A Marriage in Crisis

She stopped doing him, but he kept doing her. He said he liked it, and quite honestly she told him she liked it too. He did her a lot that way, and then after a while when she got pregnant she started to do him again. He said he was afraid if he went too far inside he might hurt one of the babies so to keep him from getting too nervous she started doing him again some. He was careful to pull on her hair when he was close to the moment. She'd move back up and kissed him while she used her fingers to get him off. He said he liked her fingers better anyway. She wasn't sure if that was true, but it made her feel especially good that he wanted to keep her from doing something she didn't like.

They never did anything with her rear end. Tommy meant it when he said he thought that was degrading. He even told her once that was how he felt. They'd watched something, a movie on Pay per View at a friend's house where that came up. Later she asked him if he knew anyone who did that sort of thing. He said he thought he knew some people who did it, but he said he thought it wasn't appropriate. They never mentioned it again. She was glad he never asked about it after that because she knew she wouldn't like it. It made her feel good that he never wanted to do that with her. He really loved her, and she knew he'd never try to take advantage of her. Tommy was better than other men in that way. He always treated her like she was something special.

She didn't feel like she was better than other wives, but she knew some men liked to brow beat their wives into things they didn't want to do. Tommy never did anything like that. He made her feel like she was his fairy princess. Sometimes he even called her his little princess.

She did feel special too, and she tried to show him when she could in her way. She remembered one time when they were at a big educational convention and there were all these men dressed in expensive suits and wearing $400.00 shoes. They had four children then, and money was really tight. A lot of wives had to work, but Tommy wanted her to stay home and be a mom. She was really glad because that's what she'd always wanted anyway. She liked baking and gardening and making clothes and things like that.

Well they were at that big convention and there were all these rich people. She could tell Tommy felt a little self-conscious. His suit was a little worn, and his shirt a little frayed. All these men were looking at her and him as they walked through the crowd so she took her left hand and let it slide possessively down his right arm till she reached his wrist. She looped her arm in his and held his wrist real tight. Then she put her right hand on his forearm. All these rich men in their expensive clothes and their fancy wives knew how she felt. Here was this tiny little woman wrapped tightly around her husband like she was real proud of him, and she was too. She remembered how Tommy squared his back a little more and stood a little taller.

She stayed close to him all that night; she gave him all her special love looks. A couple times one of those rich men came up and asked her to dance, but she said no. She only danced with her Tommy all night. Later that night when they were home, after he'd driven the babysitter home, he was extra warm in his lovemaking. A wife can make her husband feel really important, and she loved it when she had the chance. That was a good night for her.

Zero plus Nineteen Years.

Tommy, or Thomas by then, had been promoted a few times. He was principal of one of the new junior high schools; a high school, they hoped, would come later.

Sandy never went back to the classroom. She liked making her own. There were six of them when they finally called it quits, four girls and two boys. They had to play musical bedrooms for years. Their house only had two bathrooms. Imagine what it was like with five females fighting over one place to dress.

Every baby added another inch around her waist, her thighs got little wider, and her breasts gradually went from 34B to 34C, but Tommy didn't seem to care. He said it just meant more for him hold and love.

There was a woman once back when they were in their late thirties. She was a looker too, an Italian with big breasts, and a guidance counselor so she knew all the right clichés. Tommy had that stately manly look middle-aged-men often got. Sandy always seemed to be in an apron, covered with flour or something, and holding somebody. Well the broad thought she'd put the moves on Tommy. Tommy seemed to like it; well a little anyway. One day Sandy showed up at his school and crashed that fantasy. Tommy liked that even better.

++++++++++++

It's almost time to end the story.

Here they were in the high school auditorium. Some local dignitary was passing out diplomas. Tommy Junior, the oldest, was in line to get his. No he wasn't valedictorian, he wasn't salutatorian or anything. He did get some scholarship money for his grades and his talent with sports. He wasn't headed to Harvard, or Yale, or Princeton. He was off to the same local university his Mom and Dad had attended.

Tom and Sandy weren't big time. They were just two people who'd met, fallen in love, got married, had a little mishap early on, got passed it, and made a life and a lot of kids.

