24 Hours to Decide

It was going to be a theme running through some of my stories within LW of. 'You can love two people at the same time. But you have to choose.' But I have decided to make it a series. Sometimes it's the Wife, sometimes the Husband and even the Lover at times. Sometimes it is Love of a person, or a lifestyle. Some are BTB and some RAAC.

Let's see where this goes.

This is the first one.

Series name. "You have to choose."

Please just enjoy the stories. it's fiction just like 'Maybe in Another Life.'  

She had 24 hours to decide, well nearly 25 actually.   

My name is Graham Kent, and like Clarke Kent in the Superman Comics I am a mild mannered man, I am a thinker. I come from a village on the East of Romney Marsh in Kent. And if Russel Thorndike is to be believed a place of dark goings on of the Reverend Doctor Syn. Someone at work who knew me well pointed out the three Kent's, it made me giggle every time I thought about it, but that wasn't often these days.  

I was looking forward to the rest of the weekend, mostly. Kim and I had been married for 15 years and we had Ben who was 10 and Beth 8. I had things planned to do with Kim and the kids. And I would insist she comes this time.   

I got back from my morning run to find Kim was sitting at the kitchen table in an uncomfortably quiet house. She was looking as pretty as a picture, but I guessed it wasn't for me.   

"Where are the kids?" I asked.   

"They're at my Mum and Dad's, we've got something to talk about."   

Here it comes, she's going to tell me about her affair.   

I nod.    

"You know I love you right?" I just shrugged my shoulders.    

I unstrapped my phone from my arm and put it on the table starting the recorder.   

She carried on looking me full in the face, brazenly. "But I love another man as well."   

Well, I didn't see that coming, I thought it was going to be. 'It's just sex, you won't notice any difference, it'll be over soon.' or something like that. But I had noticed. I was just waiting to see where it went and to get the proof. Now I have it. 

She carried on. "It hasn't changed how I feel about you, you've lost nothing. You haven't missed out on anything; I've treated you exactly the same as I always have."   

I couldn't believe what she was saying, how could she be so delusional? I'd guessed she'd been cheating on me, and I was in the process of getting evidence. I also had a plan with what to do with that information once I got it. I knew it was with one of the young managers at her work. She worked in a supermarket superstore that did training for new managers; most of them seemed to be young.

They would be here for several months then shipped off to take up posts around the country, normally near their hometowns. She's normally in the back office but when the shop floor gets busy, she helps out on the tills and shelf stacking. It means a bit of overtime and extra cash.   

She didn't stop and I let her carry on digging her hole. "I want to keep on seeing him. You'll never notice, you haven't so far."   

"Haven't I?"   

"No, you haven't, otherwise you would have said something."   

"I haven't said anything because you told me you were ill, 'the change' you called it." She was only 38, it happens, but that's a bit early for most women.   

I held my hand up and started counting off on my fingers. "When was the last time you went to football practice with Ben, or a Saturday match to watch our son play?"  

"Bethany's ballet practice, that is something you missed as well, although you did come to her show with me last week."    

"And your wages have dropped, but I see you going to work every day, so I assume when you say you're going to work, you're spending the day with him."   

"I shall go on."   

"Instead of sex three or four times a week we're down to once or twice. So you're getting it from him aren't you."   

She was nodding her head, I said. "For the recorder she's nodding her head."   

"When was the last time you washed the car instead of just letting me do it. Remember it used to be a family thing, I used to wash the outside and you'd clean the inside and the kids would do the wheels. Splashing water everywhere and laughing. Now I have to do it all because you told me you were ill. And as it's not so much fun the kids don't come out to play anymore."   

"When was the last time you phoned your Mum and Dad for more than 5 minutes, instead of the 20 minutes like you used to? You're trying to save money on the phone bill so you can spend more time on the phone with him? They told me about that, so they've noticed. They asked me the other day if you're alright.   

"Oh, and the phone bill, that's why you went for the bigger tariff when you started using up your old one."   

"We used to go to the pub together on Saturday and play darts and chat with our friends, but now you tell me to go on my own because you're not feeling well. Is that so you can spend hours on the phone with him? Or does he sneak around here whilst I'm out?"   

