Forty isn't Old if You're a Tree Ch. 03

My thanks to my editor MistressPenelope. Without her this would be a worse story. After her the mistakes are mine.

****

The next morning Michael was sitting in his office staring at his coffee cup.Last night was unbelievable.

In fact it was so unbelievable that he had to believe something was going on. They hadn't done anything so wild and crazy since before Holly started school. And some of the things they did last night? She let him, no; she WANTED him to finger her butt. For the second time she let him come in her mouth and she SWALLOWED. Then she ASKED him to lick her. She had done that before, but rarely.

She was so hot, Michael didn't think that she did anything last night with her 'boyfriend', but she had to be getting close to doing something. From what he saw, he guessed that she worked with this 'boyfriend'. All of a sudden he remembered that two weeks before, on a Wednesday, Julie had worked late. He had to know more before next Wednesday.

By lunchtime he had formed a plan. Reviewing the plan, he thought it seemed more like something out of a spy novel than something that would work, but he didn't know what else to try.

At 4:30 he cruised past the parking lot at Julie's office. Since it was Thursday, she should have left about 3:30, but he needed to be sure. He didn't see her Odyssey. He circled the block and pulled into the parking lot. He spotted the gray BMW and drove in that direction. Someone had left early, so he got a space just two spots over from the Beemer.

Michael got out and wandered around the gray car memorizing the model and license plate. When he got back in his Civic, he wrote the information down. He had no idea what to do with it since he didn't know any policemen, but the private eyes on TV always did that.

At 5:00 people began to leave the building. Michael could not see the entrance, being to one side, but there was about fifty yards from the corner of the building to the Beemer. By 5:15 almost half the cars were gone, but the gray metal was still there. At 5:20 he noticed a male walking this way that was about the height of the guy he saw yesterday.

Michael got out of his car and pretended to be locking the door. When the man got close, Michael started walking toward the building being sure to pass close by the guy to get a good look at him. Once he passed by, Michael started walking faster toward the building.

"Hey, do you guys know who owns that gray BMW that just left?" Michael addressed the lobby guards.

"Gray BMW?"

"Yeah, he just left. Maybe a 3-series, last year or year before. I scraped his bumper when I parked. I must have passed him walking out when I was coming in. I'd like to get in touch with him so I can make it right."

"I think that's Bob Shelton's car. Right Jim?"

"Yeah, I think so," replied the other guard.

"Bob Shelton?" Michael took a pen out of his pocket. "Do you guys have something to write on?"

They gave him a sheet of paper and he wrote down the name. He tore the sheet of paper in half and wrote Joseph L. Williams 204-432-8755 on the other half. "Do you guys have his phone number? Can you give him this tomorrow when he comes in?"

"His extension number here is 4328," one of the guards replied. "We'll be sure he gets this note."

"Thanks, guys." Michael punched the elevator button for the third floor. He got off there and walked back down. The fire door let him onto the parking lot. He got back in his car. Just call me James Bond, he thought.

The next day at work Michael tracked down a copy of the current phone book. No entry for Robert Shelton.He probably only has a cell phone like so many people these days. Well, if all else fails, try the internet. A Google search turned up an RW Shelton and a check of MapQuest put RW in the right area of town for Julie's office.

On Tuesday Michael dialed Julie. "Hey, babe. I've got to work a little late tonight. I'll just grab a sandwich and bring it back to the office for supper. Love you, too. "

Later that afternoon Michael made another trip to Julie's office. This time he parked down the street waiting for Bob Shelton to get in the gray BMW. He would follow Bob back to his apartment or house. Since he had told Julie that he was working late, he was prepared to wait for Bob outside any bar or restaurant he might frequent on the way home.

A few minutes after five, Bob walked out and got in the BMW. Michael followed him at some distance. Assuming he had the right address he could follow along the best route from office to apartment that Bob would use and not be noticed. He kept him in sight in case he stopped, but fifteen minutes later he followed Bob into an apartment complex and saw a gray BMW. Driving slowly by, he verified the tag number.

It wasn't even six o'clock. Michael decided to get some dinner. He remembered a steakhouse, he thought the name was MacLean's, a few blocks back. When he entered the restaurant, he was told that he could wait twenty minutes for a table or he could go into the bar and order there.

