Jogging Into Problems

"Still....seems so....unlikely. Think if you saw what I saw. What would you believe?"

"Oh....I...you have to believe me. Or maybe not. I just don't know how to get you to accept what I say."

"And...now, I can never accept what you say. Can I?"

"Tim, I love you. I don't love Simon. I just....he made me want him."

"How?"

"He's so....forceful. He says what he wants. He wanted me."

"And you wanted him, obviously. Alice, right now I want to give this some serious thought. If I decided anything now....we'd be headed to a split. I'll never be able to forget what I saw."

"Okay. But please remember...I love you. I'm so sorry that you're hurt." She sobbed this out.

I turned and left. I went upstairs into our home office. I started going over the material from Greene's phone. There were calls to Alice's phone, quite a few, starting about two months ago. The calls were always in the evening. At work he wouldn't need to call. There were also texts. They were always about 'lunch.' They seemed to go to lunch together about twice a week for five weeks. Since Alice was working from home three days a week, that meant that every day she went in to work, she ate lunch with Greene.

I decided to look at his video. It started with him following Alice up the stairs. She was wearing a short robe. She went into the bedroom and immediately dropped it to the floor. The video shook for a second as he put it on the dresser, pointed at the bed.

"You're beautiful, Alice. Just like I've always imagined."

"Thanks, Sy." She was on the bed, sitting. He had doffed his shorts, and shirt. He was erect. Alice took his cock into her hands. He wasn't any bigger than me -- his cock. He was pretty buff, except he sagged at the belly.

Alice started to lick his dick, looking up at him.

"I just want you....now." He said that with some force.

Alice lay back and spread for him. She was rubbing her clit.

She said, "Okay....do it now. I want it now, too."

He hopped onto the bed, and between her legs. As he was about to enter her, I opened the door and whacked him. The sound on the video was great. You could hear the big smack, and his scream. I watched it all the way through, until I picked up the phone to call emergency.

I was unsure, from the video, whether Alice was telling the truth about this being the first time. She could be. But, for sure she was looking forward to getting fucked by Greene.

Maybe it would have been just once, like she said, but I doubted that. He was her boss.

I went into the living room and told Alice that I had to go back to work to close up. By then it was past three p.m. I switched into running gear and jogged back. I really didn't care, now, how Alice felt. I felt less stunned, and angrier than before.

I closed down what I had been doing when I went for the run. I looked up the divorce laws in our state. Adultery was still a ground for divorce, although not much used. There was no fault. It could be done after six months of separation, if there was a signed separation and property agreement. But if one party didn't sign, it would take much longer, maybe eighteen months. Tim wasn't sure if he wanted to divorce Alice, but he was sure that he wanted a separation. He drew up an agreement. Basically it said that they would separate, living in different places, and splitting up their finances. She would support herself, and he would be responsible for himself. There would be no sexual contact between them.

Also, the kicker, each promised not to have sex with other people. If one did, then that freed the other, and the divorce would go through as soon as possible.

I printed up three copies. I walked home.

Alice was making dinner. It wasn't much, spaghetti and meat sauce, a salad. She was dressed in sweats, and no make-up. Barefoot. She looked at me timidly.

I said, "Smells good. Thanks. Can I help?"

"I can manage. But if you want carrots in the salad, they're in the fridge."

I chopped up some carrots and tossed them into the bowl. We ate in relative silence. There was red wine, and both had a glass. Together we washed up.

I said, "Let's go into the living room and talk."

I could see that Alice was scared. I followed her in.

Alice spoke in a low voice, "Tim, I want to say again how sorry I am about Simon. I want to try to figure out how I could go so wrong. I've decided that I need to go to see someone."

"That's okay. But for now, I believe we need to separate. I'll find an apartment nearby. You can stay here. I'm not comfortable staying here...now."

"Are you sure? I....feel so guilty. Do you want a divorce? Is that why?"

"It's a step toward that. But I haven't decided. I just decided that I needed space to think. I have written up a separation agreement." I handed it to her.

She read it through, with some tears. Silent tears. I had already signed it. She looked up at me. "Can we wait a few days to do this, so I can arrange to have my mom come here?"

"You....okay. I can wait some. Make those arrangement, why don't you, and tell me."

