Closing Time for Our Marriage

He had just glanced at his watch to get an update on the elapsed time when he ran into someone or something. The impact staggered him and he realized he had stumbled into someone's shopping cart. He heard an angry feminine voice.

"Damn it, watch where you are going!"

He couldn't see anyone then realized there was a woman knocked off her feet sitting on her rear end behind the cart. Horrified he quickly stepped over and helped her up. "I'm so sorry, are you hurt?"

The woman came up rubbing her butt, "Shit those floors are hard. Why weren't you paying attention? I'll bet you were checking your watch, how long have you gone?"

"Only about 15 minutes." He said with his head down.

"I knew you were one of those old single guys who play that stupid game." As she briskly dusted herself off.

"Yes I'm ashamed to admit that I'm one of them, although in my case I am an old married guy."

"Huh that's unusual, usually the married ones are at home by this time of night watching John Wayne movies, why are you out?"

"My wife is on a date." Jordan couldn't believe he just said that out loud. He was about to apologize again when the woman broke in.

"Interesting, I went through something like that myself. My husband of 26 years decided that our marriage would be improved if we expanded our experience base and opened it up and dated others. Of course I had just come home unexpectedly and caught him in our bed, six inches deep in his 22 year old silicone enhanced receptionist, so I kind of doubted the sincerity of his motives. Especially after I had heard them talking about how their 'expansion of themselves' had been going on for six months."

A wide eyed and slack jawed Jordan responded, "Wow, what did you do?"

"Well first I punched the little bitch right in her phony tits. I'm told that really hurts, then explained to my husband I would be gone for one hour and when I returned all traces of his existence should be gone, then I left."

Jordan was speechless, in fact he was frozen in place. He hadn't heard a woman speak like that in his whole life.

"Look JW you might want to close your mouth before a moth flies into it or something."

"Uh the name's Jordan, Jordan Billings."

The woman grabbed his hand and with a very firm grip shook it vigorously. "Well Jordan Billings, I'm Anita, Anita Bozeman and it's nice to meet you."

"Would you have a cup of coffee with me?" Jordan stammered out, again not sure why he even asked that.

"I would love to, but I'm not sure about tonight. I have a policy where if I go out for coffee with a guy, has to be wearing a new shirt or at least one from this century, and I'm pretty sure that the one you're wearing is about as old as I am!"

Jordan was blushing beet red, again. He didn't think that was quite true, but his shirt must have been at least 15 years old.

"However I will make an exception this one time because I would really like to hear more about this dating thing your wife is doing. Shall we go to the coffee shop across the parking lot?"

"Ok but don't you need to finish your shopping?"

"Naw, I wasn't here that long, besides I was only up to 8 workers in 12 minutes."

As they were walking across the parking lot to the coffee shop Anita asked, "Is your wife the violent type?" She grabbed her ample breasts and gave them a little shake. "I mean my boobs are real, but I still don't want an angry wife punching them."

Jordan just shook his head and broke up laughing, it was the first really good laugh he had in quite a while. "You are something else Anita, just something else."

Once inside they ordered coffee and without any prompting Jordan laid out his entire situation to Anita. For the most part she sat passively asking an occasional clarifying question here and there. As he was speaking he was wondering why he was able to tell her so much personal information with such ease. When he was finished they both sat quietly for several minutes taking an occasional sip of coffee.

Anita finally spoke. "Don't get angry with me Jordan but my guess is that Helena was being sincere when she explained it you. Based on what you've told me it sounds like your marriage was stale and I can tell just from your demeanor that you have pretty much given up on life. Or at least given up on ever being excited about anything again. She just isn't ready to accept that I suppose.

"Don't misunderstand me I'm not condoning what she's doing, but she doesn't impress me as a woman who just wants to try out bigger dicks. She really does want more out of her life. Women are different than men. The sex part is more an emotional need than physical. And frankly emotional wellbeing is more important to a woman. I don't want to make you angry, but she wouldn't have come up with her plan without your 'helping' the situation."

