Influences

"I danced with a few old guys and accepted drinks from some of the younger men. We chatted and flirted and the guys all loved us. I felt like I was some sort of socialite, the belle of the ball with all these rich men vying for my attention.

"As the evening wore down, two guys sorta stuck to us. They ordered drinks and danced with us and told us how beautiful we were. They told us about their businesses and were very charming. It got late and they asked us to join them for a nightcap and said their limo would then take us home.

"We rode in the limo to their condo and they poured us champagne. We paired up and got cozy by the fireplace. Paul, my guy, was a gentleman. We talked and laughed and were just being friendly. He kissed me a couple of times and I let him. He tried for more and I stopped him.

"Amy and Steve, her guy, were much friendlier and they got pretty heavy. I think Paul expected me to be the same way, but he didn't force the issue. It got late and I told Amy we had to leave. The guys rode back with us in their limo.

"When we got here Amy was pretty drunk and her goodbye kiss turned into a make-out session. I gave Paul a peck on the cheek and started to go in. He pulled me in and kissed me hard. Again, I let him and even kissed him back before I broke it off and came inside.

"When I found you'd locked me out, I was confused and too drunk to realize you had probably seen me kiss him."

"Yes, I saw you."

"I am so sorry, I shouldn't have done that in our driveway. I just wasn't thinking, I'm sorry you saw me doing that."

I just looked at her while her words replayed in my head. "So you're sorry I saw you making out with some guy in our driveway?"

"Yes, of course."

"Funny, it sounds like you may regret me seeing you with some other guy, but you don't regret doing the things you did with him."

"Bill, that's not what I meant, but the truth is, kissing him was no big deal. It was fun and exciting, but I didn't let him take it too far. It was just a fun evening."

"Well, what I saw was sure as hell NOT fun for me! My wife was making out with some asshole! NO! That was NOT FUN! And YES you sure as hell DID take it too far!"

"Come on, Bill, be reasonable. So I kissed the guy a few times, so what? I had fun, I enjoyed his company. I did nothing wrong, you're just being a prude."

"I do not want my wife kissing other men. I don't want her going back to their homes for a nightcap and doing god knows what! That's not how a wife is supposed to behave!"

That made her angry and she lashed out at me. "Grow up, Bill, it's 2023! I'm a grown woman and capable of making my own choices!

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means I am the one who decides who I kiss, and with whom I have a drink. You don't own me and you can't tell me what I can and can't do! You need to get off your high horse and loosen up a bit!"

"Loosen up? Do you mean to be more like Ted and let my wife run around with any guy she wants? Do you expect me to let you date other guys and fuck anyone you want?"

"I haven't fucked any other guys!"

"YET! But it's obvious that you want to. That's what this is building up to. You've been hinting at this for months and I told you how I feel about it. You want to be just like Amy, free to do anything she wants."

"Well, what's wrong with that? You'd be free too! If you take that stick out of your ass."

I stood slowly, burning her taunting, twisted face into my memory. I spoke calmly.

.

"It's obvious you have decided to adopt Amy's concept of marriage. Well, that is unacceptable to me. To use your words, you don't own me. You don't get to tell me how to live. I don't have to put up with your BULLSHIT!"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means, I reject your open marriage. I will not live in a sham of a marriage."

"So, ... what? Rather than agree to expand your mind a little, you're going to divorce me? That's insane! We love each other, we've raised kids together, we belong together, you can't divorce me!"

I shook my head in frustration trying to find a way to make her see how I felt. "Okay, this is stupid, but what if I told you I was going to start buying puppies to roast and that's what we'd be eating from now on."

"That's sick! What the fuck's the matter with you?"

"THERE! RIGHT THERE! That feeling of revulsion, THAT is how I feel about this open marriage crap!"

She stared at me, her mouth hanging open, slowly shaking her head, but I knew she now saw it. My disgusting image of roasting puppies turned her stomach, but now, I can see it in her eyes, now she understands my feelings.

