A New Life Ch. 05

Chapter Five: Getting Over It

It had been two weeks since the breakup with Henry, and we had no contact with each other. I drowned myself in my work and tried to forget about him, but it was more challenging than it seemed.

It was becoming clear that I wasn't ready to get back into the dating world. I blamed myself for the problems with Henry, he was a good man, and I tore him down because he wasn't good in bed.

All kinds of thoughts filled my head. Maybe I could have ignored it. Perhaps I went too far.

I sat down with my friends and asked if they had encountered the same problems. Since they, too, had gone through the same thing as I had.

"He's a man," Jacquelyn shrugged. "Nathan was the same way at the beginning."

Jacquelyn, the most outgoing out of all of us, had been married to a police commissioner before everything went down. Now, she was happily divorced and seeing her neighbor.

"But's he's, well you know," Sabrina said.

"No, I don't," Jacquelyn shook her head. She was teasing Sabrina, who was more introverted than the rest of us.

"Black," Sabrina whispered.

"Sweetie, the nearest table is nowhere near listening range," Francis shook her head. "You don't need to whisper."

"What's the color of his skin have to do with sex?" Jaquelyn asked. "Unless you're one of those simpletons that believe the internet and stupid rumors?"

"Well, some rumors are based on facts," Cassandra noted.

Cassandra and Francis were in the same boat as Jaquelyn and me. They were once married to high-ranking officials that got caught in the scandal, and both of them were now divorced.

Cassandra quickly remarried one of her coworkers, and Francis was like me, single and looking. On the other hand, Sabrina was one of the few women that knew about the club and were paid to keep it hushed.

"Some," Jaquelyn nodded. "I've dated a few men in my time."

"A few?" Francis smirked.

"Okay, a lot," Jaquelyn smiled. "Let me tell you something, color of their skin or prowess on any field of sport has nothing to do with their abilities in the bedroom."

"Amen," Cassandra nodded as the two clinked their wine glasses.

Sabrina nodded.

"So, I should have accepted it and moved on?" I asked.

"You said he was a good man outside of the bedroom?" Francis asked.

"Yes, very," I nodded.

"Take it and run," Jaquelyn nodded at me. "Take it and run for the hills, lock that man in a vault and plaster your name all over it."

Cassandra was the only one shaking her head. "Not me," she said as she sat back. "Did that with my first marriage and look what that got me?"

The others stopped drinking.

"For all those years I accepted everything he spouted at me, I was the good patient wife, never questioned, never disobeyed," Cassandra shook her head. "I told Timothy before we got married, I wouldn't be that wife again, it's both ways or the highway."

That's how I felt. Now that I had a taste of being alone, I wasn't afraid.

"What did he say?" Francis asked.

"He put the ring on my finger, and now I have it both ways. He is an excellent husband and a very patient and understanding lover, not like the other one," Cassandra smiled.

"Well, good," Jaquelyn stated. "Maybe he needs to come over and talk to Nathan," Jaquelyn nodded. "I get a few minutes of entertainment and pfft he is done and over on the other side of the bed snoring."

"Three minutes," I nodded. "Even with protection, three minutes and he was done."

"Nope," Sabrina shook her head. "I couldn't do it."

"Ladies," Francis shook her head. "Face the truth, men reach their sexual prime in their twenties, and sometimes thirties, after that it's downhill and fast, all of us are in our fifties and in our prime and I am sorry to say unless you all turn into cougars and start dating younger men, this is what you're going to deal with and that’s putting it lightly. Men our age don't have the stamina anymore, they just don't, no amount of complaining or pointing it out will change that, and that's just the facts."

The table went silent as usual, Francis. The medical doctor had laid the hammer down. Henry was in his mid-fifties. Was I asking too much of him to try and keep up with me?

"That's what the blue pill is for," Jaquelyn laughed as the table returned to its joyous repertoire.

After the dinner, I thought about it more. While cleaning the old house, I did find prescriptions for Benjamin, and they were for his libido. I wondered how he kept up with such a young woman, and it seemed like he had some medical help.

Maybe I should accept that Henry was right, he couldn't keep up, but that meant I would be unhappy and unsatisfied and leave my pleasure to myself. Then what was the point of having him around then?

"Shit," I said as I turned the corner to my house. "Talk of the devil."

I pulled up and got out of the car. "I thought I had given you enough space to calm down," Henry said as I got out.

I sighed and looked at him. "Could have called, or sent a text," I said as I made my way down the driveway toward him.

"Wouldn't have seemed right," Henry shrugged. "I wanted to tell you; I was sorry for yelling at you."

"And?" I asked.

"Bringing up my ex-wife at that time was the wrong thing to do," Henry added.

"Bingo, we could have talked, but that really set me off," I nodded.

"I'm sorry, just not used to having that part thrown in my face like that," Henry stated.

"I wasn't attacking your man hood, or anything I was just saying I was unsatisfied, and wanted to talk about it," I said, looking at him.

"Well, when a woman says that it does seem like an attack," Henry said, leaning against his car.

"Well, it's not," I replied. "I would never say you're less than a man, for any reason."