He wasn't, we had security cameras covering the complete outside of the house and I had checked those. But she didn't know that.   

"And now I know why all the sly grins from the ladies on the checkout when I go shopping at your supermarket, I'm going to assume the whole bloody shop knows about it, and I'm the last to know. It's become clear, now I thought they were just being friendly."   

"You're showering every time you come in from work late, but not when you come in at the normal time. And coming home smelling of toothpaste like you have just brushed your teeth. Is that to cover up his smell or another reason. And the lots of perfume to hide his smell or is it the smell of sex you're trying to hide?"   

"Oh, look I seem to have run out of fingers."   

"I hope it is not just sexual, I hope it's a deep and meaningful relationship? You know, like washing his little sports car together. Discussing why so many people get murdered in Midsomer or on the island of Saint Marie, or which museum you are going to take the kids to next?  

"I suppose your course away for work was with him." She looked down into her lap, I think it's finally twigged that they hadn't been as discrete as they thought they were. "Are there actually courses or did you make them up? I find it hard to believe that a paper shuffler, part time shelf stacker would need to go on a course."   

"You see, the list just keeps going on, doesn't it. I'm glad he paid for the hotel on your course, but there again even on a trainee manager's wage, I suppose he can afford it. I hope it was a good hotel." She still carried down looking into her lap. "So now you've lied to me, you've broken my trust, and you want to carry on seeing him?"   

"So, it's not just me that's lost something, it's your parents, our children and our friends. And we didn't pressure you because you said you were ill. And we believed you, well, the kids did anyway."   

I went and made myself a cup of coffee. 

Why did I let it get so far with her having an affair, well I wasn't squeaky clean. After Beth was born Kim was very depressed. The intimacy was not there, not just the sex but the whole intimacy fell off. She wouldn't even let me touch her, cuddle her, comfort her. I succumbed to the attentions of an attractive young widow, Jackie, who I was fitting a kitchen for. I'm ashamed to say it wasn't just the one time with her. We did it quite a few times. I realised it was wrong and she was just using me anyway. The sex was good but laying together in bed with somebody who would let you touch them was better, but it was wrong, so I stopped it. Jackie wanted to carry on, so did I, but it was wrong.  Eventually after we convinced Kim she had a problem and a few visits to the Doctor we got Kim out of her funk and back to normal. 

I'm a carpenter by trade. I do stuff with wood, anything from fitting high class kitchens to putting up fence posts, it's just me and I could move my business anywhere. I could find work in any part of the country.   

I went to my computer desk and pulled out two envelopes. I laid the first one down on the table and gave her the second one. She could see the letterhead Brown and Johnson Private Detective Agency on the one on the table. She looked at me, I looked at her. "It's all in there." I said tapping it but kept it close to me. I hope she didn't open it, it was just four pages of A4 foolscap with nothing on them. In fact there wasn't even a Brown and Johnson detective agency. But what struck her was the second envelope in her hand because she knew that the solicitors Harris and Brownlow do exist, they managed our house purchase. But up until the revelation she wanted to keep on seeing him, what was in that envelope was an empty threat.   

This was something I hadn't seen coming, I'd been hoping after a week or two, which was as long as my affair lasted, it would stop once she got it out of her system. It had lasted longer than that so I planned to confront her, admit to my affair and say we were even and carry on as a family to old age. I wasn't expecting her to fall in love with loverboy. Her comment that she loved him and wanted to keep on seeing him drove that out the window.   

 I was pretty certain I knew who he was.    

I got myself another coffee, this one was cold. We had been sitting in the kitchen. I went into the living room and sat on the sofa on my own. I need some time to think. I hate it when a plan doesn't come together. Shit I should be used to that by now.   

She came into the living room and sat opposite me in an armchair. "So you love him and you love me equally." She nodded her head. "And you want to carry on seeing him behind my back."   

"No, not behind your back we'll be open with you, but we'll be discreet."   

"Like you've been discrete in the past?" I growl at her. "The whole bloody shop knows, and your parents and our friends suspect."   

"We didn't think you'd notice, but we have a plan in case you did. Gerald and I will break up. And after it's died down, we will start again. We've made mistakes, but we can learn from them."   

