A Slight Miscalculation

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were expecting company, baby," Sonya said. "Mom said you were a free agent."

Both girls blushed as Sonya poured herself a cup of coffee.

"No, no, Sonya. These are my daughters, Jackie and Michelle," he said, pointing out the daughter with the appropriate name. "They stopped by with breakfast. Bagel and lox?"

Sonya giggled, causing her big braless boobs to jiggle under her shirt. She bumped Travis' arm with her hip and slid in to the chair next to his.

The four made general small-talk for a while before Jackie asked if Travis had talked to Lauren recently. He frowned for the first time in several days. Until then, he thought it was nearly impossible to be upset when he was with Sonya, although she was a little hard on his now 48-year-old body.

"Gotta tell you, Dad, we kind of thought you'd be missing Mom by now," Michelle said. "We know she misses you."

"Huh. I'd have thought that with me gone, she'd be living it up. I know I was a boat anchor for her. I thought she'd been knocking them off two at a time in our old bed."

"Daddy!" Jackie said while Sonya giggled and Michelle frowned. "She's not a whore, you know!"

"Really? Think about that for a second. How many different guys has she slept with since we broke up? And there were the two I know of before I left."

Both girls blushed and dropped their heads.

"Wow. At two guys a month for... what... 10 months, that would be 20 different guys. Three guys a month would make that 30. Seems like a lot of guys to me," Sonya volunteered.

If looks could kill, Travis' daughters would have had Sonya in her grave in seconds. She was very cognizant of that fact.

"Hey, don't blame me if the woman can't keep her legs closed," Sonya asserted.

"Children. Children. We're not ruining a good weekend for me," Travis asserted.

"Sorry," all three of the young women mumbled at the same time.

"So... you two an item?" Jackie asked Sonya quietly. "You don't look like you're any older than me."

"Your dad says we're the same age, but don't worry, I'm not going to be your stepmom someday. We're just friends. He's a great guy. He was my date at a wedding reception last night... and he's sort of a hunk. Did I mention that he's also a great guy?"

"Well... we have to agree with that great guy part, even though we know he can be a bit of dick every now and then," Jackie said. "And yeah, he is sort of a hunk... for a guy old enough to be your father."

It was Sonya's turn to blush. Travis blushed as well.

"Hey, baby, remember we've got the lunch with the bridal families at noon back at the hotel. I need to grab a shower and some clothes from my apartment before we go," Sonya said.

Both daughters rolled their eyes at their father.

"She was my age, Mom," Jackie said to her mother during lunch a few weeks later. "And this didn't seem like a one and done. They had spent some time together. They were enjoying each other's company. I don't think he's going to come crawling back to you anytime soon, Mom."

"Nah, you just caught him on a lucky day. He was probably helping out a friend's kid and somehow got lucky. She's probably a slut who will sleep with anybody. Your dad is a great guy, but he's no stud, Jackie."

Jackie raised her eyebrows at her mother.

"You always seemed pretty pleased with him... up until you told him you were going to step out on him.

"Why didn't you just cheat on him without telling him? Wouldn't that have been so much easier? You could have had your cake and eaten it."

"That would have been cheating, Jackie, and if he would have caught me... well then we would have been done. By telling him, I wasn't cheating, and I was pretty sure he was going to give me what I wanted when he realized what he was going to lose. I've got to admit, I never saw divorce coming. I never thought he had the spine for it."

"Mom, I think you mistook love for weakness... and somewhere along the way, you decided everything was all about you. Has all this been worth it?"

For the first time, Lauren's face showed the strain of what she had been enduring. Rosa made everything sound so much better than reality proved to be. She couldn't exactly tell her daughter that the sex had been okay, but no, not worth the price.

She also couldn't tell her daughter that she never gave a consideration that Travis would do anything besides sit and pine for his beautiful ex-wife. She was so wrapped up in herself she never realized that a handsome, although not gorgeous, man with a great personality, intelligence and a solid job would be a huge draw on the single man market... and not just for middle-aged women.

