February Sucks, YAAE

"That was absolutely the best, you were magnificent," Linda complimented, as she reached underneath and pulled out the butt plug, turning the switch off and noticing that it was actually quite clean considering the place it had been for the past half hour or so. She placed the instrument on the bedside table and snuggled against her husband. "Thank you, Jim. I don't think you can know just how much I needed that."

Her words, or perhaps the quiet time between them, or maybe even the culmination of everything, allowed the elephant named Marc to make his entrance into the room. They both sensed it and neither quite knew why. In addition, they each knew that the other person also felt the elephant's unwelcome presence.

"Yes," Jim replied to mentally break Marc's presence from the room. "That certainly was wonderful. I'm glad we both enjoyed some new things and that we got over this hurdle as easily as we did, I thought it might be tougher."

Linda hugged her husband even tighter, sensing the range of emotions he was feeling -- from being so blatantly cuckolded only three weeks before, to the closeness of their own coupling this evening.

"Linda, I hope you know, if you EVER do anything like that ever again, you'll destroy us and our family. I'm still trying to come to terms with how I can ever trust you again. I'm praying that our Friday afternoon sessions with John can help us through this, because right now I still sometimes feel like I'm at the bottom of a big hole with no way to get out."

He knew his harsh words were incongruous with the lovemaking they had just shared, but he felt he needed to say them nonetheless.

Although Jim's words were a damper on the closeness that they had just shared, Linda knew they hadn't been delivered from a place of hate. She knew that the road ahead still had a fair share of bumps and potholes for them to traverse. Their marriage was still on less than solid footing, but at least they had gotten off to a good start with intimacy issues and with putting Jim's inadequacy issues to bed.

He had to know that there was nothing 'inadequate' about his love-making skills, or with Linda's desire for him. Even if the evening's coupling hadn't gone as spectacular as it had, Jim would always be her man, and she'd move heaven and earth to make him understand that.

She squeezed her husband just a little bit tighter. "I know, sweetie. I'm so sorry for everything I've done to us. Please don't give up on me. I'll do anything I have to do to earn your trust again. I love you so."

"I love you, too. If I didn't love you so damned much, I wouldn't even have bothered trying. I think its time to get ready for bed. I think we both need a really good night's sleep."

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For the next couple of weeks, Jim and Linda continued their sessions with John. John was pleased that intimacy had been restored in their relationship. It was far more difficult, if not impossible, if a couple couldn't resume at least some level of physical intimacy when trying to work through marital issues, especially when infidelity was involved.

Speaking of intimacy, Jim and Linda were having sex almost every night of the week, more than they were having before Linda's betrayal with Marc. Sometimes, they made sweet, relaxing love quietly pleasuring one another. At other times, they enjoyed a good no-holds-barred fucking, playing with toys (they had each bought a few more that they enjoyed trying) and trying to fuck each other half to death. Linda found that she was somewhat submissive, probably the reason why she fell so easily for an alpha male like Marc.

They even delved into a little role playing, often including some ass-play, spanking, and even some light bondage. One of Linda's favorite role plays was her being a naughty student that was sent to Headmaster Jim's office for correction and discipline. Just the thought of these sessions could make her weak in the knees.

If things continued to progress, Linda was hoping to give Jim her ass on their upcoming tenth anniversary. They might not be going to Hawaii this year, but they could still make it a night to remember. She knew how special it would be for both of them if she could give Jim her anal virginity.

During the Friday sessions with John, they seemed to just be going back and forth. Jim seemed to be somewhat "black and white" about Linda's cheating and his resulting lack of trust in her future fidelity. His assessment of the incident made it clear that he didn't give a rat's ass about who or what Marc was, nor that he had an exalted position in society.

Jim disagreed that Marc's exalted status gave him the right to fuck any woman he picked, regardless of her marital status. Jim pointed out that there were lots of famous people, and even plenty of sports stars. Many such people, like Marc and his teammates, lived right here in their city. Was Jim supposed to give Linda other free passes if similar situations arose?