"You're the third woman to tell me that in the last few days," Jordan mumbled.

In a very soft voice Jordan added, "You know the damnable thing is she almost made it sound so reasonable while she told me what her plans were. For a while I began to think what would really be the big deal if she slept with someone else. I think that was the point I hit rock bottom. But wasn't I owed an explanation, or at least a conversation before I got the 'well dear I'm going to sleep with other men speech? '"

"Well Jordan, you are the only one that can answer that question, because whatever your decision is, you are the one that has to live with it." Anita glanced quickly at her watch. "Oh my I didn't realize how late it is. I have to get going." And she stood up to leave.

"Wait Anita, before you go, can we do this again? I really enjoyed our conversation but I think I totally monopolized it. I would especially like to know how you coped with your divorce."

"Sure Jordan I would like to do that, but if you don't wear a brand new shirt I will get up and leave before you sit down. And I want to see the receipt. And, it better not be from Wal-Mart or I'll leave anyway!" She was smiling when she said it and told him to give her his phone so she could enter her contact info.

As she was taping in her contact information, and without looking up, Anita in a placid voice spoke. "You know Jordan before you go hating on Helena too much you might want to consider that she hasn't done anything yet that you aren't going to do when you call me to set up our coffee date.

"I enjoyed our talk Jordan it sure beat the hell out of the Home Deport game. Don't wait too long to call now?" And with a twinkle in her eyes she was gone.

Jordan just sat staring at Anita's backside as she went out the door. Her comments had in fact struck Jordan like a lightning bolt. You could argue that Helena's actions were far more deliberate and calculated, not to mention the new sexy underwear, but she was right. As soon as Jordan reached for the phone to call Anita for a coffee date, what he was doing wasn't any different. He didn't really know how he felt about that. But, he did know that he was feeling emotions he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

He sat for a while thinking about his situation. He hardly knew how to describe Anita. Besides having a great bubbly personality that made him feel young, and being a good listener, he hadn't noticed her having been a great beauty. I mean she wasn't turning heads with her looks, but he was definitely intrigued by her.

It was after eleven when Jordan returned home. It briefly crossed his mind that he might actually run into Helena and her date because of the time, but surprisingly he wasn't worried about it. That didn't happen but it was only 15 minutes later as Jordan was preparing for bed when she got home.

Helena was a little startled to see Jordan up when she entered the bedroom. As he was putting on his pajamas he looked up and saw her. He reflexively asked, "How was your date?" It was said without any rancor. It was more like a curious question from a roommate.

She was so stunned she couldn't formulate a response. She just stared at Jordan.

"I'm just asking, did you enjoy your evening?" He repeated.

"I did Jordie, it was fun. What did you do?"

"Oh I went out and goofed off for a while. It felt good to get out."

Helena was a very befuddled woman as she prepared for bed that night. After climbing into their four poster they both rolled to their sides at opposite ends with their backs to each other.

Neither of them slept very well that night. In the morning as they were sitting at the breakfast table finishing their 2^nd cup of coffee for the morning, Jordan spoke up.

"Helena, I think I am going to move my things into one of the spare bedrooms and sleep in there from now on. I think it would be for the best."

"I wish you wouldn't," replied a genuinely concerned Helena. "We should be together like always. We are husband and wife."

"It's been weeks since we've been intimate Helena. We haven't so much as kissed each other on the cheek. Honestly, I don't think either of us could say we've missed it?"

"I suppose not, but with everything, I mean it's been hard. I know I've hurt you Jordie but I haven't meant too."

"I know you haven't but, well I want you to be happy and find what you've been missing in your life, but we both know that means sooner or later you are going to sleep with one of your dates. I just think it would be better, less emotionally charged if you will that when it happens I am already sleeping in a separate room."

"Ok Jordie, you're probably right."

"Just to be clear though, I want us to stick by the agreement for the time being. I'm still trying to come to grips with all this."

The rest of the weekend passed for what was their new normal, but they were maybe a little more cordial than they had been in several weeks. Jordan did move into the spare bedroom without further discussion or proclamation on either one's part.

