A Life Altering Decision

A Life Altering Decision

A good marriage goes bad in 30 seconds

It's been several months since I submitted anything. It's not that I haven't been writing, I just can't seem to finish anything! I have no fewer than fourteen unfinished stories on my computer. So this is just a short one to convince myself that I can finish one!

I am submitting this one in the Non Erotic category because there isn't any sex in it. Although, it does involve a wife who believes she's a Loving Wife.

Andrew and Kourtney Simpson, although childless, had been happily married for ten years. Having children was something they both wanted but were waiting until they were secure in their careers and could financially support a family on one income. They were both in their mid thirties and successful lawyers. 'Drew' was a trial lawyer practicing tort law and 'Kort' did contract law for a well known local firm in their home town.

They had finally reached a comfort level with their finances that they had agreed to attend their first American Bar Association National Convention. It was something they both had been looking forward too for sometime. On the long drive to the headquarters hotel where they had reservations for the event their primary conversation had been about starting a family. They both agreed it was time, but Kort admitted she was apprehensive about the prospect.

It was at the Wednesday evening Board Reception that everything came apart. It started out well enough with them both enjoying the atmosphere and companionship of fellow barristers.

It was later in the evening after the formal portion of the reception was over and there was more drinking, dancing, and loud conversation going on when Drew noticed that Kort was in a "playful" mood. That definitely wasn't a bad thing, because it always resulted in a marathon sex session at the end of the night. Kourtney was a beautiful woman with a vivacious personality although somewhat quirky and always flirtatious. Tonight was no exception.

Drew on the other hand was quieter and more reserved. This was very unusual for a trial lawyer. They usually have very outgoing personalities to the point of being obnoxious. At social gatherings Drew tended to blend into the background. He did enjoy watching people and how they interacted. If an uninvited person would start a conversation Drew would immediately become an active participant. He just rarely started up conversations with people he didn't know.

As his wife ordered her fourth Mojito of the evening Drew was rubbing his hand along the inside of her stocking clad thigh and inching closer to her sex, he could feel the heat she was giving off on his fingers. S he had spent an inordinate amount of time on the dance floor with numerous partners this evening and he was definitely looking forward to returning to their hotel room.

As Drew finally reached what he often referred to as 'his pussy' he realized that she no longer had on the black thong she was wearing when they got dressed together. His eyes lit up as he made contact with his wife's dark green eyes. Her eyes had that smoky sex look in them and he was ready to take her right there in the club.

She leaned forward revealing more of her thigh and her ample breasts. She gave out a low appreciative murmur and purred, "I want to have fun tonight honey," while never breaking eye contact.

"I can see that. I can feel it too baby. Let's go to the room."

"Look around Drew honey. We have never been in this city before. Do you see anyone we know from back home?"

Drew looked around reflexively, "No I guess I don't. What's this about?"

"I... want to have fun tonight," it was impossible to miss the very heavy emphasis on the 'I'.

He was stunned. He knew without a doubt what she was referring too. But, although deeply shocked and wounded badly, as a practiced trial lawyer he knew instinctively not to telegraph his true emotions.

In criminal cases lawyers like to think they make more of a difference than they actually do. In most cases the evidence is what the jury focuses on, not the lawyers, but in the case of tort law, it is much more subjective. Juries tend to be bored, the evidence presented is more tedious and subject to interpretation. Or it is so complicated that it is barely understandable even to the lawyer presenting the argument, so the jury looks much harder at the case presentation and the last thing any tort lawyer wants is for a jury to sense that he or she is shocked or even mildly surprised. It can make a huge difference in payout if not verdict.

Drew couldn't imagine where this was coming from. The only thing he could point to as a possible warning sign was his wife's reluctance to start a family. Yet she had just agreed on the drive down to do just that.

"I see, and what about our relationship?"

She ignored his question. She wasn't a trial lawyer but she was adept at deposing witnesses and she knew not to let an adversary redirect her focus.

She sighed and still tightly held his hand in place on her vulva.

