thank you for making this boring Sunday refreshing.

Just had to comment again on this one again. Great story, and I really do think this technique works brilliantly. As long as it doesn't get abused of course. Maybe it's human nature, but I've seen it time and time again.

loved it. good work

what the author does here is handle the issue of <b>CONTRIBUTING factors</b> by the husband without having the husband taking on ALL the blame.

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so many many times we see the Husband in these stories take on ALL the blame as he sits drooling in another corner in another state missing his wife and beatng himself up because she decides to fuck 4 men over the last 8 months and some how he could NOT cope with that.

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In THIS story the husband's mistake was NOT really listening to what the wife was thinking feeling and saying.

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when Men argue with women over their feelings what most men are doing is arguing with the CONCLUSION. The husband does NOT see the issues the same way or many not even be aware of them... especially if he is out of the house 40-50 hours a week.

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very well done.

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Also the scene with CAROL was fucking BRILLANT. You did it without coming across as being anti woman. Carol should of had no impact on Linda's marriage to Frank. But because Frank was wrongfully arguing with Linda' feeling and emotional needs she turned to Carol.

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good good story

I'll echo everyone else's comments. This was just an awesome story. Putting Carol in her place was the shining moment for me. To me, the characters all seemed natural and their motives and their actions just flowed LOGICALLY and REALISTICALLY! I don't know how many times you read something, and you scratch your head 'Huh?'. No... this story was simply brilliant. Kudos, Sirsemega.

A very good one from start to finish.

This story is very good to excellent and could (can?)have some really practical importance in the lives of numerous married couples who are at or near the brink of divorce. I feel I need to be careful in saying this - but- this is seemingly an original story, from which a plan is described by which married couples could (can) avoid divorce. Therewith, I feel the husband's plan is significant and the story is a big success. Thank you author and please write more from your insightful thoughts. Yours, RAG

Good plot idea and then you let the characters tell the story in a consistent flow. Excellent.

I would like to relate how a man that I know and how he handled it when his wife started going out with other men. He was lucky enough to catch her the very first time out with him. She wouldn't fuck him the first time no matter how badly the person tried. Well the husband had some friend of his that were out of work and paid them a little to stomp the guy's ass. He worked with the wife and was off work for a couple of days but then he was right back trying it again. The husband called the wife on her cell phone and made something up to get her to hurry home. The other guy started to carry a gun that he bought that day. He was found with the gun shoved well up his ass while his hands and feet were tied with plastic ties. He went to the hospital and the wife was shook. A couple of months later she tried to go with another man beaten half to death and the husband acted shocked when the police came around to see him later. The wife waited three months before she finally met a guy that fucked her. She stayed all night in the motel with him. The husband followed the whore. This time the wife and her lover were both found the next day by the maid tied together with his cut off cock in her mouth. She had lain like that all night long after the husband's friends had their way with her and him both. He was fucked silly by men wearing condoms and so was she. Her anal virginity was gone and her asshole was red and bleeding as was his. Before the unknown rapist had left they tied them together and stuffed his cut off cock in her mouth. The motel called the police first before doing anything and it made the news. Once again the husband acted shocked about his wife. He divorced her for adultrey and the case was so well known she didn't fight the divorce in which she got nothing but the clothes on her ass. Her ex husband still laughs and the wife...well after a couple of years she felt it was safe to start dating again. Her suitor was found the next day all beaten and broken. I understand that the wife lives in fear for her life and the ex husband still acts shocked by it all.

This technique works in real life. Trust me, I've used it myself. By taking away her ability to take him for granted he saved his relationship. Kudos. I strongly suspect the man in this story is the one that cuckolding wives wish their man would turn into. Once again, bravo.

Well written, but doesnt wrk 4 everyone! My ex tried on me and i left him 4 a younger richer man and am nw happily married! It cn bk fire! When i realised dat i didnt care who he screwed! Jst had 2 end it 4 both of us!

This was an excellent story.

I didn't think I'd ever get past A Dom's Revenge which left me feeling sick to my stomach but I'm glad I decided to check out your stories under different genres. Thanks for the entertainment.