Jim agreed that Linda wouldn't likely cuckold him as blatantly as she did when she left that evening with Marc. However, Jim questioned whether she would be able to control herself if Jim wasn't around. Once Linda went back to work in the fall, how would he be able to trust that she would remain faithful? What if she went out of town and the opportunity to cheat presented itself?

Jim could tell that she was immensely satisfied with the sexual experience she had with Asshole. Her satisfaction was only somewhat extinguished by the enormous pain that she experienced when she found her marriage was on the brink of disaster. Jim assumed that, privately, Linda relished the memory of being selected and then thoroughly fucked by a pro-athlete and alpha male like Marc.

Neither Jim nor Linda, even with John's help, was able to gain any traction in figuring a way past Jim's lack of long-term trust with Linda. It felt like they kept rehashing the same points and counterpoints to no avail. After arriving home after their third session focused on their trust issues, Jim said that he was going to go see L.W. to get his advice. L.W. was a wise, older man from Jim's granddad's era that Jim leaned on from time to time, often seeking his wisdom and counsel.

Linda had known L.W. for almost as long as she had known Jim. She knew that L.W. was a fair and wise man and that he just might have some words of wisdom for Jim. She hoped this wisdom would help Jim overcome his lack of trust in her. Over the past several weeks, Linda had repeatedly promised that she would never again betray Jim's trust with another man. To this, Jim always responded that she had made him that same promise on their wedding day. However, her vows didn't stop her from abandoning her husband on their special night and giving herself to Marc LaValliere, right in front of Jim. All because Marc just wanted to fuck her.

A seasoned attorney, L.W. was semi-, if not mostly, retired from the practice of law. However, given his years of experience, Jim thought that L.W. might be able to provide a new perspective to help them overcome their current obstacles. Before leaving for Disney with the kids, Jim had reached out and talked with L.W. At the time, Jim was of the mind to go completely 'no contact' with Linda and simply divorce her without giving them any chance at reconciliation.

L.W. advised him against making such a rash and permanent decision, especially given Jim's emotional state. He urged Jim to consider their children and the lasting effect such a decision would have on them. He also recommended that Jim take some time to calm down, maybe even take a few weeks, and then ask himself the question, "Am I better off with her or without her?" Today, even after the return of intimacy in their lives, Jim was still having a difficult time with ever thinking he could trust Linda again.

Jim called L.W. and Jim was told to come over that very evening. L.W. could tell that Jim and Linda were still on the brink. Jim brought wine, steaks, and all the accoutrements so that he could cook a nice dinner for the two of them. The two caught up on each other's lives and had a nice dinner, before retiring with drinks to L.W.'s formal parlor for a more serious discussion.

Jim told L.W. how the sessions with John Saunders had gone thus far, mostly positive but for the one major, and decidedly difficult, issue of being unable to have trust in Linda's fidelity. Jim reiterated points made on the issue during the sessions by both Jim and Linda, and how Jim couldn't be swayed to believe that Linda would never cheat again. This was especially true given how she so blatantly and disrespectfully dumped Jim at the club and ran off with Marc for a night of sex. Jim repeated the expression, "once a cheater, always a cheater."

L.W. asked, "Would you have tried reconciling with Linda if you didn't have Emma and Tommy?" Jim thought for a moment. "No," he replied, "I'm pretty sure I would have taken my losses, divorced her, and moved on with my life."

"That's what I figured, especially given our earlier discussion before you left with the kids for Disneyland." L.W. followed up, "Everyone knows that a stay-at-home mom is almost always awarded primary custody of the children, no matter what bad things she might have done to end the marriage. It's also known that the courts award the stay-at-home mother handsome settlements, including use of the family homestead until the children are grown, along with substantial alimony and child support payments."

"Given these things, and your answer to my last question, let me ask you another one. Would you have tried to reconcile with Linda IF you knew ahead of time that you would be awarded primary custody of Emma and Tommy and you also knew that your business would be safe and that you wouldn't be financially burned if you divorced her on grounds of infidelity?"