"That's a relief," Henry nodded.

"Come on, let's go inside and talk," I nodded.

We talked for hours over it, and of course, things got a little heated a few times, but I had put my foot down.

I wouldn't take care of things myself if I were with someone. I could do it myself being single if that was the case. Henry said he would see a specialist and see about taking medication if it came to that, but he also put his foot down that he wasn't going to be using as he called 'play toys' to help me.

In the end, I ended up unsatisfied again that night after another three-minute session. I watched Henry as he slept. Wondering if things would ever change.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~

"You're a cum dumpster!" Sheila laughed as she helped me around the house.

The holidays were coming, and everyone was coming to my new house. "I still hate that Jaquelyn and you talk to each other," I said, shaking my head.

"And I am sorry that you're a cum dumpster, mom," Sheila smiled.

I cringed every time she said those words, but they were accurate, just wish she didn't say them repeatedly.

"Don't worry, lots of women go through it," Debra said as she had also come to set things up.

"Great, the two of you are agreeing for once," I shook my head.

"It's a topic a lot of women have in common," Debra shrugged.

"Not me," Sheila shook her head. "Grant was like that, and after a few times of him not listening, I kicked him to the curb."

"Grant, the tall basketball player?" Debra asked. "Or was he the swimmer?"

"Funny!" Sheila said.

Debra always picked on her little sister on the number of guys she dated.

"Well, we can't keep track," Debra shrugged.

"Sorry, how long does Jimmy last, and when was the last time, he brought you to an orgasm without the toys you bought from me?" Sheila asked as she stood on a ladder putting up decorations.

"Low blow and you know it!" Debra shouted up at her sister. "He has back problems, and low testosterone."

"That long huh?" Sheila nodded. "Fifteen minutes and twice, and it happened last night. Four separate times."

"Are we going to meet this one, or does he have something more important to do?" Debra asked.

I loved these moments. Even though the two of them went back and forth, they loved each other. Anytime the other was remotely sick or went out of contact for a while, the other was in a total mess. This was just their way of talking to each other.

"Again, I am sorry, I couldn't hear you over the loud desperate sound of a woman needing a decent orgasm," Sheila said.

This went on for most of the day, but in the end, the outside and interior of the house looked ready for the holidays.

"She's not wrong," Debra said as Sheila got in her car.

Debra was staying with me until everyone came home the following week.

"You don't have to put up with it, either." I stated.

"I love Jimmy, do you love Henry?" Debra asked. "That's the difference."

'Straight to the heart,' I thought as Debra went upstairs. She was right. I didn't love Henry. Debra could put up with Jimmy's shortcomings because she loved him, and he loved her enough to make sure she got hers, even if that meant using other means.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I don't, I am sorry," Debra said as we drove back from a lunch date with Henry.

"What about him that you don't like?" I asked.

"That macho man thing he's got going on," Debra shook her head. "He didn't even ask if you wanted the wine he ordered."

"I've drank it before, he knows what I like," I shrugged.

"For dinner," Debra said as she drove. "You never drink that one for lunch. Unless things have dramatically changed."

I shook my head. "It was okay," I nodded.

"Tenth," Debra said.

"What?" I asked.

"That's the tenth time you have said, it's okay when it comes to things he does," Debra stated.

"You just went into the lunch with a bad idea of him in your head," I shook my head.

"No, not fair," Debra shook her head. "I came to give him a chance, and he blew it, I am sorry, you can do a lot better."

I sat in silence the rest of the drive.

A few things were going south in my relationship with Henry. Even after going to the specialist and taking medication, things in the bedroom had not changed.

Henry refused to use other means and now was adamant about not going down on me, saying he wasn't good at it, and it wasn't something that needed to be done. I then told him I wouldn't do it for him, which caused an even bigger argument. Even when I put his cock between my tits and tit fucked him, he lasted even shorter.

It was now a whole week since we hadn't had sex, and I was already dreading the next time. Debra was right about one thing. I had said it's okay for many things. Maybe I was wrong about not being afraid to be alone.

"He's still coming to the dinner Sunday?" Debra asked.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"You will see, the others will think the same," Debra stated.

I hoped not. I was trying to make this relationship work, but if Debra was right and I was the only one trying, what was the use.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Christmas dinner was a big deal in our family, and the table was filled with lots of food. The grandchildren were out in my backyard throwing snow everywhere.

The smell of Christmas flowed through the house, and even though it was my first Christmas without Benjamin, I still wished him a good time wherever he was, Henry was late, and it wasn't going well with the clan.

I made Debra and Sheila promise not to tell the others about our problems. They promised not to be the first ones to bring it up.

There was a knock on the door, and Mason was quick to get up and get it. My heart was beating out of my chest. Mason was very protective of his mother, and I was sure he was ready to pounce if things went wrong.

"Sorry, traffic with the snow is a bear out there," Henry said as he entered.

"We had no problems, coming from the airport," Pamela stated. Unlike her husband Dawson, Pamela spoke her mind; she always said they forgot to install a filter when she was born.