As a story goes its fine and all but there is no sex or anythig else even close to erotic in the whole thing.

Please dont waste the readers time.

Galway is right,sort of.What she should have said is it only works if the love not truly dead.galway shows her immaturity by crowing about a younger richer man.Sounds like hubby better off without the twit.And anonymous, careful around this psycho "man you know"! You might just piss him off!Pistolpackinpete

you built-up this smart dude, one who really understood human psychology... one who was demanding respect from his wife... then you turned him into a disgusting person who has so little respect for his wife that he will continue to apply mental abuse on her for years by hanging his affairs with other women over her head. Just doesn't fly.

Well conceived, deep and well delivered.<P>

You provoked thought from another viewpoint.<P>

You didn't let the offences out balance the other which was key to reader acceptance. It was a delicate insightful balancing act which you accomplished in my eyes.<P>

You are appreciated Author - this was probably your best work to date so more is hoped for.<P>

With Very High Regard

You created realistic situations and characters. Men and women do struggle with the thoughts of divorce and a new partner. You put this struggle into words and showed how the 'faithful' mate can help the straying one. Well done!

But since the wife lied to be able to romantically date and "kiss" (yeah, I'd believe a known liar) other men behind hubbies back to get to the "I'm not in love with you" point, and she only wanted him back again cause she saw other women wanted him, hubbie could never really trust her again, could he? As to either what she had actually been up to, or what she might do again but with a better offer. In reality, this husband's patience of Job and wisdom of Solomon would quickly turn into testostorone induced screaming ("You did what after 15 years"), leaving and brain numbing mass quantities of alcohol.

If only for mentioning the eroding effect (so frequently done; so rarely discussed) of the seemingly benign - while actually very harmful, belittling or criticizing expressions, used by married spouses when addressing each other. The damaging effect could not be over stated. If you have one spouse who suffers from lower self esteem and can’t retort as effectively as the other spouse, you can bet that you have some toxic conditions mushrooming under the surface...Good job for highlighting that aspect of married life. <P>

Another part which demonstrated a relational technique which really worked here is simply taking the natural consequences approach and adopting the spouses own suggestions to eventually demonstrate their fallacy. It's a type of paradoxical interaction: if it works -you created the change in the perspective of the spouse, if not than you have just realized how entrenched the spouse was in his/her decision to get out of the marriage. <P>

A word of warning: like the husband says to the wife's friend: if you don't know what you are doing you may be better of consulting with a marriage counselor. The reason: It's not as simple as it sounds. There are many things that can go wrong in ways you have never could have imagined ahead of time. Things could escalate rather then stay as they are or improve – as a direct result of a wrong implementation of this paradoxical behavior by a well meaning spouse. You have to keep the communication open. You have to be sincere in what you are doing and in your motivations for doing so. It could be very difficult not to cross the lines (as the story demonstrated). But in this story the husband - almost to the end - did all of the above just right. That is up to the point where the couple renegotiated their marriage -where unfortunately the author dropped the ball. <P>

My main reservation with the story is with regard to the husband’s “special privileges clause” to date othe women if he chose to do so… I know it’s a fiction, but the author added at the something about practical theory. I don’t know anything of course about anybody’s individual circumstances. But I can say that beyond any subjective anecdotal recommendations – The professional counseling literature and practice does not see any support, in fact you would only find strong advice against reconciliation agreements which contain one sided agreement to one spouse seeing other partners… in other words – my strong advice: despite me liking this story: PLEASE, DON’T TRY ONE SIDED AGREEMENTS AT HOME –EVEN IF YOU FEEL THAT YOU COULD “WIN” … (in fact, most likely – you will loose much sooner than you think) <P>