Jim sat and carefully absorbed the question, quietly thinking about it for some time. Finally, after much consideration he answered, "No, under those conditions, I also wouldn't have tried to reconcile as I would have ultimately been convinced, as I am now, that I would never be able to trust her again. But then again, your question is a complete hypothetical. We simply don't live in a reality where courts are concerned with what happened to end a marriage. In our world, the husband gets shafted, no matter what the wife did to end things. The courts only seem to care about maintaining the kids' and mom's quality of life, even if it means the dad sleeps in a cardboard box under a bridge and rarely gets to see his children."

L.W. chucked, "It might not be quite that bad, but I know what you're saying. The courts do seem to bend over backwards to support the mom and the children. There's actually some good reasoning for it -- we don't want a system that results in destitute, hungry children with no place to live just because the mom screwed up. You're right that the system often goes too far when the 'morally wrong' party seems to be rewarded for their actions, even when those actions would cause almost any spouse to seek a divorce."

L.W. sat quietly for a few moments, gathering his thoughts. He then began, "What I'm thinking of is something called a 'post-nuptial agreement.'" Seeing Jim's apparent confusion, he continued, "They're quite similar to 'pre-nup agreements' that I'm sure you've heard of, only 'post nups' are executed after the couple is married. They are valid in our state, but they need to be carefully drafted otherwise the court can throw them out and you're back to square one."

"OK, I'm interested, tell me more."

"To be valid, you need to be able to show that the provisions are 'reasonable.' Like there was a true 'meeting of the minds' when the post-nup was agreed upon. By reasonable, the agreement can't make one party destitute or have absolutely no custody. So, an agreement that states that a cheating spouse walks away with only the clothes on their back, or can't ever see their children again, would almost certainly be deemed unenforceable, and thrown out, by the courts."

"Because of your lack of trust in Linda, and because of your misgivings about her future fidelity, having provisions, or clauses, regarding infidelity would make perfect sense. Consideration would have to be given to the fact that you have a business and she doesn't, and the fact that she is currently a stay-at-home mom without her own income."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Linda says she wants to go back to work this fall when Tommy starts school. That actually adds to my lack of trust as she's likely to get a job in sales where she travels a lot and has opportunities to cheat in places where I'd never find out."

"Well, a post-nuptial agreement would certainly make most reasonable people think at least twice before they cheat. A well-crafted agreement would be designed to survive a court challenge and set forth very unpleasant, but reasonable, consequences for the cheating party. Even if someone is out of town, there is always the chance that their spouse would learn of their infidelity. Someone as smart as Linda would certainly consider the ramifications before deciding to cheat."

"OK, this sounds good. I'm going to go home and talk to Linda. I've got to believe that she will agree to a post-nuptial. If she balks at the idea, it just solidifies my view that she intends to cheat again. What would we do next? Do we need to find an attorney that does these things or can you help us out with the agreement?"

"I've written these types of agreements in the past, so I can certainly represent you, at no charge of course. After all, you and Linda are like the son and daughter-in-law that I never had."

"However, I can only represent you on this one, I can't represent both of you. To make sure its enforceable, Linda will need her own attorney. I'll research any changes that have occurred in the law since I last wrote one of these agreements and I'll also handle drafting the agreement so we can keep overall costs down. Linda's attorney would represent her and work on her behalf to negotiate terms or provisions that they feel are unfair."

"Hopefully, Linda's receptive to this idea. If she is, you two can try working together on the basic framework that we use. Address questions like what should happen if you divorce due to her infidelity, due to your infidelity, and due to no fault on either party? Let me know if you're able to come up with a framework that you both like and then we can get back together to start drafting the agreement."

Jim went home happier than he'd been in some time about his trust predicament. He arrived kind of late and Linda and the kids were already in their beds, asleep. Jim checked on his sleeping kids, saying a little prayer that L.W.'s post-nuptial idea could help them avoid divorce and remain a family. He wanted so badly to continue raising his children and seeing them on an everyday basis.

The next day was Sunday and Jim wasted no time in broaching the idea of a 'post-nuptial' agreement with Linda. She was reserved on the idea, wondering why they really needed it since she was never going to cheat again on their marriage. Jim became a bit frustrated with Linda not being as enthusiastic about the idea.