"Have I been a good wife? In the 15 years we have been together have you ever had one shred of doubt about my love and total commitment to you? From the moment we became exclusive in our freshman year together, name one time, one incident, just one. I know I flirt, but have you ever had a moment of doubt about me even when you watched me do it?"

You would think that she might have just made the most basic of rookie mistakes that a lawyer could make. Asking a question she didn't already know the answer to. But in truth she hadn't, because she did know the answer.

"No, you haven't. I have never had any doubt about your commitment to our relationship right up until about 30 seconds ago. Why now?" He was resigned to the inevitable.

It's amazing how quiet it seemed in the middle of a night club with flashing lights, loud music with chest thumping base, and a DJ screaming about everything with over 200 inebriated lawyers milling about. They were speaking in normal voice levels in the midst of all this, but they didn't miss a single syllable of each others statements.

"I told you I am ready to start our family; I just want this weekend for me. I have earned it. And Monday I will throw away my birth control pills and be committed to our future." She pushed his hand away, sat back and crossed her arms, further accentuating her ample cleavage and signaling the end of the conversation as far as she was concerned.

"I understand. Have you already picked someone out?" He too already knew the answer to his question.

"Yes." She replied quietly but firmly.

"Ok, let me ask one more question. What is the 'consideration' you are willing to pay?"

"The consideration?"

"Don't play stupid with me, you're a contract lawyer, you know what consideration is. What are you giving for my consideration? What is the price you are willing to pay!" He was coming close to losing control now. He couldn't fathom how quickly his life was falling apart.

"Honey, the only price involved is your ego. I know by doing this I will hurt you, and I will spend the next 30 years making that hurt go away. This has nothing to do with what we have. It's Wednesday night and we don't have to check out until Saturday morning. I will come back to our hotel room Friday evening and we will start practicing making babies. It will be fine."

It was over. 15 years together, 10 years of marriage. Our family that will never come to be. No baby showers, birthday parties, first days of school, graduations, brides to give away, or grandchildren bouncing on our knees.

She just admitted to willfully hurting her husband. A deliberate tort if you will and she didn't even blink. For whatever reason, it mattered not to her.

"Okay, I'm going to bed. I guess I will see you when I see you." He turned and walked away without looking back. He did hear her calling to him, but he no longer cared what she had to say.

"Well, that went better than I expected," Kourtney thought smugly to herself. "What was that "I'll see you when I see you comment?" She didn't give it another thought and turned her attention toward her intended target. She made eye contact, and gave a seductive smile. She got up and slinked over to him. She could feel her juices running down her leg as she walked in a state of sexual frenzy she had never experienced before. She couldn't remember his name but she did remember his huge erect cock pressing into her thigh when they were dirty dancing earlier.

The unbelievable truth was that up until the exact moment she felt that man's cock on her leg, she had never once considered being unfaithful to Drew. She had made a life altering decision yet she really didn't have a clue.

Drew didn't know how he made it back to the room. He vaguely recalled someone asking if he was ok while he was in the elevator, but his mind was reeling and he was still in a mild state of shock about what had transpired. It all seemed so surreal to him. One minute he was fantasizing about the great sex he and Kort were going to have and the next minute his marriage was over.

He wasn't sure how long he sat on the edge of the bed staring at the wall, but eventually a plan formed in his mind. He knew what he had to do and he willed himself forward.

It was only a three and a half hour drive home, but Drew knew he had a couple of days to get things done. He understood that as far as Kourtney was concerned he didn't exist for the next 48 hours. It was plenty of time to do what had to be done. He realized that first thing in the morning he needed to report their joint credit cards stolen. If he was lucky some hotel maid would find Kort's purse that she left in the room, and take it without reporting it. Drew had no intention of touching anything his soon-to-be ex-wife left in the room. He also figured that if the hotel maid took her purse that would at least give him until late Monday to be gone.