The bar was about half full when he sat down.

"I'll have a Sam Adams and a menu, please," he said to the bartender.

"I like Sam Adams Stout," a female voice floated into his ear.

Turning he saw a mid-thirties blonde, medium height, curvy, in a pantsuit. "I rarely order that out," he replied. "It's not often bars have it, even by the bottle."

"Yeah, but I travel here so often, that I've tried all the restaurants around and discovered that they carry it here."

"Really? What do you do?"

The conversation continued as he ordered and she also ordered and they ate together at the bar. After two hours and a Stout after his plain Sam Adams, he thought he ought to be going. "Well, I need to be getting along."

"Oh, me too," she replied looking at her watch. "I only have to walk across the street to the Marriott, but I've got a client at 9AM."

They parted at his car in the parking lot. As he drove home, Michael realized that he could have sampled the beds in the Marriott. "Or maybe that's wishful middle-aged thinking."

All day Wednesday Michael waited for the call from Julie. But when he got home a little after six, she was in the kitchen finishing the casserole for the microwave. All four of them sat down to a nutritious dinner. Michael was relieved.

After dinner, he was helping Julie in the kitchen. "Let's go on a picnic with the kids this weekend. We haven't done that in a while. I passed a park on the way home where families were playing and picnicking. It reminded me of the picnics we had when the kids were younger. We could have a lot of fun."

*****

Sunday afternoon about 2, Julie was covering up the leftover food. As she sat on the blanket, she could see Michael and the kids playing Frisbee. They were laughing and teasing. She couldn't believe how beautiful Holly was. Later this year she would be sixteen, the age she had been told she could start dating. The boys would be lined up. And Mike was clearly growing up. He was still shorter than his dad, but he would get there soon. It seemed like yesterday that Mike was breastfeeding and Michael had stayed up all night with Holly who had the flu, so that Julie could rest and avoid the germs.

She also remembered Holly's first science project. Michael had come up with the idea and had coached Holly through the construction and experiments leading to an 'A' grade. That was the same year he had rented a room at a quaint hotel in the mountains. The kids had a connecting room and once they were down, she had showered and put on a sexy nightgown purchased just for the trip. There was a full moon and she and Michael had sat in a lounge chair on the balcony and started making out. She eventually pulled his cock from his boxers and rubbed it along her slit. She was so hot; she knew that if she straddled him she would cum almost immediately, screaming to the world and attracting attention. She led him inside. Even there, she needed to pull a pillow over her face not to be heard in the hall.

She made a decision. She needed to end it with Bob and work on her marriage. She could make Michael give up Jolene and they could make it to their fiftieth anniversary. She'd break it off the next time she and Bob got together.

After they got back from the picnic, Julie felt like she had to talk to someone. She snuck away where Michael wouldn't hear her and called Ann. "Ann, can you go to dinner tomorrow night, just you and me?" She was whispering.

"Yeah, sure." Ann had a quizzical note in her voice.

"Call me back in five. I'll let Michael answer and then you ask for me and ask if we can go out tomorrow night."

"Okay."

*****

Ann did as asked and Monday night found the two women in a booth in a little bistro near their homes. "What was all that setup for last night?" Ann was curious.

"It's a long story. I wanted Michael to know you had asked me to go to dinner in case he started wondering."

Michael was wondering. About twenty minutes after Julie left, he called Ann's house. "Hi, Bill. Is Ann there?"

"No, Michael. She and Julie were meeting for dinner. You need something?"

"I was hoping to catch Julie. I forgot to ask her something." At least if she was meeting Bob Shelton, she was covering her tracks well. Perhaps this was just what she said it was. "Look, don't say anything about this call to Julie or Ann. They'd just think I was a clueless husband."

"Don't I know that feeling! Okay, have a good night."

Back at the bistro Ann was even more curious as the first drinks slipped by. "You want to tell me? We've got all night for a long story."

"Michael is cheating. He's been seeing Jolene for most of a year."

"I can't believe that. How do you know?"

"I've seen the way they are together, and Michael's had to work a lot of 'overtime' since last summer. I think it's been going on since then. And they were together when I had to go down to Atlanta."

