Dancing, Which I Don't...My Version

Not long ago I read the story "Dancing, Which I don't" by Zampa. It was submitted in October of 2014, as were all of Zampa's stories, and he hasn't submitted anything since. The story was about a guy who severely over reacted, in my opinion, when his wife invited a male co-worker to have dinner with them, and he ended up divorcing her. I strongly suggest you read that story first and hopefully they will put a link to that story here.

Not only did it not seem finished, but seemed way over the top in consequences. What I did was rewrite the story in an attempt to make it a little more plausible, and give it an ending. Zampa made the MC so uncompromising and unforgiving and unlikable that I'm not sure that I was able to pull it off and stay true to his intent for the character.

Zampa only included one name in the story, the name of the guy the wife invited to dinner. He didn't even give names for the MC or the wife. He mentioned kids in college, but gave no names, genders, or ages. I added that stuff to make for an easier read. I also switched the POV from the husband to the wife, i figured Zampa had already told the story from the husband's POV.

I did reach out to Zampa, but never got a response. Hopefully, this is enjoyable, but I confess to having written it in one sitting. Hopefully there aren't too many mistakes. I hope Zampa doesn't think I changed the characters too much. Please read the original and let me know what you think.

OK, Before the story. Comments: I will delete nasty comments, especially those by anon commenters. So far I only had to delete two from Tanner Logistics by anons that accused me of being homophobic because of a character in a story. I took great pleasure in tapping the little trash can. For some who are confused, characters in a story do not mirror the authors beliefs (at least not this author). Adding a person with an alternative lifestyle or a race other than white into a story does not mean the author is racist, homophobic, or anything else the woke community wants to accuse them of. It just means that the author is trying to make the story interesting (at least this author).

This story, like all my stories, is not real life. It is fiction. Made up. It is not a documentary. It is about what fake people did when faced with a certain situation. I really hope everyone enjoys this rewrite of a story about fake people. Happy new year.

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It all started on a Friday evening. My husband, Frank, had left a message at my job earlier in the day that he had made dinner reservations at Yohama's restaurant that night for 730pm. I was excited because they had dancing there starting at 8pm.

The problem I had, was that Frank hated to dance. He hated it with a passion. It turned out to be one of the biggest sacrifices I made during our marriage. Frank hated to dance, but at the same time, didn't want me to ever dance with any other men. On the rare occasion that I did, his jealousy was off the charts. He accused me of flirting and coming on to whoever I was dancing with. He once asked if I was planning an affair with a stranger who had approached me on a dance floor while I was dancing with a girlfriend.

I made the decision that 'tonight was going to be a dance night', at least for me. Just then the answer to my problems was led right to my office door. Bill, a co-worker, appeared at my office with a new employee. "Hey Jen, I'd like to introduce you to our newest account rep. This is John Harmon."

"John, it's nice to meet you," I said.

"Jen, the pleasure is mine."

"Are you new to the area?"

"Yep, just moved here from Chicago. My Fiancé is coming out in a few months."

"Interesting, if you don't mind my asking, what are some of your interests? I could introduce you to my husband."

"Well...I like Pina' Coladas, I occasionally enjoy getting caught in the rain, I'm not at all into health food, tastes horrible. I do enjoy the occasional glass of champagne."

I couldn't help but laugh. "That all sounds wonderful, but I'm pretty sure my husband isn't looking to escape."

"In that case, I play golf...poorly. I love soccer, follow the EPL. I'm not into the hunting and fishing stuff, and I lean conservative politically."

I was getting excited. "Ok, listen. My husband is also a soccer fan, is politically conservative and plays golf. We're going out to dinner tonight at a restaurant called Yohama's. Please come and meet us there. You guys can meet each other and talk and I can hit the dance floor a little."

"Umm...Jen, I don't dance."

"That's OK. Come to dinner. Sit with us and talk. We'll get to know each other. If you guys hit it off, I'll dance while you two are talking soccer and I won't feel guilty for leaving him at the table by himself. It's a win for everyone. You can start making friends in the area, and I can get a little dancing in."

"You know what? I'm in. Sounds great."

"Awesome! Reservations are for 730pm. We'll meet you there at 7" I wrote my phone number and the name of the restaurant on a apiece of paper and gave it to him.