She knew that since the divorce was final, her ex-husband had been out with several women, including her longtime friend Connie, and now some young chippy the same age as their oldest daughter. Instead of sitting home crying over his past life, he had been dating like a single 20-something, and getting more than his share of pussy.

She didn't say anything to Connie when she found out her friend had dated her ex the first time, assuming it was some sort of pity date, but a second date was totally unnecessary, and she let Connie know that face to face in a fairly loud tone.

"I thought we were friends, Con," Lauren asserted. "You're supposed to be on my side. We girls have to have each other's backs."

"But he didn't do you wrong, Lauren. And he's a good guy, a great guy. He's everything I want in a man. Why wouldn't I go out with Trav? Hell, women are lining up to go out with him. He's prime aged beef on the hook, girl.

"And he's a great date... and great in the sack, too. I'll go out with him anytime he asks me. How could you chase that man away?"

Lauren just stared open-mouthed at her friend. She was just beginning to see her mistake mushrooming. She loved Travis. She hated coming home to an empty house at the end of the workday. She hated sleeping alone at night.

Travis certainly wouldn't have predicted that his life would be as "exciting" as it had become. He would have been perfectly happy to have his old "boring" life remain as it was, but barring that option, life had been pretty good for him. His job was good, and his social life was through the roof. He was enjoying the companionship of several women of various ages, and most of his dates ended up in bed. At this moment, he certainly wasn't looking for a long-term partner, but he was most assuredly enjoying a smorgasbord of what he considered good pussy. There was more to life than being married to a beautiful woman.

Marla Goodling had several streaks of purple in her shoulder-length silver hair that was done in a ponytail coming out of the opening in the back of her Chicago Cubs ballcap. Her blue Cubs T-shirt was maybe one size too tight across her ample chest and her light blue Levi's were worn as tight as most of the 20-somethings in the stands were wearing theirs, despite her being 60 years old. She garnered more than her fair share of looks in the left field bleachers at Wrigley Field.

One of those looking appreciatively at her was the man she was with, Travis Wesley, the ex-husband of one of her longtime co-workers, Lauren Wesley. She and Travis were at the Cubs game as part of their weekend trip to Chicago.

Marla had worked with Lauren Wesley for more than 15 years. She had met Travis at several company events at which he accompanied his then-wife and had always found him to be a handsome, nice guy. She knew he and Lauren had divorced about two years previously.

Marla had been a widow for about five years, her longtime husband being the victim in a car accident. She had only been on one date in that time before she decided to track down Travis' phone number.

Yes, Travis remembered her. He thought it tough to forget a woman who seemed to exude both class and beauty. Would he want to go out to dinner with her... absolutely, he replied.

That was a couple of months before. Their first date was a high-end restaurant followed by a philharmonic concert, with Marla providing the concert tickets. The evening ended with the pair making out at the front door of her home. Their second date was a Saturday afternoon trail hike, and the woman giggled several times when a clearly fatigued Travis had to take small breaks throughout the day. Seems she and her late husband were avid climbers and trail-hikers, and while Travis thought he was in pretty good condition, he found out he was wrong. He also found out at that Marla had a tight body for an older woman, along with mesmerizing gray eyes.

That date ended with Marla and Travis making gentle love on the living room carpet of her home after they had a steamy make-out session on her sofa. She intrigued him with a combination of moneyed class and girl-next-door freshness.

Marla was more than happy to accept when Travis suggested the pair spend a weekend taking in some sights in Chicago for their third date.

On their first date, Marla told Travis she had no intention of telling Lauren that the two were dating. She wouldn't deny it, if asked, but she wasn't going to advertise the fact.

Marla also told Travis that Lauren had told her co-workers that she and Travis were divorcing because of irreconcilable differences. Travis told Marla the same story he told everyone else: that Lauren had cheated on him with at least two different men. He didn't elaborate further.

In the two years since the divorce, Travis had developed several strong relationships and enjoyed what he considered an amazing sex life. His partners all thought the world of him, and several were hoping to be in consideration for when Travis decided to trust women again and seek to marry.