The divorce itself would be simple and clean. They lived in a no-fault state. No kids, no house, no joint assets. They always kept their finances separate and contributed to expenses on an equal basis. They made approximately the same amount of money, no the divorce was the easy part. Starting over was the hard part.

Drew quickly packed his suit case and was ready to walk out the door. He paused for a moment and considered leaving a note for her, but then thought better of it and stepped into the hallway and walked toward the elevator. The sound of the automatic closer shutting the room door echoed down the hallway and signaled him closing the door on his previous life.

On his way to the lobby he had a thought and stopped at the front desk to check out. "My wife is getting the car. We have an emergency at home and have to check out right away. We left the keys in the room." He saw the officious clerk tap a couple of keys and he knew the cards were inactive. He couldn't help but to smile a little as he walked outside knowing how much trouble Kort was going to have in a couple of days.

"Fuck her anyway!"

Seven years later:

Drew sat in the hotel's restaurant sipping an iced tea waiting for his meal to appear so he could hurry back to the seminar. He actually found this one interesting, and it should prove a valuable learning experience in helping him in his family law practice.

He noted that the date on the newspaper someone had left on the worn vinyl bench seat of the booth he was in was almost seven years to the day that his divorce was final. "Wow time sure has flown by." He at first didn't realize he had spoken out loud and slightly embarrassed, he glanced around to see if anyone had heard him. He hadn't thought about Kort in a long time.

Although his divorce was relatively simple the experience made him aware of how unfair the so called 'no fault' system could be to a party that had been wronged. Frankly though the system existed because some people can't handle their own shit, they behaved like children, try to wreak havoc on the other party and the system would have to step in and resolve it for them. These were the type of cases where the old axiom, 'nobody wins in a divorce' is really true. In any case it was the motivation Drew needed to change his specialty to family law.

The truth as he had discovered was that most divorces nowadays were really just because the two parties gave up. There wasn't a lot of arguing and both sides worked to end their situation as quickly and as painlessly as possible. He would handle any case he was presented just because you handled your clients as they walked in the door. However, he really enjoyed dealing with the relatively rare case where infidelity was involved and he suspected that his client's spouse was trying to put the screws to his client.

His thoughts were sharply interrupted by a voice he still recognized. "Hi Drew, how are you doing?"

His head snapped up and incredibly, there she was. He couldn't have been more shocked if he had been zapped with a cattle prod.

"Hey Kort, believe it or not I was just thinking about you. What are you doing at a family law conference?"

"I'm not attending the conference; I am here on another matter. Can I sit down?"

"I'm sorry, of course." He motioned with his arm for her to sit. "I'm really stunned to see you so you'll have to forgive my manners. Wow! I don't really know what to say?"

She was sitting up straight and speaking in an angry tone. "You never even talked with me Drew. You never responded to any attempted contact I would make. You never spoke another word to any of my family, including my mother who you know was very fond of you. You didn't even show up at any of the hearings. You were just gone."

"There was nothing to say Kort."

"Really fifteen years together and you couldn't even say 'fuck you' before you bailed? I walked up to our porch that Monday evening and I'm served divorce papers before I can get in the door? When I finally get inside there is not a single thing in the apartment to remind me of you or our marriage."

"I see, you blew up our marriage with an incredibly selfish act in the blink of an eye, and I'm the bad guy? If that is all you have to say just go away and leave me the hell alone!"

"Drew, I...I'm sorry."

"Just get the fuck out of here Kort, now!" He was red with fury. Most of the restaurant was now staring at them. She got up and stumbled away in tears.

Just then a whirlwind hit Drew. It was the chatterbox twins and their little sister. They had piled onto him at full speed as they usually did. His wife was right behind them. She was laughing and smiling but her smile disappeared quickly when she saw his face. Her eyes darted towards the now rapidly retreating form of Kort heading out of the lobby restaurant.

"That was her, wasn't it Drew?"