Bill broke in. "Hey John, I need to talk to Jen for a minute, could I meet you back at my office in a few?"

"Sure thing, Bill. Jen, it's a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to meeting your husband tonight."

After John was gone, Bill leaned into me and said in a hushed tone, "Jen, he's gay. His fiancé' is a guy."

"Good for him, I don't care, I'm not setting him up on a date with my husband, I'm just trying to kill two birds with one stone. He seems like a nice guy, and they have stuff in common. Frank will like him and I get to hit the dance floor."

"OK, just wanted you to know so you don't say something embarrassing."

"That's actually better, nothing for Frank to feel threatened about."

^^^^^^^^

To say that Frank and I had been in a rut would be a colossal understatement. Our twin daughters had gone away to college and now it was just us two. Without the twins to buffer between us, it was painfully obvious that we had been going through the motions for a long time.

We didn't really have a lot to talk about when it was just us two sitting around the house. We didn't even like the same kinds of TV shows and movies. I'm not saying that I didn't love my husband, but sometimes our alone time together could be painful. We had taken to sitting in different rooms with TV's on different channels. The intimate conversations, the flirty touches, the brushing up against each other, just stopped happening. I felt like I was now living with a roommate.

Our life went like this: we went to work, came home, ate dinner, did chores around the house, then went to different rooms to watch TV. Once during the weekend we would have sex. If we didn't have sex by Sunday night, it wouldn't happen till the following weekend.

I was really looking forward to getting on the dance floor.

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Usually, I would get home about 5:45, and Frank would get home around 6:00. I got home on time and jumped right into the shower. By 6:15 I was ready to go and Frank was just pulling into the driveway.

He rushed into the house and apologized for being late. I told him it wasn't a problem yet, but to hurry and get ready.

"How about I call the restaurant and have them push the reservation back half an hour?," he asked.

"No, that won't work. I told John Harmon to meet us there at 7. I really don't want him to have to wait for us for half an hour."

"What?!" I could tell that Frank was instantly pissed. "Who the hell is John Harmon and why is he meeting us?!"

"Relax for a minute, Frank. He's a new hire at our company and he just moved here from Chicago and doesn't know anyone. You and he have some common interests and I thought it would be nice for you to meet him and then introduce him to some of our other friends. Since they also have dancing at Yohama's, I figured I could get some dancing in."

Frank went into a long diatribe about how he hates dancing and since dancing is just a prelude to sex, he doesn't want me dancing with other men. Before I could even get a word in, he told me how he was pissed that I would invite another man to dance with when he and I had planned a date for ourselves. I kept trying to get a word in, but he would cut me off and accuse me of 'unilaterally changing the paradigm of our relationship'. Who even says that?

He insinuated that I had planned a night of dancing with a new guy and expected him to sit at the table 'like excess baggage'. He was getting more pissed by the minute, and eventually, so was I. Finally I couldn't take it any more.

"You know what Frank?! I work just as hard at my job as you do at yours! Maybe I'd like to blow off a little steam by going dancing!"

Frank was really pissed. "Yeah, with your new BOYFRIEND!"

"He's NOT my FUCKING BOYFRIEND! This is NOT what you think it is. You need to calm down so we can discuss this rationally." I don't think I had ever been this mad at Frank.

"There's nothing more to discuss! You knew exactly what you were doing when you set out to humiliate me with your date!"

"He's not my fucking DATE! Let's go! You'll see as soon as you meet him." Frank was so pissed and so sure that I had done this on purpose that I didn't think it would help if I told him John was gay. He would just accuse me of lying, and I was tired of trying to convince him anyway.

"I'm not going."

"Frank, it's too late to cancel, and he's probably already there waiting for us."

"Yeah? Well you better get going! It would be awful rude of you to stand him up. I'll tell you right now, if I ever ask you to go on a date night with me again, and I probably won't, do not even THINK about changing my plans!"

"You know what, Frank? FUCK YOU! Sit here by yourself!"

"Maybe I'll go play poker with my friends at the Friday night poker game at Henry's."

"Sure! You'll go play poker...which you HATE! You're willing to do that with your friends, but you can't take me dancing ONCE A FUCKING YEAR?! I'm going."

