A Change in Marital Status

They entered The Lighthouse and were seated near the windows overlooking the entrance to the marina. As they looked at their menus Alessa said, "This looks really good."

"I've eaten here quite a few times and everything I've had has been delicious. They make a very good white chowder. That's what I'm going to have."

She closed the menu and said, "Make that two chowders. Does it come in a bread bowl?"

"Last time I had it here, it did." The waitress came and Dave asked about the bread bowls. Getting a "Yes" he ordered two bowls.

When the waitress walked away Alessa asked, "I'm not going to get much physical affection in public, am I?"

"No. If I kiss you or whatever, someone might call Ruth and tell her what they saw. She doesn't deserve that and it wouldn't be good for either of our reputations either."

"Whatever you decide will be Ok with me, but I'd like to meet Ruth. I'd like to talk to her and see if maybe she'd be Ok with us having a sexual relationship."

"Right. I think she'd be worried that if she said Ok we'd end up divorced pretty quickly. I think she likes life just as it is now. I know if a woman cheats on her man he gets called a cuckold. I'm not sure there's a word for the woman who is married to a man who has sex with another woman."

"I'm not too worried about labels. I do know that if we didn't have to worry about being caught life would be better for all three of us."

"I can see how it would be better for me and possibly for you. How would it be better for my wife?"

"She wouldn't be wondering if you were with someone. She'd know you were with me and she'd know you weren't leaving her. We could address her concerns and do things to make her life less stressful."

Their lunches arrived. For a few minutes their focus was on eating, not on talking. Finally Dave said, "I just can't see how I'd start a conversation with her about me having sex with you."

Alessa squirmed in her seat and said, "I have a question for you. Which would you rather have, me having a sexual relationship that I attempt to hide from you or a sexual relationship that you know I'm discreetly having?"

Dave knew she was role-playing for him. He responded, "She'd want to know why I need to have a sexual relationship at all."

"So? What's the answer?"

"I didn't have menopause. Nothing happened to my hormones to cause me to stop wanting sex."

"Very good. I think that's a great way to start the conversation. She has very little control over her hormones. You aren't blaming her. You give her the power to decide which option she wants most."

"She might say she doesn't want either option." Dave said.

"Then you say, "Ok. I'll do my best to hide any possible relationship from you, if I ever have one." You smile. You be agreeable and don't get into an argument. You gave her a choice and she picked." Alessa smiled.

"What do we do today?" Dave asked.

"If you want to wait, we can take a walk today, get to know each other better and then, after you talk to your wife, we can schedule time over at the Hyatt."

"I've already waited a year."

"Then I'll leave my car right where it is and we'll drive in your car over to the Hyatt. What time do you need to leave to be home without raising her suspicions?"

"I'd need to leave at three." Dave answered, looking at his watch. They only had two hours.

"We aren't spending eighty dollars an hour today! We are going to find a little privacy and get to know each other a little better. My agreement with my husband is that I won't bring anyone home. At some point he will want to meet you. When that happens it will be in a neutral, public place."

Dave paid the bill and they left the Lighthouse. Dave pictured meeting Alessa's husband sometime in the future. As he pictured it he wondered how it could be Ok for Alissa's husband to meet a man he knew had been bedding his wife.

They walked the path between the marina and the channel just like in Dave's dream. Out at the end of the path they found a secluded area near the round building that housed the harbormaster's office. They stepped out of sight of anyone.

When they were secluded Alessa wrapped her arms around Dave as Dave wrapped her in his arms. All the repressed passion of the last year came to Dave in that first kiss, lighting a flame in him that needed to burn. Alessa felt him harden and felt his cock pressing against her through their clothes.

She felt herself heating up, responding to his wanting her. She broke their kiss and whispered, "Dave, touch me."

Dave lifted her dress high enough to allow his hand to reach directly to her panties, only to discover she wasn't wearing any. His hand found bare skin and when he touched her mound she moaned into his mouth. He let one finger slip between the folds of her smooth pussy, sliding over her clit and into the wetness she generated.

Dave kissed her mouth, probing into her with his tongue as his hands explored and teased her nerve endings. When they broke their kiss Dave said, "We've got to stop. I want you, but I don't want our first time to be a memory of us back by the trash bins."