Lauren was working on a different dynamic. Like she had told her then-husband before her first date, she was simply looking for sexual gratification while she still had the looks to attract almost any man she wanted. She wasn't looking for an emotional relationship, and most of her partners weren't either.

This basic difference between the two former partners would prove a problem for Jackie. She and her mother were deep into the planning of her upcoming wedding, which her father was happily paying for, when Lauren told her daughter that she thought both parents should attend the wedding without dates so there would be less tension. Jackie quickly agreed with that thought, and passed it along to her father later that week when they talked at a lunch meeting.

"Is this genius thought coming from you or your mother?" Travis asked gruffly. "I am planning to bring a date. I'm paying for this shindig, and I intend to have a blast with whomever I bring. Hell, I've been taking dance lessons for about a year, since you first announced your engagement."

"You've been taking dance lessons? Seriously? Just for my wedding? That's so sweet. But..."

"No buts, Jackie. She apparently doesn't have anyone she feels close enough to invite, so she's trying to put the brakes on me, as well. Once again, she's being a selfish bitch and trying to manipulate things to her way. I'm sorry, baby, but I'm not going stag to my own daughter's wedding. If you don't have the guts to tell her that, I most certainly will. She can go alone or bring a date; that's up to her. I'm bringing a date," Travis said.

"I get it, Dad. I'll tell her. You make a good point... and I really want to see you dance.

"But... you still might want to bring someone older than me."

"I can do that, baby. But you really should see Sonya and me get down."

Travis grinned broadly and got a wide smile back in return.

Travis took Connie Meong as his date to the wedding. Travis thought she looked radiant in that seafoam green gown she bought and for which he had paid. The two argued over his purchase of the gown. Travis explained to the woman that as he was the father of the bride and needed to wear a tuxedo, she needed to have a new gown, which he would gladly buy.

"And yes, I understand you need shoes to go with that, too," he told her with a big smile on his face.

Walking his oldest daughter down the aisle was one of the greatest and worst experiences of Travis' life: all the other fathers who told Travis it would be were on the money, he noted to himself. Still, the day was wonderful, he had to admit. He, Connie and his children partied and danced late into the night.

The only moment of discord on the whole day was his ex-wife showing up with a date of her own. Not that Travis cared, but the date spent much of the first part of the wedding smirking at Travis, then spent much of the second part of the night ogling and groping several women as an obnoxious drunk, at least until Jackie asked her mother to remove her guest. An obviously-embarrassed Lauren apologized profusely and quickly shuffled the man out the door.

Before leaving with her date, Lauren did find the time to trail Connie into the women's restroom at one point.

"You man-stealing bitch!" she said to Connie when they were in the restroom.

"Pardon me, but I never stole any man from anybody," Connie answered. "He divorced you before we started to date. You've got nobody to blame for that divorce but yourself. You gave away a great man for some cheap sex."

Lauren's face turned a deep crimson. Her eyes, which at first were glaring at the other woman, suddenly went blank. She dropped her head and stood motionless as Connie walked out the door. Connie never said a word to Travis or the family as she didn't want to ruin the special day.

A couple of months after the wedding, Michelle was visiting her father and looked fidgety. Travis watched her for a while before asking the question.

"Okay, Mitch, what's going on? You've been antsy all evening," Travis said.

Michelle blushed profusely and started stammering. Travis knew something was very wrong.

"Uh, Dad, I know Mom has talked about getting back together with you from time to time. How she would win you back when she was done having sex with other guys. Uh... uh... you two haven't... been having sex or anything, have you?" she asked.

"My sex life is none of your business, young lady," Travis snapped back, "but no, I haven't been... sleeping with your mother. Why?"

"Because she's got VD, Dad. I heard her end of a conversation with her friend Rosa, and she told her she's got syphilis," Michelle said quietly, not looking her father in the eyes.

Travis looked surprised, then sad as Michelle watched him out of the corner of her vision.

"I'm assuming you're telling me this because you care for me," Travis said. "But it's standard policy for the state to advise all possible recipients of said disease that they need to be tested."

"I didn't know that. I was just looking out for you, Dad," she said. "I know Mom still sleeps around pretty good. A couple of my friends have warned me that she's... quite the slut. It's always embarrassing when a friend tells you your mom is a slut."