"Well, if you actually come home tonight, be careful on the front steps. I'm gonna turn off the porch light when I go to bed." He was such a sarcastic prick.

"You ASSHOLE!," I screamed at him. "You're actually insinuating that I'm going to spend the night with ANOTHER MAN?!" With that I just turned and left.

I got into my car and laid my head back on the headrest and took a really deep breath, then pushed it out. I was thinking that I should be crying, but I wasn't. I was just so pissed off. I had never, since the day I started dating Frank, gave him a reason to doubt my faithfulness. Never. Not once.

Then it really hit me. He didn't trust me. After all we'd been through, he didn't trust me. He honest to God didn't trust me. That...DICK!

Fuck this. I'm not groveling to him. He knew where I was going to be. He could show up if he wanted to. I backed out of the driveway and headed to Yohama's. I could see Frank watching me as I drove away.

I went to the restaurant and met John in the waiting area. He asked where Frank was and I told him Frank wasn't going to make it. We went in and got our reserved seats and had a nice dinner. I got to know John pretty well and he told me all about his fiancé. I told him about my argument with Frank and he apologized profusely. He offered to go to my house with me to speak with Frank, but I told him that it wouldn't help. I sensed that there was a lot more to it than what was on the surface. We stayed and talked for hours. I never did get to dance.

^^^^^^^^

I got home before midnight and went into one of the girls rooms to sleep for the night. I slept until 9am the following morning and when I went downstairs, Frank was already gone. There was coffee in the pot, so I poured a cup and put it into the microwave. 90 seconds and a 'ding' later, I took the cup of coffee to the dining room table and sat down. In the middle of the table was Frank's wedding ring.

As I stared at it, I again felt like I should be crying. I guess we had drifted so far apart that it just didn't bother me enough to cause me to cry. As I sat there sipping my coffee, I heard Frank's car pull into the garage. I continued sitting there sipping my coffee and Frank came in loaded for bear. As I sat there sipping my coffee, Frank went off about how I had abandoned him blah blah blah. There was no way past this, yada yada yada. After about 5 minutes of his ranting and my not really listening, I quietly said "you win Frank."

"Oh!," he said, "so you're ready to admit it? You're ready to admit how you planned the affair? You're ready..."

"I didn't say you were right," I sighed, "I said you win."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means exactly what it sounds like. There's no boyfriend, no affair, but if you want a divorce, OK." I stood up and headed to the bedroom to pack a bag.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?!"

"I'm going to stay with my sister." I felt surprisingly calm since I had accepted the inevitable.

"WAIT A MINUTE!! I..."

"Frank, no more yelling. No more name calling. You don't trust me, you win."

"How the hell can I trust you when you bring a date..."

"Frank, stop. Just stop. I'm going to take enough to get me through Monday, then we'll figure out how to move forward from there."

Frank turned in a huff and left the house. I called the twins and let them know what was going on. I told them exactly what happened, but didn't bad mouth their father to them. I explained that while I cared for their father, his lack of trust was devastating to me. I explained as best I could that there were no hard feelings, just so much disappointment. They both said the same thing, "we love you both, and we understand. You guys have been drifting apart for a couple years. If you talk to Dad, will you please tell him we love him?"

^^^^^^^^

When my mother passed away a few years ago, my sister Riley bought the house from the estate and moved in. It was the house we had grown up in, and was way too big for just her, but she loved the place. I moved into one of the 4 spare bedrooms. Riley wasn't married, but was in a serious relationship with a nice guy.

Time moved on and Frank filed for divorce under 'irreconcilable differences'. He offered a very fair settlement and we split amicably. He wanted the house and I didn't really care, so he bought me out and I moved in permanently with Riley. It hurt not being with him, I didn't realize how much I needed to have him around, but I couldn't go back to the way we were when we split.

Riley and I became regulars at the local dance clubs. We often went with John and his fiancé, Daniel. Sometimes, Riley's boyfriend Eli would go also, but he wasn't much of a dancer either. Danny was a great guy and a fantastic dancer. John didn't actually enjoy the dancing part, but loved hanging with us and would dance the slow songs. Sometimes, on Wednesdays, we would go to a dance club that played old music and Danny started teaching me how to swing dance. That was really fun. John would come with us, but avoided the dance floor as if it would give off a contagious disease.