On Tuesday Helena told Jordan she would be going out again on the up coming Saturday night and he nodded his understanding. Now Jordan had a decision to make so he retreated to his favorite spot in the back yard. As he was idly swinging in his hammock he was facing the conundrum Anita had presented him with. If he called her for a date, he was doing the same thing as his wife. When he came to a decision he looked over at the kid's old playground and thought to himself, "maybe Helena is right. It's time to clean that mess up."

He made the phone call to Anita and it was obvious to Jordan that she was very happy he had called and they had a lively 15 minute conversation and made arrangements to meet at the same coffee house Saturday night. Anita quipped that by having coffee there again if it didn't work out they could just go back to Home Depot and play the game so the night wouldn't be a total waste.

She closed the conversation by good-naturedly reminding Jordan what she said about the new shirt. He had laughed and promised her that she would be impressed!

Now however he had a new problem, where the hell would he go to buy a shirt that wasn't Wal-Mart? Macy's and Ralph Lauren solved that problem for him.

At their Friday morning breakfast table Helena reminded him that she would be bringing her 'friend' into the house when he picked her up. She assured him that her friend would only go into the family room and wait until Helena was finished getting ready. She also gave an implicit guarantee that she had purchased some scotch to offer him so that he wouldn't be touching Jordan's bar supply.

Jordan thought that was an excellent opportunity for a sarcastic comment but instead he simply asked what time he should be gone. He supposed in her own way she was trying to be thoughtful, but it dumbfounded him that she was missing the big picture of what she was doing to their relationship.

It was only thirty minutes before he would leave anyway to meet Anita, so he just went to the coffee shop early. As he went out the door well groomed and wearing his new shirt, Helena gave him a quizzical look, but didn't say anything.

When Jordan got to the coffee shop he was still fifteen minutes early, but Anita was already seated. She waved him over. When he got to the table she quipped. "Nice shirt." Then snapped her fingers and opened her hand palm up in a clear signal that she wanted to see his receipt which he happily produced.

"Wow Ralph Lauren, I'm impressed. I thought for sure you would go to Wal Mart and tell me you lost the receipt." She laughed heartily at her own joke and motioned him to sit across from her in the booth.

Normally he wasn't that observant but he did notice that Anita was wearing a nice flower print dress. She looked very modest but alluring. He also noticed she had a clean cut, girl next door sort of aura about her and he liked it. But it was the sparkle in her eyes that struck him the most. They made her seem so alive. He complimented Anita and got a blush from her in return.

"Look Jordan, just to set the ground rules here, we are only going to get coffee and piece of pie. I have another rule that if a man is going to take me out to dinner he has to get a whole new outfit." Anita continued impishly. "So you might want to consider the cost of that when you ask me out to dinner when we're done with our pie."

Jordan couldn't help it and he laughed way too loudly at her declaration and it drew glances from other diners, but he stuck his hand out to shake her's and said, "Deal."

Anita and Jordan talked until well past midnight without so much as a brief lull in the conversation. Anita talked in depth about her own divorce and how devastating it was for her. It took her over a year before she could even leave her house.

They also learned that they enjoyed all manner of the same interests. She loved baseball and had a yearning to travel the country because as she told him there were still so many places in it she still hadn't been. She wanted to go to Southern Europe, especially Italy and Greece. Jordan asked her why Italy and Greece.

"Because I love Italian wines and Greek olives! Why else would I want to go?" She laughed at her self again.

She also told Jordan she was saddened that she couldn't really pursue her dreams because of financial and time constraints. The divorce settlement insured that her basic needs were being met but it was the reason her life had become mundane and restricted by lack of funds and a friend to do things with. She ruminated that how when you divorce all your friends seem to disappear. It was like you had a contagious disease and they couldn't get far enough away from you soon enough.

Interestingly, neither one of them even mentioned Helena during the entire evening. When the both became tired Jordan did ask Anita out to dinner the following Saturday night and she readily accepted. He didn't care one way or the other if Helena would be going out.