"You lit this fire! Do something to help put it out, not just leave me frustrated." Alessa could feel her juices flowing and her desire fanning the flames of her need.

Dave kept moving his finger, pressing against her clit and barely into her vagina. He kissed her neck. She moaned and felt herself surrendering to the orgasm she wanted, needed, so badly.

When it whelmed her, her wetness covered his hand and some of it ran down along her thighs. She bit his lip and her moan turned into a groan. Her hands grasped at him, her fingernails digging into his arms. Her body shook hard for almost a minute and after the shaking stopped it was followed by after shocks.

"Oh, Dave..." She groaned, "I needed that. I put panties on this morning, but soaked them before I got here. Now the back of my dress will be wet all the way home."

"Is that a complaint?" Dave asked, smiling.

"Hell No! That's a statement of fact. I may smile all the way home." Alessa smiled back at Dave.

Dave withdrew his hand from her mound, putting the finger he had used on her clit into his mouth.

"Hmmm, You taste great. Now I know for sure I want more of you. Maybe next time we're getting together we can get a room and go there just after breakfast. That way I can have you almost all day long."

"I'd like that."

They walked back to their vehicles hand in hand. She asked why that touching was Ok with Dave and he explained by letting her know that he often held hands with friends as they walked. "It's just something I've done since I was a kid. It helps me stay connected to the person and to maintain balance."

"When we get to my car I'm going to want a kiss."

"And so will I. Hell, I want one right now. We can kiss, but not the full-on wonderful kiss we shared back there. This will be a peck."

"Oh, all right. Saying I understand isn't the same as I like it, is it?"

"No, Alessa, it isn't."

Mostly they walked without talking, each in their own thoughts. When they got to Alessa's car she unlocked the door and Dave opened it. She moved just enough that the movement was an invitation for him to kiss her. He gave her a quick promissory kiss, promising her more when next they were together.

After she sat down she said, "When we get together again I'll show you the new bra I bought and wore today, thinking maybe I'd get to show it to you."

"Anyone ever call you a tease?"

She nodded. "Yes. More than once, as a matter of fact. A little teasing is a way to heighten the anticipation, don't you agree?" Her smile communicated to Dave that she wanted to give him everything he wanted... and she wanted to relish the time they had to wait.

Dave agreed with her, closed the door of her car and watched as she drove out of the parking lot.

He got into his El Camino and drove home. His thoughts were about Alessa instead of on how much he enjoyed the sound and feel of the El Camino. When he pulled into the garage he noticed that Ruth's car wasn't there, yet. He dialed her on his cell and she answered after the first ring.

"I'm at the market. Is there anything you want?"

"Yes, there is. A can of shaving gel. We still have some razors from my last trip to Costco, but I need some gel."

"They probably have the small travel cans and the big cans. Which do you want?"

"The big one."

"Anything else you want?"

"Yes, but you can't get it at the store."

"What do you want, Dave?"

"You, naked in bed with me enjoying the after-glow."

"In your dreams, Dave. In your dreams." She hung up.

He headed for his computer and thought, 'There was the opening for the conversation. When she said "In your dreams" I could have asked if it would be Ok if I had a lover.'

He started his computer and searched for places he and Alessa could spend time together... for less than eighty dollars an hour. His thought processes had him thinking of the math. A hundred seventy-nine dollars at the Hyatt. If they arrived before nine and left at three they would have six hours of play time. 'That's less than thirty bucks an hour!' he thought.

Ruth made noise as she entered the back door. Dave shut down the computer and helped bring in the bags from her car. She talked all the while about the gossip and news from school. Dave unloaded the bags one at a time starting with the two that held freezer food. He made the proper noises as she spoke, letting her know that he was indeed listening.

As he tucked all the empty bags in the cupboard he asked, "Got time for a conversation?"

She stopped moving and turned to face him.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I didn't say there was anything wrong. I just asked if you have the time and tolerance for a conversation."

"I do. Shall we sit in the living room?"

"The den will be just fine. The living room is too formal for me to be comfortable in there."

"I like all the furniture in the living room." She said, diverting him towards something other than what he wanted to talk about.