"The agreement just gives each of us, especially me, some assurance that the other person won't cheat on our marriage in the future. Why are you reluctant Linda? Are you afraid you're going to cheat again and be stuck with the terms of the agreement?"

"Of course not. Haven't you been listening to me for the last month and a half. For ten years I was a faithful, loving wife, and then I did what I did with Marc and you've rained holy hell on me ever since. How do I know that you won't throw the agreement in my face if you think I cheated when I'm actually innocent? What if I get a job and I'm meeting a client over coffee at Starbucks and you see us? Are you going to say our coffee was 'a date' and use it to divorce me under the terms of the 'post-nup'?" What if I see a long-lost friend from high school, maybe even a former boyfriend, and we hug each other, maybe even go out for a drink together to catch up? Would that be cause to divorce me and use the post-nup against me? I'm just saying that a lot of innocent encounters happen in life, completely innocent, that someone could see and say 'boy, that sure looks like she's cheating!'"

"Are you crazy? I don't want to get divorced, as you seem to think. In fact, I think I'm trying very hard to stay married to you. You admit that your 'encounter' with Marc was anything but innocent. You deliberately left me behind with a room full of our friends to go back to his place and fuck him, for Christ's sake! Maybe all of my trying is just a waste of time," Jim finished, shaking his head.

Trying again, he said "Look, I'm just trying to protect myself; I'm trying to convince myself to stay married to you. I'm willing to stay married even though another 'encounter' like what happened with Marc might be lurking in our future. If you do pull something like that again in the future, I don't want to wind up as an every-other weekend dad to my kids. I hope you know that if you ever do anything like that to me again, I'll divorce you so fast your head will spin."

Calming down, Jim continued, "Look, I'm fine with spelling out what 'infidelity' means to us in the agreement so that neither of us can use innocent encounters, like in your examples, to divorce the other person. In fact, I think that it's an excellent idea to clearly spell out what constitutes infidelity in our agreement. I'll see what L.W. has to say on the matter."

"Jim, you know I can't apologize enough for how I treated you that night and for what my actions did to our marriage. I absolutely hate going back and forth with you at our Friday sessions, trying in vain to convince you that you can trust me again. I sometimes feel like I'm beating my head against a wall. If we do this post-nuptial agreement, would you at least try to trust me again? After what I did, I know that I might not ever have your full trust like I did before, but could you at least trust me so that I don't feel like you're just watching me, just waiting for me to screw up again so that you can leave me?"

"Linda, let me just say that having an enforceable post-nuptial agreement will go a long way to having me trust you again. You're right, I don't think I'll ever have the absolute, implicit, trust I had in you before you ran off with Asshole. You lost that forever. I do think that if we would have had a post-nuptial agreement in place the night Marc plucked you from our table, you would have thought long and hard before agreeing to run off with him. You're a smart person, Linda, I think given such an agreement you would have turned Marc down, and we would have avoided this entire shit storm."

"Alright Jim. I'll work on the framework with you so we can have L.W. draft something that might work. I'll also look into finding my own attorney who can represent me and make sure the agreement is fair. I'm just hoping that getting this done makes you happy and makes it so that you can trust me as your wife once again."

Over the next couple of days, Linda and Jim worked out the basis for an agreement that would provide Jim some surety that Linda wouldn't cheat again. While hoping that he'd never have to use the agreement, Jim really thought, If she does cheat again, I'll nail her ass and keep my kids and my business. My own little version of 'trust but verify'.

The basic framework of the agreement was that, if Linda cheated again, she (1) forfeited primary custody of the children to Jim, with her being allowed to have them every other weekend and on either Thanksgiving or Christmas, alternating each year; (2) their marital assets would be split 60-40 in Jim's favor, but she would have no claim on Jim's business whatsoever; (3) Jim would keep the house and raise the kids there until they moved out and he sold it, at which time they'd split the profits 60-40; and (4) Linda would not pay any alimony, but would pay child support in the amount of 25% of her net monthly income (standard in their state for two children).