Jimmy and the kids came in from outside, and instantly all of the kids stopped when they saw Henry. "They are like that with strangers," Jimmy smiled.

Jimmy was the kind person in our family. He never met a stranger that wasn't a potential friend. Jimmy walked from the kitchen's back door to the front of the house.

"Jimmy Gray," Jimmy stated.

"He knows who you are, Jimmy," Debra smiled as she took her husband away. "Come on, let's get all that snow off all of you, so we can have dinner," she said as she got the children and took them upstairs.

I went around the room introducing everyone. It didn't take long for the questions to come in, hot and heavy. Dawson was the one that surprised me. He had many questions about laws and enforcement. Something Henry wasn't happy about; I could tell by the looks he gave Dawson.

"Well that went well," Henry stated as we watched everyone leave after dinner.

I nodded. It didn't go well at all. There was a lot of silence at the table, and a small argument broke out between Mason and Henry.

"They don't like me, do they?" Henry smiled.

I shook my head. None of them did, which was terrible. They hardly ever all agreed with anything. Especially Pamela and Jimmy were always at the opposite ends of the spectrum, but tonight I could see that they were both in agreement.

"Well at least the youngest grandchild, liked me," Henry said as he tried to break the silence that had befallen me.

"Taylor," I nodded. "She likes tall men for some reason," I nodded, but I knew it was because he was tall and reminded her of that superhero she met at Disney.

"I am sorry, I know this was a big deal for you," Henry said as we walked inside.

"Do you have to be a cop even when off duty?" I asked as the door closed.

"Dawson has to realize we enforce the rules, we don't make them up," Henry stated.

"Dawson went to law school and passed, he knows the laws, he knows what he is talking about, he's very smart," I stated back.

"And very large," Henry added.

"Yes, because again bringing that up, went very well with Mason," I shook my head.

"Mason is a bag of testosterone; he is going to get himself thrown in jail or worse with that attitude!" Henry shouted.

"What about Jimmy, he was nothing but nice to you all night," I said.

"His wife was catering to all his needs! He was like a grown child!" Henry shouted.

"He had an accident at work, he has had four back surgeries!" I shouted back at him. "He loves his wife and his children, and for the record from what Debra says, none of those back problems stops him from performing in the bedroom!"

"Here we go, right back full circle," Henry said as he picked up his things. "Now I know why Benjamin cheated on you, he couldn't please the ice queen!"

"Oh, he did that and more the reason he cheated was because I didn't bow down to him, and I won't bow to you," I shouted back.

Henry shook his head. "Watch your speeding, from now on I won't be so nice," he said as he went out the door.

That was it, the last straw. There was no going back this time. I sat down at the table and called Jaquelyn.

"Hi, sorry to bother you on the holidays, but can you come over?" I asked.

"Be right there," Jaquelyn said.

Jaquelyn helped me clean up the mess of the family dinner and made sure I was alright. She wasn't alone as she had called some of the others.

"Well, he will be off that patrol, tomorrow," Sabrina stated as she got off the phone.

"You didn't have to," I said.

"Yes, she did," Francis nodded. "He threatened you. It's an open stretch of road, if you speed, he has to obey the laws, he would have been gunning for you every time you went a mile over the speed limit."

Jaquelyn nodded. She was silent for a change, and I was sure she felt guilty for talking me into going back to him.

"Dammit," I said, looking at the table. "He forgot his watch; he took it off to show Taylor…."

"I know someone that can get it to him," Jaquelyn said as she picked it up.

"You will have someone looking over the house tonight and tomorrow," Sabrina said as she got off the phone again.

"How many people in the mayor's office do you know?" Cassandra smiled.

"Enough," Sabrina smiled.

"Again, I don't think he will be back," I nodded.

"His ex-wife filed for a restraining order for a reason," Jaquelyn said.

"Wish I knew that about him beforehand," I said.

"You sure you don't want to call your kids back?" Jaquelyn asked as they all started to leave.

It was getting late, and I knew they would all be getting some sleep before their flights back home tomorrow.

"No, Sabrina's friend is parked right there," I said, looking at the patrol car outside my house.

"Call us, and make sure you keep it handy," Jaquelyn said as she looked at my drawer where I kept my gun.

"Doubt it will come to that, but I will," I nodded.

"Sorry again for…." Jaquelyn said.

"I was the one that made up the excuses, this is on me," I nodded.

The house fell silent as I made my way upstairs to my room. I ensured all the doors were locked and the alarm system was armed. I took Jaquelyn's advice, and I slept with it under my pillow for the first time.

I couldn't get over the look on Henry's face as he stormed out. It scared me.

'I heard what happened,' a text came over my phone. 'Need ANYTHING from me?'

It was Alexander. I didn't know how he had found out, but I wasn't surprised. I reread it and at the word anything and how it was all in caps.

Something told me he didn't mean the usual anything. I knew Henry was mad, but I didn't want Alexander to be involved.

'No, I am good, for now,' I typed back. "If ANYTHING comes up, I will let you know.'

'Here if you need me,' Alexander responded.

For some reason, I felt better. Like there was a safety net around me. Slowly I fell asleep.