"Tim, I meant what I said, I'm going to counselling. Maybe you can come, if the person asks?"

"Maybe. I do love you, Alice. But I'm confused and very, very angry. It feels like I'll never be the same as I was."

"Me either."

"But you're the one who did this. What I thought you were....you aren't that. Thing is, you got caught. But you're the same person. Just not who I thought you were."

"Not the woman you loved!" She broke down in tears then. I made no move to comfort her.

"The woman I loved would never have done this. You're not her. Maybe you're mostly her. Maybe not. I feel like our whole life together has been a sham. The only question -- how much of a sham?"

I walked upstairs. I took my things from the master bedroom, enough to get by the next day. They went to the guest room, and I went with them.

The next day was a workday. I hadn't slept much. I rose early, dressed and went to work. I went out at about 9:00 a.m. and got a McMuffin. Before that just coffee.

It surprised me that I was able to work. I sent some angry emails to the defendants who had sent meager discovery, copied the judge's chambers. Then I set about sorting through what I had. When I got into that, I forgot about Alice for a while. Maybe that's how I would have to carry it during the separation.

I perused the apartment rentals at lunch. I called about one only two blocks away from work. I made an appointment to see it the next morning, Friday.

The day seemed to fly by. When I considered this, I decided that it was an escape mechanism. I started walking 'home' at about 5:30.

Our house was a three bedroom, rented. The lease was up in two months. We had been there for four years, and it had come to seem like home. But no more, for me. I came by the running trail, and went in the sliding rear door, just as I had the day before. Alice was cooking. She had a fish stew on the range. It smelled great. She was a very good cook. I was okay. I'd get along.

I greeted her as I came inside. She looked at me. "I made fish stew."

"Yep, I smelled that." I smiled at her. "Thanks. I'll change now."

As we ate the stew, Alice said, "My mom will be here Saturday. Have you found a place?"

"Maybe. I'm seeing one tomorrow. We can sign the papers tomorrow night. Saturday I'll be gone, rental or not."

"It doesn't have to be this way, Tim. I promise you it'll never happen again. I promise."

"No. Promises can easily be broken, obviously."

She looked hard at me. There were no tears. "You know, you're letting your hurt feelings get in the way of common sense."

"What would be the common-sense thing for me to do? Ignore your sneaky infidelity? Not happening."

"You could try. Not ignore. Forgive. I apologized."

"I really have no idea if I can forgive. I do know that I can never forget it -- what happened. What I saw. The video. I can email you a copy."

"Geez, Tim....." She started sobbing.

"I didn't mean that to be cruel. Just so you would know what I saw. Maybe some day forgive me for interrupting."

She fled. Ran up the stairs. I cleaned up.

I took the apartment. It was a one bedroom, with a nice view of the running trail, and a small park. It was halfway between work and my former house. But it was unfurnished. I arranged for a double bed to be delivered. Also, a sofa and a chair. The expense hurt, but was necessary. I wondered if Alice would have a job moving forward -- or the same one. If not, I'd probably have to stretch the finances further. I sat after lunch, thinking about stuff. I decided that it was very unlikely that I would ever go back to Alice.

I had a friend who worked at the same firm that Alice did. Michelle Davis. She and I had gone to college together, and had been an item before I met Alice. I sort of dropped her for Alice. And, she sort of dropped me for a frat guy. We remained talking friends. One reason I picked Alice was that I thought Shelly was a little flighty. Her quick hook up with the frat guy seemed to confirm that.

She dropped him as fast as she picked him up. She went to law school with me, and married a fellow student. She had a young son, and what seemed like a solid marriage. Shows what a good judge of character I was. I called her.

"Shelly, it's Tim."

"Damn. Tim. What are you doing? I heard that you....iced Greene."

"Not on me. Self-defense."

"Tim, I'm free for lunch. Sonny's? One?"

"Done." That was only two hours away.

I met Shelly at the restaurant. We hugged, sat and ordered. As we waited for lunch, she said, "Well. Tell me."

I told her. She was, or had been, a person I trusted. I found that I still trusted her.

When I finished my story, she said, "I had heard rumors about Simon Greene -- that he went off the rails and maybe was divorcing. I also heard that Alice was seeing him. I didn't believe that."

"Well, what did you hear? What does seeing him mean?"