He could only nod his head as he had his hands full with his three children. Without another word his wife Celia was after Kort in a flash. Drew followed her movements with his eyes as she caught up with Kourtney. They engaged in a conversation that ended up with Celia helping Kort to a seat. They must have spoken for 10 minutes or more. It appeared as if they exchanged contact information, then Celia hugged Kort and they separated. Celia came back to the table and grabbed their youngest from Drew so that he stood a fighting chance at being able to corral the twins.

Drew's eyes were wide and his mouth was wide open as Celia sat back down. "She's coming over to the house in a couple of weeks and the two of you are going to talk, and I mean really talk Drew. Don't say anything; just nod your head if you understand." Her tone brooked no argument. So he just nodded and began fighting back against the two little monsters on his lap that were his life now.

Later that evening in their hotel room long after the three musketeers had fallen asleep Celia looked at him and asked, "Don't you have anything you want say or ask her baby?

He gave a deep sigh and spoke softly, "for the first few years I did, but I guess my pride wouldn't let me, but now? No, there isn't a thing I have to say and I'm glad I didn't give her the opportunity back then."

"What! You're kidding, you can't be serious?"

"I'm very serious Celia. If I had let her talk to me back then maybe she could have said something that would have changed my mind. But then, I would have never met you and our three girls wouldn't exist. No, I don't have any need to talk with her and I have no regrets."

She embraced her husband and smothered him with kisses, "you know just what to say to a girl don't you baby? But, the poor woman needs to talk with you, so the least you can do is to sit and listen."

"I will, but really what is the point? All she is going to do is say how sorry she is. If I ask why, she will answer that she doesn't really know, etc. etc. But I will do it for you and maybe it will help her get closure. By the way what the hell is closure anyway?"

"Drewwww, be nice now. Maybe I can't define it for you, but if you were really over her, would you have been yelling at her within a couple minutes of having seen her for the first time in seven years? Maybe that is what closure means?"

"Maybe you're right, but even taking you and the girls out of the equation, I recognized before I met you that my life was better without her in it. The divorce caused me to re-evaluate my life and what was important to me. Oh sure, I went thru the usual emotional turmoil that most people do when a marriage fails. But that failure made me take a hard look at myself that I never would have done if she hadn't acted stupid."

Drew paused to think and take a breath. "They say that the greatest successes can come from our biggest failures and I firmly believe that is true in my case. I am much happier doing family law now than I ever was with tort law. I sometimes get to feel that I am actually helping people. I know I don't make as much money, drive a Beemer or live in a suite overlooking the lake shore. But I am happier than I have ever been in my life. Now what about her?"

"Maybe you should ask her those questions?"

"What's the point Celia? I don't have a single regret about where I am right now." He paused and a very sad look came over him and he continued in a voice barely above a whisper, "I guess that isn't true, I do have one regret. I should have spoken to her mother. She is really a nice lady. I know she was fond of me, and I liked her. With both my parents already gone, she was like a surrogate mom to me, and I left without a word to her."

There really wasn't anything more that Celia could say. She was hoping that somehow a sit-down would be as good for Drew as it would be for Kort, but she had her doubts now that it was the right thing. Was she forcing it on Drew and it would only serve to dredge up a past that he no longer cared about. But could she stop it?

As it turned out Celia didn't have to do anything. The final sit down never took place. The night before Kourtney was supposed to come into town Celia's phone rang after midnight. She was always terrified to answer the phone at that time fearing bad news but she reflexively answered it. There was an obviously distraught woman on the other line.

"Celia? This is Angela Jones, Kourtney's mother. I have to talk with Andrew."

The ringing cell phone had awakened Drew and Celia handed him the phone. "It's for you."

Drew took the phone, "Yes?"

"Andrew, its Angela. Kourtney killed herself yesterday afternoon." The statement was followed by sobbing from a human being in so much pain it couldn't be described.

"I'm so sorry Mom, I.... I don't know what to say, oh Christ. It's my fault." Tears were coming from Drew now, but words weren't. Celia hearing everything was clinging hard to her husband and she was crying openly now thinking that she had some blame in this too.