"So, if I agree to this, do we go back to how we were, washing the car as a family fun job, and coming to the pub with me? Will the sex go back up to 3 or four times a week then, and I won't have sloppy seconds, if anyone has them it's him."   

"Sweetheart, if that's what you want, then. Yes. I do love you, but I love him as well. He will be gone in 5 months and it will hurt me when he leaves, but I will be back with you full time forever." Yeah, right until the next pretty boy comes along. She carried on. "Sorry sweetheart, it is love, not sex. In fact, you're better than him. He's too eager, too selfish."   

"Well, you'll have to teach him, like I did you." We were good together in bed, now.   

She thought that I had caved in. Oh so wrong.   

"Yes, yes, yes anything sweetheart." I think she thought she'd won. She hadn't worked out that if we went back to doing everything I said she wouldn't have time for him. If he was still around that is.   

Then there was a change of tack from her.   

"He didn't want to be open with you. But I couldn't do it anymore because I love you. If you met him, you'd like him. He's a nice chap."   

Then I pointed out something to her. "Is that so we can rub my face in it and call me cucky boy. I don't bloody think so. And nice chaps don't go around seducing other men's wives." But my plan had changed, I was going to meet him. And he wouldn't like it. I will be leaving my cricket bat at home, this time.   

I'd seen who I thought it was, but now I had a name I knew exactly who it was. And that gave me an insight into what I think he was doing. He was a bit like me, a little bit taller, a bit broader and a lot younger. You could say he was good looking. I don't have an opinion on men being good looking. But he wasn't an ugly bastard, although the way I was feeling my cricket bat might change that. But not this week.   

She'd obviously been planning this but so had I. I just had to change my plans.   

I sat as if in thought. I looked at her. "Sorry sweetheart. I can't do that. It's him or me. I will not share."   

Her face dropped, she thought she was winning.   

"Right, you have 24 hours to decide between him or me. I can understand that you can love two people. I've done it, but I had to choose, and I chose you, so now you have to choose. I will not share.   

"It's just after 11, I'll give you 24 hours to come back here and tell me which one of us you choose, no let's make it midday, the change from one part of the day to the next part of the day. From morning to afternoon and that will be when my marriage changes. One way or another. You are not to contact him, you are not to speak to anybody about this. Not your friends or your family. You have to make this decision on your own. No asking for somebody else's help and then blaming them when it goes to rat shit. So, pack an overnight bag and go. I'll call you a taxi. Leave your phone behind.   

"If you talk to anybody about this it will be instant divorce. I will fight for custody of the children. And I will tell all the family and friends what a two timer you are. Your parents won't like it."   

"But I want to stay here with you, I've got dressed up nice for you, I've got your favourite stockings on. You know how much you like it when I wrap my silk stocking legs around your back." So, I was wrong, it was for me. I thought about it, actually, no it was for her, so she could sway me into her way of thinking. It didn't work.   

She packed her bag whilst I called the taxi. I heard her tell the driver to drop her off at the park in the middle of town. That would help me check up on her.   

It didn't take long to find out where he lived, a quick phone call to the supermarket and I told them some fib about I had something for him. They really shouldn't have told me, but they all know me. I followed her first to make sure she didn't go to him because I'm going to pay him a visit. Without my cricket bat. She went and sat in the park. I watched her for about 20 minutes, she just sat there, I thought she was crying. I had something to do for that 20 minutes. It is not wasted. I talked to our parents, hers are particularly disgusted. And a few of our friends, some of them were very quiet, as if they suspected something but didn't want to say anything. I will sort that out later. 

And of course, there are always the kids to think about in this, and I hadn't, because I thought my plan was going to work. Bugger.   

I went home and changed into my work clothes, especially my safety boots. It's a short drive to his place, a long terrace row of two up, two downs. That got me thinking a bit. I knocked on his front door. He opened it. He went to slam it shut, but I put my foot in it, I didn't notice a thing.    

I held my hands up. "I just want to talk, that's all, we have some stuff to organise." I could see a small smirk appear across his face.   

 He opened the door slowly, I didn't rush him.   