"Like lunches. Office meetings. All the other stuff was speculation. But Greene -- I never saw him so much -- Greene was supposed to have...changed. Like he was always looking to get laid. The office girls were beside themselves."

"Huh. So, Alice wasn't the only one?"

"Maybe not. But it sure seems like she was a target -- a major target. They saw each other every day."

"No offense, but why didn't you call me?"

"I thought about it. But I considered that she wouldn't do anything. And calling you might stir up a lot of bad stuff. I wish I had...now."

"Me, too."

"What are you going to do?"

"I got an apartment, wrote a separation agreement. Six months, as you know. But I'm not sure."

"I hope you...at least listen to her."

"What could she say? She already apologized and said she'd ever do it again. So what?"

"It's a tough one, I guess."

"Yeah. How are you and Big Bill doing, and little Will?"

"Little Will is great. He's three. A dynamo. He's starting pre-school."

"Okay.....and?"

"Oh, Tim, you don't need to hear my problems. Yours are a lot more serious."

"I could use a break from them. And. I'll help if I can, if something's...amiss."

"Nothing major. He has to travel a lot. Sometimes when he gets home, he's distant. Not like before. Now, hearing about Alice. Makes me wonder. But I just now decided to be proactive."

"Shelly, what's that mean?"

"Some checking up, maybe. He's a good guy. We're a family. But I need some reassurance."

"Just ask him. Talk. You're both talkers. Sort it out. Tell him how you feel."

"I worry about that. He might see it as me not trusting him."

"Well, you don't. Do you? Just be gentle - diplomatic."

"Maybe. Thanks. I hope you and Alice get through this. I was never a big fan of hers in school. You know why. But I thought she was good for you, in the end."

We finished lunch, hugged and left. Shelly was a good woman, and I hoped she wasn't going to be hurt.

Alice went back to work, I was told. I was relieved that she didn't get fired. More and more I was coming to conclude that Alice and I were done. We were only committed to each other, with no kids. She broke her part of the commitment. So, it was over. And I didn't believe that I wanted to make a new start, with a new commitment. It was a depressing conclusion, but the one I felt was right.

I hadn't had any contact with Alice since I moved on that Saturday. It had been a week. She left messages, three, on my phone, asking me to come by and talk. I never replied. She texted me that she was on probation at work, but still employed.

I went by the house the next Saturday afternoon. I just walked up the running trail and knocked on the patio door. Alice's mother, Tess, was in the kitchen and opened the door when she saw me.

"Hi, Tess. Is Alice around?"

"She's out. She should be back soon. Tim, I want to say that she's so messed up about this. Can...have you decided anything?"

"I only wanted a discussion with Alice, Tess. Where did she go?"

Tess looked a little uncomfortable. "She went to her friend's house."

"Tess, you're hiding something. You're not good at it. What friend? Did she sleep here or somewhere else?"

"Tim, she was in a bad state. A workmate came by, and they went for a meal."

"Tess.......was it dinner last night? You can't hide it from me." I noticed that she was standing in such a way as to block the door from the kitchen. I walked by her to the front door. A car, a new Mustang, pulled up. A blond guy was driving. He exited his door and went around to open the passenger door. Alice got out. She was dressed for a date. Last night's date.

I jogged up to them. "Hi, Alice, I came by to see you."

She turned in shock. The guy looked startled, and uneasy.

"Timmy....I...this is James from work. He..."

"He fucked you last night." I was calm, but something in my voice must have frightened them both. James-from-work started backing away.

He said, "Man, I don't want any trouble here. I was only trying to help out."

"Bullshit! You got what you were after. If you stay here any longer, you're gonna get way more than what you bargained for. Skat!"

He was my size and younger. I could see him straighten up, insulted.

Alice cried out, "No, NO! Just stop. James, please go now."

James said, "If you say so, Alice." Emphasis on the 'you.'

I smiled at him. "She gave you an honorable way out, asshole. Take it."

He humphed as he went, apace, around his car and drove off. He tried for a wheelie, but the new Mustangs couldn't do that. What a jerk.

I looked at Alice, "That's it you know. You didn't last a week. The agreement said no sex. I'm going to invoke that clause. I'll have you served as soon as the papers are ready."