Ok, now that I got this out of the way, I’ll go back to the story. You can't have a 'crisis intervention' mode going on forever… What the husband did was a limited for the crisis period only. Once the new agreement is in effect it makes no sense for the husband to keep one sided privilege options of dating other women as he sees fit! In doing so he recreates the very same conditions of demeaning and contempt towards his wife he had confessed of doing throughout the marriage, only now it would be done through non verbal means. Nevertheless - it's the same message: you are not worth as much as other wives /women who do deserve the total loyalty of their husbands. In other words, he sends her the message that understanding and correcting what happened in the past is NOT what it’s all about, but somehow some fundamental flaw in her. That is indeed a very messed up idea which is sure to bring up another rebellion from the wife... <P>

I had another problem with the story. It has to do with the credibility of the wife's behavior. I could not believe that a woman who had thought about her marriage and came up in a non fighting situation and then said: “I want a divorce” and: “I am not in love with you any more”, would be a woman who is still very confused, still in love with her husband, and one who could still feel jealous. The kind of "final language" she used, expressed not in the heat of a moment in the midst of a fight, is most likely to come after - not during a period when a spouse have gone through, processed and then went beyond the ‘confused stage’. Mostly, this kind of statement would come when the spouse perceives to have exhausted all emotional ties with the other spouse, many times when alternative relations and alternative source of income and residence have been secured (I am referring to spouses who otherwise would be much worse of - like when the children are all grown up or when there are no children). For those who are emotionally burned – the way this wife sounded - the most typical reaction to the husband’s machinations with the dates and so on would most likely be APATHY rather than jealousy. <P>

Despite of my reservations, the story aired some new angles on ‘marriage on the rocks’ -and was captivating. Overall, a very welcomed addition to the community of the Literotica authors. Good luck in your future writing and thanks for this story!

OOPS!! My sincere apologies for mistakenly thinking that the author is an impressive novice... In fact, he is both experienced, prolific AND impressive...

My first reading of sirsemega and I have to compliment him on his writing skill, but I found the plot irritating. If you are a male chauvinist it was fine, but if you think marriage is serious the husbands game was not particlarly humorous. I think HDK's satirical style is getting contagious.Why don't the two of them get divorced? His solution of we stay married but i play around with other women is really not very funny.

th Ct. Yankee

if the end result is what he wanted, then good. i doubted that she had esteem or other issues, but that is just me. she wanted to get a response and test the waters herself. me, i'd take it to the divorce and separate lives. he certainly had gppd options. her too, if she wanted to exercise them

Nice manipulation fantasy. Fantasy only...I didn't enjoy it. While fantasizing, why not go for the gusto?

The plot has problems. The counterplot would have to be written by Linda and not "Frank." Frank's whiny point of view is how Linda "cheated" on him. Linda's story would be longer and more tedious version of how Frank pushed her away which sounds like the truth.

Fantasies on top of fantasies. Written by someone who being actually jilted, concocts this fantasy of manipulation where he eventually comes out on top.

Successful partnerships aren't based on manipulation.

around. I did she the wife as staying married and playing around. It wasnt until the wife declared she was not in love with him and that she wanted a divorce, that he dated anyone and those dates were for the most part purely social not romantic. Actually had my wife announced she was dating men, wasnt in love with any more, and wanted a divorce. The divorce papers would have been served within days. There is nothing you can do to make a person love you. You can force them to live with you and be there but you cant force them to love you. And contrary to the story line love does not come from hate.

why remain in a situation where you essentially wait for the proverbial shoe to drop? if she's so conflicted, a good reason to find ... a person that is not conflicted and certain where and with whomn she wants to be.

Having had a look at the Divorce Busters website a time or three, it's interesting to see a story built around the "180" principles. From what I can tell, it's probably the best way to bring a wayward spouse around, but even at that the success stories appear to be fairly rare. The best thing about applying the 180 principles is that, regardless of the effect on the wayward spouse, it puts the left behind spouse in a positive, healthy emotional and mental place. Which makes it alot easier to put a marriage with a bad ending in the past and move on. Thanks for the story.

BB

You've got an engaging work that treats both individuals as adults responsible for their own actions, that are a result of their feelings. Well done.

Well crafted tale thanks

This might be a good blueprint to circumvent a lot of divorces.

Cool plot. Very original. A great rhythm with a disciplined and enjoyable style. A real pleasure to read.