Jordan didn't arrive home until well after midnight and Helena was already asleep in her bedroom. At least she might have been. He thought he heard her moving around upstairs when he entered the house. Whatever, he quietly finished his nighttime routine and went to sleep peacefully in his own bed.

Helena was not asleep. She was steaming at Jordan's late hours although she couldn't really complain could she? She justified her anger to herself by saying she was worried about him and he should have let her know he was going to be so late. She was definitely going to have a word with him in the morning about it.

Helena was awakened at what seemed to her the crack of dawn, by a racket out in the back yard. She looked at the clock on her nightstand and it was already 8:30. She peered out the window and was very surprised to see Jordan working feverishly at demolishing the girls' old play set. She threw on a robe and stomped out to have a talk with him.

"What on earth are you doing out here so early Jordie? You woke me up with all the commotion."

"Well I know you wanted to be able to plant a vegetable garden so I thought I would get this junk out of your way so you could do it." Actually Jordan couldn't have cared less if Helena started a vegetable garden or not. He was just so keyed up from his evening with Anita he had a lot of nervous energy and needed to do something to burn it off.

"Oh my gosh Jordie, thank you. But I'm mad at you right now." Helena tried to sound threatening but she was actually pleasantly surprised so she had difficulty pulling off the look. "What time did you get home last night and where were you?"

"I got home after midnight and if you must know I was out having coffee with a friend and we were having such an enjoyable evening we lost track of time."

"Oh, I see, well as long as I'm awake now come on inside and I will make us some breakfast." She turned and headed off to the kitchen.

On one hand Jordan was shocked that Helena hadn't pushed the issue of his late return even further, but then it dawned on him that she never questioned the possibility that he would have been out doing the same thing she was. It was another moment of clarity for him as to the state of his life and marriage. He made up his mind that Helena was no longer entitled to know anymore about his personal life beyond what they shared inside their home.

As she walked into the kitchen Helena was thinking that Jordan's improved mood and the fact he was removing the girls' sandbox so she could plant her vegetable garden was a very good sign.

When Jordan came into the kitchen a few minutes later, Helena was very cheerful and humming a tune he didn't recognize to herself.

"Thank you for removing this eyesore, so I can finally plant a garden. You seem in a much better mood the past few days. Are you feeling better about our situation?"

Jordan's immediate thought was to snap at Helena, but he reflected a moment and realized that he was in deed was feeling much better about their 'situation' but not for the reasons she was assuming.

"Yes actually I am feeling more comfortable, thank you."

Helena was excited about how things were progressing and she thought it was time to approach Jordan about moving her dating to the next level, sex with her boyfriend.

They actually had a pleasant breakfast for a change but it took a bit of a sour turn when Helena hinted that she wanted Jordan to move back into the bedroom. "Please Jordan? I know you're not in your twenties anymore, but it's been a long time since we have uh, you know been intimate that I thought maybe we could..."

"Well Helena let me ask you something, have you changed your mind about having sex with your boyfriends?"

She just looked down and shook her head without comment.

"Sweetheart, listen to me." That was the first term of endearment he had used with her in several weeks. "I just can't do that knowing what you are going to be doing. I know you care for me and I care for you too, but right now this is all we can be. I am worried about my reaction when you finally take that step, so no."

"But Jordie I know you enjoy sex and you have to be frustrated. I mean I am your wife."

"Helena, I think you know what I have been doing so, no. I'm ok with how things are. Let me help you clean up here and then I will get back to work in the back yard."

While taking a break in his hammock from his work in the early afternoon Jordan was once again in a reflective mood. He did understand some of Helena's emotions and actions better because when he was around Anita he was feeling sensations he hadn't felt in a very long time. What had once been a boring and dreary existence was now one filled with anticipation and excitement.

Jordan didn't just buy and new shirt and slacks for his dinner date with Anita. He pretty much bought a whole new wardrobe. He was very much looking forward to spending lots of time with Anita so he knew he needed more than one shirt and pair of slacks.