"When?"

"That Thursday, after Holly's soccer game."

"But all the parents went out together with the team for pizza. Afterwards, I saw Michael drive the kids off in one direction and Jolene left in the other. I think you're wrong."

"Michael doesn't lie well. When I spoke to him about it he denied it, of course. But a wife knows. So I'm getting back at him, uh, I'm thinking of getting back at him."

Ann immediately noticed the slip. "You haven't done anything have you?"

"No, uh, uh –"

"You have! I've been your friend since high school. I can't believe you did something like this."

"I wouldn't have if he hadn't been slipping it to Jolene." Julie was defiant now.

"What have you done?"

"In Atlanta, after I knew he was with Jolene, I had more than my usual limit of drinks. One of the guys came on to me and I guess I got carried away." She had just lied to Ann.How sure am I of what is happening?

"Julie! Even if Michael was cheating, that's no way to solve the problem. At least it was in Atlanta and not here." Julie's face changed for just a second. "No! Don't tell me you're doing it with someone here, too."

"The same guy actually. He was down in Atlanta helping to test the software, too. But I've decided to end it."

"That's good. Why?"

"We all went on a picnic yesterday. I saw how happy the kids were with Michael. I remembered the good times we had. I want that back again. So I'm going to break it off, the next time I'm with him. Michael will never know."

"No! You've got to quit now, without anymore meetings. It'll be easier. You don't think Michael suspects something like you suspect something?"

"You know husbands are clueless. Some days I think I could walk around naked and he wouldn't notice if I didn't point it out."

"Oh, I bet he'd notice real quick." They both laughed.

"Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but you know what I mean." The conversation turned to safer subjects and they both enjoyed the rest of the evening.

****

"Michael, I've got to work late tonight." Julie was calling in the middle of the following Wednesday afternoon.

The words hit Michael like a punch in the solar plexus. He couldn't respond immediately.

"Michael, are you there?"

He finally pulled himself together and tried to give her some broad hints about what he was thinking. "Gee, honey, I was looking forward to having dinner with you and the kids. You've worked so many Wednesday nights recently. Can't you get out of this one?"

"You know we've got to get this new system implemented. It's not my fault that there are still problems that need to be fixed; that means I have to work extra after they are fixed." The lust that was building between Julie's thighs deafened her to the warning Michael was giving.

"Yes, I know, but we haven't had dinner as a family all week. I was hoping that whatever was going on at your work would be over by now."

"Well, it's not," she said petulantly. "Can't you take care of the children just one night?"

"You know I can," he retorted. "I'll see you whenever you get home" and he hung up. Looking at his watch he saw that it was 4:15. It would take about forty-five minutes to get to her office if the traffic was good. He hurried out to his car and sped across town. He was parked down the block where he could see her Odyssey by 5:05. He looked around and spotted the gray BMW. Then he waited. At ten minutes of six he was about ready to give up. She must really be working tonight. But then he saw her come out of the building. Bob Shelton was with her. They both got in their cars and drove off.

Michael followed at a distance. As long as they stayed on the route to Bob's apartment, there was no reason to get close where Julie might notice his car. As they neared the destination, Michael hung back even farther. When he finally turned into the complex he drove straight to the building where Bob lived. There was the Odyssey, parked next to the gray BMW. He looked up and saw them on the top landing just before they disappeared into Bob's apartment.

He found a parking place where he could see the apartment but not too close to the cars in case they came back out. Then he started waiting again. First he called the kids and had them order in Chinese. That made him hungry despite the circumstances. After they had been inside thirty minutes, he decided he was being foolish. He knew what was going on. He didn't know what he would do if Julie and Bob came back out. He felt numb. Starting his car, he drove towards home.

At about the same time Ann and Bill were bantering back and forth. "You husbands are all clueless," she said to him.

"Yeah, Michael and I both were talking about how you girls think we're clueless."

"Oh? When was that?" The two couples hadn't gone out together for over a month.

"Monday night when you and Julie went out to dinner. He called here looking for you or Julie. Said he meant to ask her something before she left. He told me not to mention it. That you two would think he was a clueless husband."

Oh shit,Ann thought.He suspects something. I've got to call Julie.