Thank you for writing it.

I happen to like the stories where the man isn't totally and incredibly crushed by the emotions of betrayal and divorce. It exists but I couldn't stomach a steady diet of that.

I liked the man. I understood the woman.

The best part of this read was the lecture he gave to Carol. That resonanted on so many levels!

Second to that was the reaction of the wife. It seemed imminently plausible. Frankly, you could have added more to the story! (Not filler, never filler) It was a very tight story

What broke SOD for me was the 'I'll still date other women'. I'm not sure if that was a threat, something to keep the home fires burning brightly, or just him taking control. I can't see how doing that will help a woman with low self esteem. It seems much more damaging for him to date other women then to tell her that what she feels isn't real.

This, however, is a minor quibble in an otherwise excellent story. I go now to check out whatever other works you have on tap.

Hint: I like revenge stories, and LW stories. If you list it as a novella, I better have already favorited you to even give it a try because I don't know what I'm going to get. No Westerns! If you are taking requests...

S,

you keyed in on the point, communication and he did listen. He responded by agreeing. How can you argue with someone when they agree with you? (good)

He did not react. Take the hurt and pain of rejection and react by returning the hurt, lashing out to only hurt back. (bad)

When we Love someone completely, -they (she)are empowered to be the only one on the face of the planet- they can hurt us, reach us the only one, who can. It works both ways... if she too.

Great story of perceiving the truth. Thanks for sharing on Lit.

x

and confusion rambles on. TK U MLJ LV NV

Just 2 points:

1.) Maybe its me (non-native speaker) but I think there where some heavy grammar errors in the first half of the first page, mostly missing words.

2.) Interesting story concept in a world where the market for mid-thirty singles is so good that you can just jump in and get the next girl. Sadly, at least in my part of the world, thats not the case. 35+ single woman market is more or less crap. Either selfish bitches or nice girls who are already damaged beyond repair, e.g. by abusive prior partners.

The story story flowed well and you gave the right amount of info at the beginning to understand the situation. It made me feel good.

I find the husband's method of winning his wife interesting. Sort of like a trial of seperation but with a twist. I like it and I can see it working in real life assuming there is stil a lingering interest deep down in a spouse.

Like what the others stated, communication is the key. Once it break down it is all downhill from there. Also refusing to listen to the other spouse's and their feelings is a sure fire way of ending it. Fortunately he found this out but almost too late.

is how it is done. since she did not fuck anyone it was cool. i hate to say it but it takes a long time to understand the proper care and feeding of a slut - and he has it down.

is a smart, funny and well written tale. the simpleminded aspect whether she had sex or not is for the boys and girls: for the men and women the psychological interplay, thought and behavior modifications and attitude adjustment are priceless.

No actual cheating. A logical solution to fix a failing marriage. Very nicely done. It's just a shame we live in the real world. Oh well.

You had a really intriguing, unique story, but ruined it by showing the husband to actually be an adulterous creep. Too bad, still on OK tale.

Although she had apparently not slept with anyone yet, she talked to her friends and other men, not to her husband. By saying that he will see other women what he was saying to his wife was that he will see other women if she starts cutting him out of the loop again. Note in the story after they reconciled, he hadn't seen other women and wouldn't. Unless of course the wife started going out again.

ONE OF THE BEST STORIES I HAVE READ ON LITEROTICA

Good reconcilation story. Why have not they get any children?

This is the BEST "Loving Wives" story i have ever seen on this site

Thanks for sharing.

This is a personal opinion. And it is one I need to say up front. I thought that HDK,Ohio, DQS, Longhorn,Papatoad, and many other great writers were the best. But after having read some of yours...I personally think you write some of the best stories I have ever read in cheating wives...and I haven't read all of them yet!

One of the best and most original takes on the cheating wife genre. Fun read, and interesting insight. I like that the guy, in a moment of honest reflection, realized that his wife drifting (pulling?) away was, at least partially, his own fault. Also an interesting dichotomy between increasing his respect for and acknowledgement of her feelings, and his taking a stronger role in the relationship: no pleading, no begging, no arguing, just honest action and establishment of the new groundrules. I just really liked this tale.

with a devil may care attitude works. TK U MLJ LV NV

Now I'm going to have to read some of your other stories. Iliked this one.