I didn't date. I danced with a few guys at the clubs, but that was as far as it went. I wasn't moping around or crying in my drinks, I just wasn't looking for a love interest. Six months after our separation, our divorce was finalized. Neither needed to be there, we were notified by the USPS. I didn't celebrate.

I wasn't really angry anymore, i was more confused. Why in the world would Frank be so untrusting of me when I had never done anything to warrant it? On the occasion when Frank and I were in the same place, family functions and such, we were both nice to each other. We got along fine, but didn't talk about our post split lives. I could tell that Frank was sad about the split, but he couldn't seem to bring himself to say anything about why he lost his trust in me.

One week after the divorce was final, Frank showed up at my job with a huge, beautiful bouquet of flowers. "Oh my God. Frank, what are you doing here?"

"Umm...look, Jen, this is a peace offering. We're gonna be connected to each other for the rest of our lives through our kids and future grandkids. I really want to be able to be friends. I don't know if you'll eventually end up with John, but if you do, I sincerely hope you find happiness. I promise I won't give him a hard time when we're around each other."

I couldn't help but to start giggling and shaking my head. "Frank, come with me."

He put the vase on my desk and followed me into the hallway. I walked him down the corridor to John's office and tapped on the door.

"Hey, Jen, come on in. Got a new worker bee with you?"

"No, John...I'd like to introduce you to my ex-husband. This is Frank. Frank, this is John Harmon."

"Frank, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard a lot about you." John held out his hand and the two shook.

"I'm sure you have. Please give me an opportunity to show you that most of what you heard are lies."

"No...no," John laughed, "all good things. I've heard more about your marriage than I care to admit. The way Jen always talked about you, I'm really surprised that...umm"

I was blushing at Johns comments when Frank asked "John, I see you're wearing a wedding ring, you're married?"

"Yes, just a few months ago. Jen was actually a witness."

"Wait...Jen knows your wife?"

"Well...she knows my husband."

"You're gay?"

"Yep. When I first moved here, my then fiancé had to stay back in Chicago to tie up some souse ends. Jen offered to introduce me to some people. She thought that you and I would get along and so she invited me to have dinner with you guys. She also said there was dancing there but I warned her that I don't dance. She was more concerned with me meeting you than me dancing with her."

:"Wait a minute...you don't dance?"

"No...not really. My husband is a really good dancer, and loves it, so I do go with him sometimes. It's only fair since he goes to soccer games with me and he hates soccer. he does as good with the offsides rule as I do with...well...dancing."

"You go dancing with him, even though you hate it?"

"It's important to him, so I make it important to me. Usually I try to bring Jen and her sister. The three of them have a ball and they're fun to watch. I'll dance some of the slow songs with whoever doesn't have a partner."

I was watching Frank to see his reaction. He had visibly paled and glanced at me with a deep sorrow in his eyes. "John, it was a pleasure to meet you. Maybe we can get together sometime and talk soccer?"

"That would be great, as long as you're not a 'city' fan," John laughed.

"No way, brother, Red Devils all the way. Go Man U."

"Sounds good, Frank. Here, take one of my cards, I'll write my cell number on the back."

Frank turned and left the room and quickly headed for the stairs.

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Six months later

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mom, how's everything?"

"Fine, sweetheart, what's up?"

"Not much. Doing anything this weekend?"

"Not really, nothing that can't be postponed. Going to Yohama's Saturday night with your Aunt Riley."

"OK, we'll be up this weekend. We'll stay with Dad on Friday and head over to Yohama's with you guys on Saturday if that's OK."

"Of course it's OK. John and Danny are going as well. Sweetheart, how's your Dad? Is he doing OK?"

"Interesting, he asked me the same question about you when I talked to him earlier. He's lonely. He doesn't go out much, although he's become pretty good friends with John."

"Really? John's never said anything too me."

"Why would he? You two are divorced."

"Come on, Alex. You know I don't hate the man. I don't have any bad feelings towards him at all. In fact, I worry about him. We just grew apart. There are friends from my past that I grew apart from, it doesn't mean I don't like them."