A couple of days later, Travis got an uncomfortable call from Marla. He could tell immediately that she had the same concern as Michelle, although obviously she had her own healthcare concern as well.

"If you're wondering about if I've been sleeping with my ex... the answer is not only no, but hell no," Travis said. "Trust me, Marla, I understand your concern. But I can't help it if my ex is a... piece of work."

"Piece of work is the nicest thing I've heard her called in quite some time," Marla said. "Her... outside activities have become a subject of water-cooler gossip big-time in recent months. She seems to be less careful the longer she is single."

Lauren used her STD as a jumping off point in her plan to win Travis back. She was satisfied that she had sampled enough men to last her the rest of her life, and began her plan to win Travis back six months after the doctor said she was cured. She was still a little miffed at Travis that he had divorced her in the first place, which was not in her original plan. She had assumed that her then-husband would never chance divorcing a woman who had looked like her, knowing that the odds were slim he could ever find another in her class. This plan might have worked had other women not started coming out of the woodwork to chase Travis. Lauren had no doubt in her mind she was a catch. She had not planned on Travis having an equal attraction to other women.

"I know he's a great guy, but come on, can these women not see that he's nowhere near my level of hotness?" she said one day to Rosa while the two women were sipping margaritas in a bar waiting on their dates for the evening.

Rosa had pushed her friend into her current lifestyle. She knew Travis was handsome enough, but she had way underestimated the depth of his personality, in part because he always seemed to defer to his wife. She expected Travis to just sit and mope while his wife fucked other men; who knew Travis had so much game?

Lauren and Rosa had been keeping loose tabs on Travis ever since Lauren gave him her ultimatum, and in truth, it appeared that his sex life had been almost as voluminous as Lauren's after the divorce became official. If Lauren was further truthful with herself, she might have admitted that it seemed her ex-husband's sex life was much better from an emotional standpoint. Travis dated and seemed to genuinely be having a good time with his partners; Lauren fucked hers, although none since contracting her STD. She noted it had been a lo-o-o-ng dry spell.

Maybe it was time to put herself and Travis back together, Lauren concluded.

Travis was more than a little surprised at the voice on the other end of the line. He hadn't talked to his ex-wife in almost two years. One of his daughters must have given her his new cell number. He hadn't prohibited them from doing so, but he had told them he didn't think he ever needed to talk directly to her again.

"Hello, Trav," she purred in her sweetest tone. "I think it's about time we talked."

"I was thinking that we wouldn't talk again until Michelle got married. Since that's not happening right now, can't we go back to silence?" Travis said.

"Same old Travis. Still trying to deny that you don't love me. But you know you do. You know you want me back."

"Same old Lauren," he replied back. "Still think everything revolves around you."

"Look, Trav, I get that you're still pissed at me, but I really do love you. I suppose I should have just cheated on you and kept you in the dark, but that would have been cheating..."

"It was still cheating, Lauren. Just because you told me you were going to do it didn't make it any less so. You did it because you thought I would never give you up. How pathetic do you think I am?" Travis said.

"I know you think you're a 10... hell, you think you're a 12, but this is more than you being gorgeous. I don't have to live in your shadow. As it's been pointed out to me these last few years, I am way more than the husband of a beautiful woman. Other women want what I have to offer... and are willing to give back to me emotionally. I've actually had a great last few years. Why would I want to get back together with a selfish woman who obviously didn't respect me... and regardless of what she says, doesn't love me at the same level I loved her. Loved, past tense."

After he disconnected, Travis put his phone down and turned to the woman next to him.

"Ready for round two?" he asked Sonya.

Sonya eventually found her soul mate and married him, but Connie and Marla continued their relationships with Travis. He grew to love both in his own way, but would never again marry. They, too, loved him in their own ways, and both women accepted this shared relationship.

In fact, both were invited to sit with Travis at the wedding of his second daughter, Michelle, several years later. This didn't go over well with Lauren, who did not invite a guest to this wedding. She bitched to her daughter, but Michelle would not relent.