The question perhaps unanswered, was that was he wanted, really?

This is an excellent story, but to me illustrative of somewhat different truths than stated. Women especially seek a mate at or above their sex rank. They want to "marry up", and one way they assure themselves that their spouse has sufficient sex rank is by how attractive he is to other women.

For anyone wanting to know what the heck I'm talking about, look up hypergamy on wikipedia or try Athol Kay's site on 'What is the Red Pill?' Particularly the 'Body Agenda and Sex Rank' part, which contains this little gem: 'Very importantly, whoever has the higher Sex Rank of a couple is the one that has the most control in the relationship – because they can leave and find someone better. The wider apart the Sex Rank is in a couple, the more likely the relationship will fail.'

So, I found the story both entertaining and believable. He demonstrated his sex rank and took back control of the relationship.

And it will work - sometimes. It may work often enough in the real world that many men may try it, but women generally are not like tube socks. One size doesn't fit everyone.

The story was well written and I enjoyed reading it. Thanks for the effort.

The thought you put into developing this story is very good. I really enjoyed it. Thanks.

You don't know what you've got 'til its gone!

Loved the story, loved the writing - I'll be checking out more.

I'm just glad the wife didn't step over the boundary line more than she already did. A married individual has no right allowing guys to kiss & rub against their ass, that's just one step away from cheating on your spouse. I actually liked the wife in this story ; which is rare, I think she was speaking up about the problems she felt was plaguing their marriage but her husband refused to acknowledge that there was in fact a problem. The husband finally understood that he can't tell his wife her feelings are wrong. Somewhere down the line this couple forgot how to listen / communicate, they used to be able to talk but after 15 years of marriage they took each other for granted & they lost touch with what's really important. I actually enjoyed the husbands little game, I thought it was funny. The Wife irritated me a bit, the wife's friend is a bitch who needed to mind her own business, I loved when frank put her in her place. I hate when women who's never been married nor ever had a meaningful relationship in their pathetic lonely lives feel this obsession to butt into a marital squabble. The friend claimed to be trying to help frank's wife, but I have to agree with frank 110% , how is talking to her friends about the problems in her marriage going to help her & her husband? She really should've been talking to the husband. How is making out with other guys help improve the situation at home? I have friends such as the wife, a bunch of lonely jealous bitches who are always quick to play doctor Phil but can't hold onto a man to save their life, I don't take advice from single friends whose idea of loving is meeting guys at the bar & sucking & fucking them. This is why I was a bit irritated with the wife, they've been together for 15 years, if she felt that he won't listen to her grievences regarding the problems in their marriage she should've threatened him with divorce--without the "I'm Not In Love With You" bit. Because something's that are said in the heat of the moment can't be taken back. I'm pretty sure the mention of divorce would've woke her husband up if he refused to either acknowledge the problems or by going to counseling. If the wife can keep the topic of her marriage off the table from the scandalous ass bitches her & frank will make it. It's ok to get advice or input, but once her friends starts filling her head with bullshit maybe she needs to step back & say fuck you bitches. Because like frank said if they were really her friends they wouldn't of tried pimping her out to other guys & her friends should've atleast had the decency to get to know her husband of 15 years. All my friends know my husband, they actually call & ask him for advice on how to handle their husband's/boyfriend's, we even go on double dates. The wife was allowing these bitches to interfere in her marriage. Stop that!

Six years after the death of my wife{after twenty-five years together} I find the women I'm introduced too as sad little creatures. I keep telling everyone, I'm not interested in 'Good Christian Housewives'. They are so beaten down by their lives and the infantile males who had crushed their spirits, there is no there, there!

Or as Pandarus put it in "Sacrifice", the titan protagonist made the mistake of demanding twenty virgins, when he would of much rather have had a pair of whores.