"Sorry, Tim. I'm weak and I needed reassurance. And, I knew that you and I were quits. I love you, though, even if it seems like I don't."

"I think you just needed a new dick to get your thrills that you missed last week. What a slut you turned into. No more need for us to have any communication. Get a lawyer."

I walked away, around the back to the trail, and went home. She had made it a very easy decision. I was really surprised, though. I'd been with her for a long time, and there had been none of this slutty shit. She wasn't a ten, but she was attractive, and surely men hit on her often. I wondered why, all of a sudden, she started giving in to them. I decided, before I made it back to my place, that it would forever be a mystery to me. Or maybe I'd ask her mom, if I could get a private moment.

I did get a private moment with Tess. About a week after the last visit, I slid over to the house when Alice was likely at work. I knocked on the patio door and Tess let me in.

"Why are you here, Tim?"

"I wanted to understand what happened, if possible, and it seemed to me that you might have some ideas. I mean, we were doing well, and then she just slutted up. Do you have any idea why?"

"Maybe. She had, I guess has, issues with self-esteem. She wasn't very attractive to men -- boys -- all through most of high school. She had no chest, and she was skinny. Her two friends filled out much quicker. They were popular, and became cheerleaders. Alice was nowhere near them when it came to popularity. Gradually they moved away from her. But when she was seventeen, she filled out. She gained some weight in all the right places. Her face didn't have breakouts any more. Boys began to take notice.

She went to the prom with a football guy and lost her virginity. Eighteen, she was. Then, over that summer, she went wild. She was working, but every night she was out with her friends and guys. I worried that she'd get knocked up. But she was on the pill. I worried about disease. But, as far as I know, that didn't happen.

I said, "But when I met her at college -- junior year -- she didn't seem sexually needy. She always seemed normal to me. She was experienced, though. More than I was. She told me what she liked and wanted. I liked that. But she never strayed, from when we started dating. Until now."

She paused, and said, "Have you guys been talking about kids?"

"Yes. We planned to start soon. That's all gone now."

"Well, maybe she worried that if she got pregnant, men wouldn't like her anymore. I think she took up with her boss because he was after her, and she needed some reassurance. That's the best I can do."

"But what about boy wonder with the Mustang?"

"Same deal. Younger guy with a hot car. Prove she still had it. Before she...

"She knew then -- knew well -- that she was unlikely to stay married, or have my kids."

"Yeah. I don't know about that. Maybe she was just horny."

"How long are you staying?

"Not too much longer."

"Have a good life, Tess." I left.

The divorce went through without any problems. Alice moved out of our rental and got an apartment across town, closer to her work. I didn't have any contact with her after the final court date.

When we went to finalize the divorce, Alice came up to ma after, in the hall.

"Take me to lunch, Tim. Actually, I'll buy. I need to get some stuff said."

"Okay."

We went to Red Lobster. I just had an appetizer, and she had soup.

She looked at me after we ordered. "Tim, I really fucked up with you. I've been seeing a counselor. She says I was scared of kids. But I don't know. I think maybe I'm just a natural slut. I very much wanted Simon to fuck me. Sorry."

"I may never understand, Alice. He's no big catch. What happened to him? He didn't die, and I haven't heard more."

"He's back at work part time. He has a cane and has very little use of his right arm. And, his wife divorced him."

"Good for her."

"I thought it was harsh. You really messed him up, Tim."

"Well, the two of you really fucked up my life. But, I guess, not as much as you fucked up your own lives. How are you doing, anyway?"

"I...miss you and our life. I can have all the sex I want, now, with most men I meet. And, I do like that. I get really hot and horny. When that happens, I have to do something about it. I don't know why that started up again with me. Simon reminded me of the guy who took me to prom and fucked me after. Maybe I wanted the glory days back."

"And now you have them. You can fuck to your cunt's content."

"Don't be cruel." But she was laughing. I really didn't mean it to be funny. But I saw the humor and laughed with her.

She said, "A new cock always gets me revved up, though."

She paused, "Anyway, I do miss you and married life. I haven't found any guy who was better at sex than you. Maybe one who was as good. He's bigger. But you and I got to know each other so well. You could always get me off hard. I was a fool."

I confess right now that our conversation about her slutty ways made me rock hard. I really didn't try to hide that from her, and she did notice.