"You want the living room, then the living room it is." He took steps in that direction. She followed and asked what was wrong with the furniture. Dave sat on the couch and said, "Nothing's wrong with the furniture in here. I'm just more comfortable in the den. Now, can we have the conversation I'd like to have or would you rather argue about the furniture?"

"Touchy, touchy." She said as she sat across from him.

"You must be psychic. Touch is what I want to talk about."

"You touched me yesterday!"

"There are men who might say that putting lotion on their wife's back and twelve seconds of touching her breasts was enough. It isn't enough for me."

Ruth leaned forward and said, "This is about you wanting sex, isn't it?"

"Yes." He waited. She shifted in the chair and crossed her legs. The look on her face said she was about to recite the law.

"I don't like sex any more, can't you understand that? I'm not twenty."

"Ok, I understand that. Since you don't want sex any more I have a choice to offer you."

"What kind of choice?"

"Which would you rather have, me having a sexual relationship that I attempt to hide from you or a sexual relationship that you know I'm discreetly having?"

"You want me to choose?" Her face turned a light pink color. "I choose that you don't go out and find someone else."

"That choice was not offered. Either I sneak around or you and I have an agreement that gives me one or two nights a week to sleep somewhere else. No matter which choice you make, I won't bring her here."

"No wife would agree to such a choice! You are married to me!"

"Plan "A" is I sneak. Plan "B" is I have a lover that isn't you and you know where I am. You get to choose. Either way I'm going to have sex at some time in the future."

"I don't want to choose." Her eyes were full of tears.

"Ok. You don't want to know."

Dave got up and headed out the back door. His wife rushed to get ahead of him and said, "Where are you going?"

"Make up your mind. First you say you don't want to know, then you ask where I'm going. Just this once I'll answer your question. I'm going back to the market. You asked what I wanted and I said shaving gel. I helped unpack the bags and there was no gel."

"I forgot it."

Dave went out and Ruth listened to the El Camino announce his departure. He was gone over an hour. When he came home Ruth was in bed. The lights were off. Dave smiled and went into the bathroom and took a shower. When he came to bed he was clean, shaved and shampooed. Less than a minute later he was asleep.

Ruth hadn't been asleep when Dave got home. She listened to him shaving and showering and she wondered if he had been with someone while he was at the store. Her mind filled with possibilities. He could have called HER while he was at the market, setting something up for later in the week. He could have stopped at HER apartment for just a few minutes. He could have...

At 6:30 in the morning the alarm woke them. Ruth had not slept well or long enough. Dave had slept very well, with dreams of hotel rooms, lotions, showers and the taste of Alessa.

Ruth got out of bed, heading for the shower. Dave noticed, not for the first time, that she was growing her bush back. It had a few gray hairs in it.

"Honey, If you want, I'll get the hedge clippers from the garage."

"Why would I want..." She stopped, realizing that Dave was verbally pointing to the triangle of thick hair at the junction of her legs. She huffed then turned and went into the bathroom. The door closed a little bit louder than usual.

Dave got out of bed and dressed while Ruth was in the bathroom. Instead of his normal jeans and t-shirt he put on Dockers and a Lands End button front shirt. When Ruth came into the kitchen Dave was spooning oatmeal into bowls.

"Your all dressed up. Going somewhere special?"

"Nope." He put a bowl of oatmeal in front of Ruth and sat down near her with his bowl. He concentrated on eating.

Ruth took a couple of bites and asked, "Why are you dressed up?"

"I'm dressed to go out of the house. I felt like maybe today I would go shopping and I don't want to look like I crawled from under the El Camino." As he spoke he smiled.

When Ruth finished her oatmeal she put the bowl in the sink and headed for the back door. She stopped beside Dave and leaned to give him a good-bye kiss. His hand went up between them and he said, "I don't want a pity peck or a peck of any kind. If you can't kiss me like I am your husband, your lover, your best friend then, don't bother me." He stood up and carried his bowl to the sink. He turned on the water and said, "I'll take care of the dishes. We don't want you to be late."

Ruth made a sound that Dave interpreted to mean she was upset with him. She more stomped out the back door than walked. It was the first time Dave had ever turned down affection from Ruth.