Twenty Virgins, the drivelish concept for a cheesey bad porn film.

And don't even get me started on the family baggage burdening those 'Good Christian Housewives'. I had thought that my wife's family were the in-laws from hell but actually after seeing the rest of you, I find myself a little more tolerant of their foibles and eccentricities.

I have a very strong ego and I expect a very strong woman, who when I push and shove, she will vigorously push and shove back for what she thinks is correct and right. All these misogynist anonymities who venomously comment on this site are pathetic. As that old Manchu insult, all they want for a woman is a 'Smooth Subject'.

Basically these perpetual adolescent males would be satisfied with buggering sheep.

I felt that Frank saying he would continue seeing other women spoilt the ending so I gave the story 4*.

this story is based on practical, usable theory. Based on a second reading I feel this deserves a higher score than the first one I gave it. Sooo that being the case I offer a five this time.

... it was a good story. I like happy endings. I don't think the wife or her girl friend would have reacted that way. In truth it would have been the woman scorned thing, with retaliation and counter retaliation. I loved the way he handled things. But I think he would have come back from the second date to find his clothes on the lawn and the locks on the house re keyed.

Panther Fan.

apart from his determination to keep dating - that wasn't necessary and should have been left as a kind of Sword of Damocles.

You cannot go through a lifetime together without having crisis. Over the years, people will change, and if you get married when you are (too) young (e.g fresh out of high school) then your experience in life is as poor as a church mouse!

In short, these two are a crystal clear example of a husband and wife that over time have begun to come short of communication and drift apart because they don't nurse and treat their life together - much like having a rose garden. A great tale and also a very precise portrait of what married life can be, and often is, about.

Spot on!

I have been 8 inches deep in Linda for months. Her "confusion" is because she was falling IN love with me but understands she's just one of my women. While you were "dating", we were fucking so your theory is bullshit. I still nail her at work from time to time. So, better not go down on her. Got to go, Carol is on her way over.

Justin

While you have been having an imaginary affair with my wife, i have been having an actual one with your wife AND your mother. Your mother is actually in love with me but im not. I just cant tell her shes just a pussy to me. And cuckolding an arrogant pin prick like you does seem enticing. So im not going to stop. Well , gotta go. Seems like your father has finished cleaning your mother out for me.

Frank.

#annon faggot

I know it is just a story and i would have just booted her out, uncertain, low self esteem and all. Messing around with other men is a deal breaker in my book. He played it just right but I would have been gone.

I feel I must apologize for the readers. You share your inspiration and work with us FOR FREE. Yet, if they do not like your story, they do not criticize it, instead they launch foul personal attacks on you. It is amazing anyone still post stories.

Finally, Finally.... A story that should be called a story. Wow! here marriage troubles, a wife wants a divorce, meddling friends, and a guy friend or two wanting to take advantage (no doubt) but, when reality sets, the husband simply says fine lets divorce, you don't love fine I did not love you either.. and right away start dating.. and not just date, having women come calling everyday... talk about a reality smack. The truth is, her friends were her worst enemies in counselling. The other truth was, she was replaceable quick snap and in a hurry by all the dating her husband was doing. and the women were young and very attractive. Its clear she had no where to go and life would be a lonely one. A marriage counsellor wouldn't solve this issue but a good dose of reality sure did the trick. I think a good title would have been .. You never know what you have until its gone. and their marriage was almost gone.. then she wanted it back.. good for them... 5 stars well done.

I love how hubby gave his wife's so called friends a good dose of reality about them not knowing what the fuck they were talking about.

I thought it was a pretty good story. It might have worked on my first wife too....will never know. But this marriage has lasted 21 years so I'm not complaining. Was still a good read...I give it a 5. Samsiewamsie

when its effective they both can succeed, TK U MLJ LV NV

A really good read a I am sure that this story could apply to a lot of marriages.

The husband did have a brain, a plan he just did realise it while being blindsided by his confused wife !

This story not to far from being plausible real life situation.