"She's told you?" He said. I nod my head   

He had the look that someone was going to jump on him and beat the shit out of him. Not yet.   

"Can I come in and we can talk about this sensibly, man to man." He wasn't expecting that.   

He let me in. He had a baseball bat in his hand, he was expecting trouble.

"You won't need that, we just need to sort stuff out." I pointed towards the bat. He put it by the front door. He seemed relieved.

It's a small house, quite tidy. We went into the kitchen. Through the back window I could see they still had the outside toilet, but it looked like it had been joined to the house. It looked clean and well maintained, quite a smart bachelor pad to bring your latest conquest to. I can see little bits of Kim around, the style of ornaments, and the shape of the picture frames. I noticed the big telly and Xbox.   

"Tea or coffee?"   

"Coffee, please. White no sugar."   

He made some. It was instant but OK, it gave me more time to look around.   

I just sat there waiting for him to start. I let the silence do its work. "I do love her, you know." He said. 

"I don't know, I've never seen you together, so I don't know. But I'm going to believe you, for now. She says she loves you and after watching her, I believe she does."   

"She told you, I wanted her to. I didn't think she would, it's been bothering her going behind your back, she didn't think you'd noticed. We've tried to make it discreet but I'm afraid our feelings got the better of us, and it's crept out." Somebody was lying here, I wasn't sure who. In reality, I didn't care.   

So that was it, they'd been discovered, and this was their way out, to come clean.   

"Look, can we keep it to ourselves? My work would get upset. I work a lot; I'm trying to get ahead, make a name for myself." Well had in my eyes and it was 'Twat'.    

So, it wasn't management at work that knew about it or were they just turning a blind eye. 

As I suspected, that was it. He spent all his time at work, he didn't have time to go out looking for pussy. So, he would tap a married bint at work, preferably with children and when he finished down here, he would just up and leave. He may even get some housework and cleaning done for him.   

"I do love her, but I realise she loves you as well. I'm willing to share, you haven't noticed any change so far." How fucking magnanimous of him. Allowing me to have a share of my wife. Where is my cricket bat? But I didn't hear any conviction in his voice.   

I put on a startled look. "Didn't fucking notice." I said sharply. He sat back as if I'd smacked him. 

Then I started on the list that I had ticked off for Kim, about what I had noticed, his face fell. Especially when I told him that I considered that he was stealing time and money from me, by her telling me she was working when she was with him, and not paying for the upkeep of our house and feeding the children.   

"That's very kind of you being magnanimous enough to share my wife with me. But I don't share. It's you or me. If she chooses me, you will never see her again. If she chooses you that's fine, it means she loves you more than me. And I love her enough not to stand in her way. Obviously, I hope it's me but if it's you, I have to make you aware of certain things.   

"Ben has football practice on Tuesday night and Beth has ballet on Thursday. Kim can't drive so you'll have to take them to that. Every other Saturday Ben plays for the local under eleven team. He's not very good, you'll have to bolster him up a little bit, give him some encouragement."   

"What do you mean?" He spluttered.   

He thought he would get all the fucking without any of the responsibilities. I could see his game.   

"Well, if she chooses you, you will have to take my place. You'll need a bigger house. They are nearly teenagers. They can't sleep in the same room. I assume that the little sports car outside is yours." He nodded his head. "That'll have to go, you can't fit 4 in that."   

This wasn't going the way he planned. You could see things going around in his head. "But, but they'll stay with you."   

"No, they'll become yours. You can adopt them, eventually, I suppose. I've seen too many families destroyed by going to each parent on alternate weekends. It's not good for the children. I love mine enough to not let that happen, and if I have to sacrifice not being with them to make them happy, I'll do it. They're young enough to get over it, if you're good to them." I leaned forward. "And you had better be."   

"Oh and when my parents come to visit, a word of warning about my Dad. He's an ex Royal Marine Commando, he is getting on a bit now but he's still quite fit. He believes in loyalty so when he shakes your hand and tries to crush it, smile and say 'thank you Sir', stand at the back of the room and try to show your loyalty to my wife and the children. Be quiet and respectful, especially to the Monarchy."