Dave stood at the sink until the sound of her car was gone. Then he smiled and said, "See how rejection feels."

He made a few phone calls and found out that a friend was going out of town for a week. He volunteered to house-sit for the week, feed their animals, clean the pool and collect their mail. The friend, Mike, asked, "What about Ruth? Will she be house sitting as well?"

"I'll offer it to her, but I want you to count on me, not us. I'll do all the tasks, not Ruth. She has a job. I'll go back to work after you get back."

They made arrangements for Dave to get the keys. When he got off the phone, Dave packed a suitcase full of clothes and things he wanted with him. At two o'clock he got the keys from Mike and wished them a pleasant trip. By four o'clock he and their dog were friends and he made a phone call to their home phone.

His own voice answered the call, saying, "You've reached the Blaylock home. Neither Ruth or Dave can answer the phone right now so please leave us a message."

It beeped and Dave said, "I'm involved in a special project. I'll probably be home some time tomorrow. Enjoy a nice, quiet evening at home. If there is an emergency I can be reached on my cell phone. I love you."

He ordered a pizza delivered and turned on their television. He watched the news and then watched a replay of a college football game. Near the end of the first quarter his cell phone rang. Dave carried the phone quickly into the kitchen and started the dishwasher. He sat on the floor next to the machine and answered, "Hi."

Ruth's voice said, "You got a special project? Where?"

"Honey, If I answer all your questions there is no way I can be discreet. Since you want me to be discreet, I can't answer your questions."

"I can hear machines in the background. I know you're not with her. Tell me where you are. Please."

"I can't. If I answer some of the time then whenever I won't answer you'll know where I am and what I'm doing. I'll be with HER and doing whatever I want with her. The only way I can be discreet is to not ever answer the questions about where I am and what I'm doing."

"You will be home tomorrow?"

"Yes Ruth, I'll be home tomorrow."

"I wanted to talk to you tonight about what you said this morning." She said.

Dave shut off the dishwasher. He said, "Ok. Talk. Or would you like to take the phone into the living room first?"

"I'm in the living room!"

"Ok. Talk to me."

"This morning you stopped me from kissing you, for no good reason. I always kiss you good-bye before I go to work."

"Whoa! Hold it right there. When you first went to work, for the first year or so, I got kissed before you left and kissed when you got home. Those were kisses. I got an erection twice a day for sure. Then it stopped being every day, but at least once a week. Then once a month and then the kisses stopped giving me an erection, because they were no longer kisses. They were like Valentines Day cards. An obligation. I've had enough. Like I said this morning, If you can't kiss me like I'm your husband, your lover, your best friend then, don't bother me."

"I was trying to kiss you this morning!"

"Really? A peck or a tonsil inspection?"

"A what?"

"With your lips together or with tongue?"

"If I kiss you with tongue you'll get hard and want sex!" Her voice was pleading with Dave to understand. "I don't want sex, so I kiss you without tongue."

"Problem with your logic is that I always want sex with you. I married you so I could have you as my sex partner."

"But... but I don't want sex anymore."

"But... but I don't want closed lip kisses any more... They're ready to turn the machine back on... I need to go... Bye."

"What time wi..." Dave pushed the button on the phone. He let the dishwasher finish it's cycle while he went back to the TV.

At ten o'clock he picked up the phone again and dialed all but the last digit of Alessa's number. He held the phone in his hand for a long minute and then put it back on the table. He cradled his head in his hands and let the tears fall. He cried until the tears would no longer fall, believing that his marriage to the woman he loved more than he loved himself, was over.

He slept on the couch.

When he woke up it was raining outside. He was still dressed. He made a fresh pot of coffee and washed his face. He drank two cups of the coffee, black. All the while he thought about his answers to the question, 'What's next?'

Out loud, standing in the kitchen of his friend's house, he said, "Both the women in my life were right! And, they were wrong! This doesn't have to be the end.

He picked up his phone and dialed Alessa's number. It rang three times and then he heard her voice, "Hello."

"She picked discreet. We don't need to meet at a hotel. If I give you an address you can come where I am and stay as long as you like this week."