The scene with the meddling wife's friend Carol was spot on. It amazes me how a partners girlfriends know she is stepping out yet do nothing, cover for her, lie for, and have go at the husband as if it is his fault she is cheating !

Is this some notion that she is trying to find true love or when her friends cheat the wife will cover for them ! ?

A lot of problems occur because of break down in communication within a marriage !

Most people should have some down time just to catch up with one another.

This is just the type of read that I love.

Another fine example of regular nights out with the girls not being a good idea for a marriage unless the couple is into sharing, having an open marriage, etc. Maybe he should go on a date every time she goes out with the girls. (He had let that go on for too long.)

I agree with you Tim. If you are married you should never drink without your spouse present. I have seen too many marriages go down the drain, and they all started with drinking. Alcohol and sexual misconduct are linked, everyone knows this and yet many pretend it is not true. That is why booze is known as liquid panty remover, and why men in bars ply women with drinks. I would take all this one step further, if you are married you should not socialize without your spouse. It is important to maintain your identity as a couple to the rest of the world as well as among yourselves. You also should not form friendships with members of the opposite sex straight or gay. In no way is this good for a marriage. They have no interest in the success of your marriage. If you have a friend that your spouse has some legitimate concerns about their character, that friend has to go or be drastically limited. Marriage is a choice and it means that you have chosen to part from the lifestyle of a single person. More so, that you have chosen commitment over selfish hedonism and immediate gratification. This applies to men as much as it does to women.

This is the best approach to a cheating or unhappy wife. You cannot change their feelings. You cannot control their actions. However, her low self esteem was really her issue to work out, and not the responsibility of the husband. Perhaps they should have communicated more but at the same time neither of them are psychologists. If their had been more honesty between them a lot of problems could have been avoided.

I'm curious, how are you getting an internet connection back in the 1950's? And why are you using it to rant about how marriage should work as though all people are exactly the same and have to follow your backwards, restrictive rules to have a 'good' marriage instead of using it to look up sports scores for gambling?

If you think you are a modern man, then the world truly is in a precarious place.

Nobody gives a shit about your stupid, inane comments.

Make as many comments as you like, you will never sell the MAJORITY on your sick views.

Go keep up vacuuming all that crusty yoghurt.

Beware of bad advice from single friends. Fortunately this marriage was saved but it could have went either way. Still could.

That's the beauty of fiction. Author's discretion.

Great tale. Five stars.

loved the story, I don't know how it actually worked, because there was no background on the wife as to where these feelings were coming from. the idea that one has something over the other(threat) is not a good marriage.

get a fucking post-nup. you catch her cheating she walks with nada.

I really enjoyed this. Much netter than "Just Plain Bob's" crappy stories.

I believe all GOOD Fiction is the result of someone trying to explain or explore one of Life's many mysteries or profound truths.

I myself have been thinking and writing different things that I am hoping will result in a collection of the truths I have discovered in Life and roll them into a story.

I thought you explained the situation well. I would like to add I noticed others made comments about your not going into any depth about the reasons for the wife's feelings. In my judgment there was no need for me to know more, about the issues the wife was having because they were irrelevant to the truth that you were sharing'. The story was primarily about HOW the character dealt with the confrontation and subsequent possible devoice. In fact I would like to say that it was very good, that as a writer you did not, because in real life the man would only have the information to cope with the situation that your character had.

Well Done

5 Stars

The husband realized his mistakes in dealing with his "confused" wife and sets out to show her what she had been throwing away a little at a time. The telling thing here was that instead of trying to talk to her husband, in the beginning she went to her "friends" and took their advice. Talking to other men about your marriage is seldom a good thing, especially if the husband finds out about it. Allowing them to touch and kiss her was way over the line and could have been grounds for a very nasty divorce. Then the wife pulling away from the marriage, at the advice of her friends. Not good. That's why it is not a good idea for a husband and wife to have separate friends. Not one of the friends in either group had the best interests of both spouses at heart. And the first time that either one of the married couple takes the advice of one of their friends that is not supportive of the marriage as a whole, the whole deal goes down.