"Okay Bill, Amy had me convinced you'd eventually agree to open our marriage. I actually think it might have been fun, but it's not worth ending our marriage. I guess I just thought you were being stubborn, but that shit about the puppies - yuck!"

"Cindy, you let Amy and her ideas influence our lives. You stopped thinking of what's best for US and let her convince you it was okay to do what YOU wanted even over my objections.

"For the past couple of decades, we have been partners, working together to build a better life for BOTH of us. Now, I'm worried. Thanks to her influence, you've cheated and tried to convince me to accept it so you could cheat some more!"

"Bill, please, I see that now, I should not have tried to force her ideas on you. I was being selfish and ignored your feelings. Please forgive me and let's go back to the way we were, just you and me."

"I don't know if I can. I'm not sure I can trust you and that is a real problem. You fooled around with another guy and really liked it. Now that you know I won't agree to it, you claim it's over and we can go back to how we were. How do I know you're not just saying that to keep me here while you sneak around behind my back?"

"No Baby, I swear, I've seen the light, I know I was wrong, please give us another chance."

I sighed deeply, "After 20 years, I guess I owe it to you not to give up on our marriage, but it's a two-way street. You have to work just as hard as I do. No more open marriage talk. It's you and me, no one else. Agreed?"

"Yes, baby! I promise It's just you and me."

Over the next several months Cindy went out of her way to prove she was a faithful wife. Things with our neighbors cooled and we only saw them at larger events with lots of other folks. I kind of missed hanging out with Ted, but I didn't want Amy anywhere near Cindy.

Two years later, we were at another community event and I got roped into manning one of the grills for a while. The other unlucky soul was a new neighbor I'd not met.

"Whew! It's hot standing next to this thing," I said as I opened a beer and handed one to the new guy. "I'm Bill Carter, by the way," I said sticking out my hand.

"Jim Roland," he said as he clasped my hand.

We chatted as we worked and then I heard Amy squeal with laughter as one of the kids chased her with a squirt gun. Jim looked up and watched her run by.

"Boy, that Amy is something, isn't she?"

"Yes, she's quite the looker."

"I see her at the Fremont pretty often. My company hosts a couple of events there each week. You know, a free lunch if you listen to our sales pitch. Yeah, she is pretty popular in the lounge there. She and her friend, Cindy know how to work a room."

I almost spit out my beer. "Cindy?"

"Yeah, do you know her? I guess she lives near Amy. She's a bit older, but still pretty hot. They are always the center of attention. The other sales guys in my group say Amy is always looking for fun and that Cindy chick is a bit of a cougar - she likes the younger guys."

I thanked Jim for helping and then waved the chairman over. I told him I was done and handed him my apron. I walked home and sat down to contemplate my future as a 50-year-old single guy. I was still sitting there when Cindy came in calling my name.

"Bill? Are you here? Are you okay?" She stopped when she saw me. "Honey, Are you sick?"

I slowly raised my head to look at her, "How long?"

"What?"

"How long did it take Amy to lure you back into her lifestyle?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"The Fremont lounge, where you two spend your time trying to make new friends."

"Oh shit!"

"We're done, over, so there's no use lying about it. Just tell me when it started."

She hung her head, "A few months ago. She called me and asked me to meet her there for lunch. I hadn't seen her in some time so I went. After lunch, a couple of young guys bought us a drink, and ... well it just sorta happened. I'm sorry, Bill."

Three months later the house sold and we split the proceeds. Just after that the divorce was final and I was officially a single man. I see Cindy at family functions and she is always sweet to me. She often hints about wanting me in her bed, but I just can't do it.

Carol bugged me for weeks about calling her niece, Donna, for a date and I finally agreed to do it - mostly just to shut Carol up. Donna is 8 years younger than me, divorced from a cheater, and has an adult daughter. Donna is not beautiful, but she is nice-looking and has a trim, fit body. She shared that fit body with me on our third date and it was spectacular. We recently bought a house together and are discussing marriage. Her daughter says I've been a good influence on her mother and I've assured her that her mother has been a good influence on me.