Happily ever after; not exactly, not always. Brianna, she was number four, she got leukemia when she was twelve. Talk about being scared shitless! That meant lots of radiation and chemo to clear out the bad tissue. Dad, that's Tommy, had the good marrow. The first round didn't completely take, and they had to do it again a year later. The second round saw Tommy get some kind of really shitty hospital infection that almost took him, but he pulled through. Brianna made it too; talk about hero worship. Old Dad's shit didn't stink after that; not around their house, but Sandy already knew that.

Tommy and Sandy guessed it would have been nice to have a condominium somewhere, perhaps go on longer vacations, perhaps go to Europe, maybe see some exotic places, or stand in the long lines at Disney World, but that was stuff for other people. Tom and Sandy never had a lot of money, and they certainly weren't famous, at least not beyond the yard that surrounded their house.

Their only big expense was to always have a big dog. They always had a Labrador. Labs were the best choice since they were big fluffy puppies all their lives, and they were good with kids. Tommy used to jog with whichever dog they had. They'd run side by side, him and the dog, with the dog always on a leash.

It didn't matter a whole hell of a lot if they didn't have a lot of money or didn't go to a lot of places. Well they were rich in kids. Jesus, four girls, that meant four weddings.

Shit, life is what it is. It just goes on.

Was Tommy a wimp? Yes he guessed he was. So what! He swallowed a little self-righteous pride, put aside his self-destructive ego and got what he wanted.

And Sandy; well Sandy had always been a good girl; then she became a great mom and an even better wife. OK, maybe with the years her face got a little more fleshy, there might be the tiniest trace of a double chin, her thighs got a little broader, and her engagement and wedding rings got a little too snug, but she still knew how to flash those big green eyes, and when she crooked that plump little index finger Tommy knew it was time turn off the computer and come to bed.

You can't ask for more than that now can you?

*

From the author.

This story is pretty much a factual retelling until we get to the event at the restaurant where Bill Moyers persuades Sandy to jerk him off. In reality Moyers did try to get Sandy to use a scarf to get him off. That's' when Sandy came to life. Once he made that suggestion she flew from the restaurant, drove home as fast as she could, and unloaded on Tommy everything that had happened, all the snarky tricks Moyers pulled, the manipulative lunches, his persuasive little comments, the lie about the baby shower, and most importantly all her fears about the imminent charges in their life style. Tommy did cry his eyes out, but not in anger or from any sense of betrayal. His wife had come through on their vows. She'd held her ground when she finally caught on to what Moyers was up to, and Tommy was as proud of her as he could be.

The story returns to reality when we get to the parts titled September 2nd and MacArthur in Tokyo. Tommy did go to Sandy's school, and Moyers did readjust the schedules. The parts about Brianna, the Italian guidance counselor, the big convention; they're all completely true.

Now why did I go through all the stuff about the restaurant, the scarf, and Tommy's and Sandy's dialogue at the I83 Motel? Well first I just wanted to. Second, nearly every Loving Wives story has the woman going through the usual 'Oh No! My husband caught me', the 'Oh please I'm so sorry', 'Oh, please forgive me, the man's 'Oh you broke my heart', the man's 'Oh I can never trust you again', the senseless female crying and blubbering once she's caught, the invariable life of misery the cheating wife endures after the divorce, and the so called manly 'I had to butcher my wife's life, my kid's lives, my life, and my marriage in order to save my pride'. I'm convinced most of this is just so much bullshit; especially the last about pride. My belief is most husbands will accept one affair, and sometimes even a second, especially if there are children involved.

The nation where I live, the USA, has a high divorce rate, but I doubt if infidelity is at the center of most of them.

There you have it. This was my first foray into the world of Loving Wives. Please tell me what you think. Tell me if you'd like some more. I have some really great ideas. In fact I thought about imitating Hard Day's Night concept about using the songs from some musical group. I'm torn between using either the Country group Alabama, or the Swedish group ABBA. Both have great music, most of which is positive and uplifting and would fit in well with my desire to tell stories that end well.

Now if you think I'm full of shit, just tell me to fuck off. If, however, you think I might be on to something, let me know that too.