I liked the fact that the husband was decisive but not mean or spiteful and although he did realize that he had been a stumbling block in the marriage, he also saw that he couldn't live with the person she had become. He never tried to hurt her, physically or emotionally. She was the one that wanted the divorce, he just concurred.

Boy, was this story interesting and different. I enjoyed it and his dealings with his wife. She wanted him to be miserable and depressed that she wanted a divorce. He played it just right when he calmly said "OK" that's a good idea. When he began dating and having fun with his dates, he realized that he didn't need her. It appears that she started having second thoughts about her not loving him and asking for a divorce. Just maybe a lot of disappointment with him was actually her fault.

If I was this character, I don't think that I could ever get past the fact that she was dating other men while still married and without telling him. I would have gone for the divorce and lived a happy and fun life, without the anchor of a wife around my neck. But that's just me. Good Writing, Good Story and Thank You for it.

yes it was different she had cheated and her friends helped, she should have been gone in a heart beat. she had to throw in she had never slept with the other men that sounds more like guilt than truth to me. and her good friend Carol who was not married never been married nor a counselor giving her advice and Linda excepting it. now we see why Carol has never been married, I liked the way she started rough and ready at lunch with him and was left as a shaking piece of human flesh when he finished with her.

is there a sequel for this story or is one in the works.

RON TEXAS

No kids? What's the point? At least adopt or get foster kids? Two people alone together is bound to get boring. We are built to live in families, not just couples, it is too stagnant and claustrophobic. The marriage relationship has to evolve.

and I realized that no one had gotten around to having a chat with the father confessor from work. I am sure that the husband really needs to have a "come to Jesus" meeting with him. He is obviously in the wrong line of work and while the wife was responsible for keeping the watch lantern light in her half of the marriage she didn't need someone trying to put out the fire. Hubby couldn't go to all of the men in the bars that had fondled his wife but he could have sent an example of his displeasure their way. Minus some teeth or maybe an ear.

More like the blind chasing the blind. I'm thinking in 99.9% of the cases if you behaved like this you end up divorced. And since your wife has so little respect for you and you really have shown you had little love or respect for your wife, why stay married? This was both silly and implausible.

If I read a few comments right, how is this not plausible? You are married for what 16 years, and your spouse drops a bomb shell on you called divorce? Why? because of a know it all watch a few marriage counselor shows and listen to a few radio programs and wham you have the 8 year Psychology degree wrapped up. Lets not forget the horny male co workers that are not thinking with their brains. What would most want the husband to do crawl and cry and pout? Going out on dates right away showed her that 1. he is available and attractive to other women and very much desirable too. 2. She does not control the atmosphere in the house. I would take stock in the future of telling her friend in her face that next time she will be served with alienation of affection and be sued until she found her self broke and sleeping under a rail road trestle for the remainder of her life. I would also pay a visit to her mail colleagues and remind them of sexual harassment policies in their work place and a lawsuit from him will follow them everywhere and so will wage garnishments until his lawsuit is paid in full. Bottom line you treat a spoiled brat the same way, a marriage is about partnerships, the author is right! Problems issues and concerns are discussed with your partner not with a friend or co workers, and you don't discuss your marriage and your spouse to anyone other than a licensed counselor or your spouse. Her actions were wrong and the end result brought the two back together. There was no chance at divorce, she realized how much she would lose in the divorce, and the notion from her friend, "kick him out and change the locks" well typical of a feminine attitude, regardless of the cost to each of them. Great story lots of lessons learned.

People sometimes take what they have for granted. He who cares the least can sometimes fix that.

part. Often it is our friends who lead us astray and not any outside force. Through best intentions and sometimes not so good efforts we get advice from a source that only sees one side of the equation. I am not a fan of psycho-babble at all but at least when you see a councilor about your marriage said professional has access to both sides of the story. What you do with their advice is up to you but it comes from a much more informed source that his or her friends.

Well written. Glad it worked out but she did cheat and she did damage the trust in their marriage. Dating, kissing and confiding are worse in the long run than actual coitus. Unless these things are addressed and reconciled then it won't work.