"Really," she replied to Bill. "Well, we love you anyway." A few minutes later, Ann slipped into their bedroom to call Julie.

"Hi, Holly, is your mother there?"

"Hi, Mrs. Williams." Holly answered the phone. "No she's not here. Dad called and said she had to work late. Mike and I ordered in Chinese."

"Is your father there, then?"

"No. He had to work late, too. I guess they just don't care if we grow up to be delinquents." She laughed.

"You're not too big that I can't still spank you if you're bad. Tell her I called."I hope she's really working late tonight, because I bet Michael is trying to find her.

"Will do, Mrs. Williams. See you later."

Ten minutes after Ann hung up Michael was passing the Mall when he decided to stop at the food court to get something to eat. He was trying to decide between Panda Express and Great Wraps when he heard a voice at his elbow.

"Michael, what are you doing here at this time of night?" He felt Jolene push her boobs against his arm.

"Hi, Jolene. I worked late and was going to get a quick bite out. Julie's working late and is eating out tonight, too."Eating out and getting eaten out.The numbness he had felt for the last two hours turned into a small flame of anger as he acknowledged what was happening.

"You shouldn't be eating alone. Let me join you."

"You haven't eaten yet?

"I have, but I'll have something to drink while you eat, if you don't mind."

"No, I'd love to have your company."

He passed up the garlic-laden Chinese for a bland wrap and bought Jolene a Coke. The food court was moderately crowded, so when they sat at one of the tiny tables, she sat beside him. When her knee touched his, he didn't move away.

"Tell me a little about what you do," she requested. "Something in manufacturing, right?"

"I'm head of New Product Planning for our division."

"That must be fun."

"Well, sometimes it's fun. Sometimes, when tools don't arrive on time or changes come down from the head office at the last minute, it's not much fun at all."

"I bet you take care of the problems pretty easily. Do you mind?" She had picked up a piece of lettuce that had fallen out of his wrap and popped it in her mouth.

"No, go ahead." He paused to take a bite. Some of the meat squeezed out of one end on to the plate.

"My ex has an engineering degree. Before he got into Sales, he was in Production and would tell me about how the equipment was laid out. It seemed so complicated. Do you do layouts?"

"The guys that work for me actually do the layouts."Evidently you don't have to be an engineer to do layouts. Just ask Bob Shelton.The little flame of anger grew into a small blaze in Michael's head. "This year has been easier than I thought it was going to be. We planned to do four new products, usually we do one. I got through the first three on time and under budget, and the big boys cancelled the fourth."

"Wow. You normally do one and you did three? Under budget? That must make you feel real good." She put a hand on his arm and leaned forward, the low neckline of her blouse becoming very obvious.

"Well, it should result in a very good rating next month when our fiscal year ends."

"Here, you missed some." She picked up a stray piece of meat and held it up to his mouth. He took it. She pulled her greasy fingers back to her mouth and sucked. "Oh, that sauce tastes good."

They continued to talk as he finished his sandwich. He tossed his trash away, and she continued to take sips from her drink. "Can I walk you to your car or do you have shopping to do?"

"No, I looked in some stores, but I didn't find anything that I wanted. Running into you was lucky, I guess. My car's out this way."

"Oh, mine is, too."

As they exited the mall, she tossed the drink away. "Now my hands are cold. Can you warm me up?" She wrapped her hands around his arm and pulled it against her, again rubbing her chest over his bicep.

Like good ole' BS is warming up Julie?The blaze turned into a roaring bonfire. "Let me put my arm around you. You'll be warm soon enough." Just to confirm her intention, he decided to try an old frat party trick. He put his arm further around her waist than necessary. Then in two steps he let it drift up until it was touching her bra. Another step and he pulled her between two cars and kissed her.

"I've got a key to my company's condo. Let's go there."

"I'd love to," she replied.

Michael steered them to his car. As he held the door for Jolene, they kissed again. After he started the car she put her hand on his thigh and began stroking lightly. It took fifteen minutes to get to the company condo. By that time Michael was so hard as to be uncomfortable in his slacks.

"Is anybody here?" Michael called out as they entered. The condo was used for visitors to the plant. Michael had a key because he sometimes slept there if he worked late at the plant. The rooms were dark.