Lisa's Husband

There was no time like the present, she told herself. "I don't think you're going to have to worry about it, honey."

He looked up and saw the big smile stretched across her face.

"Guess what? Mr. Cunningham knows the editor of The Northwest Star. They're looking for a photographer, honey. Mr. Cunningham remembered seeing your work in The Spectator and recommended you for the job. Isn't that great!" she chirped with glee.

She knew he wouldn't be thrilled with the news, but she was going to keep the excitement in her voice and go for the full court press. "Here's the phone number. Mr. Cunningham said to call for an appointment but he was pretty sure you'd get the job." She was right. He wasn't smiling, not even a little bit.

"Honey, I told you, I'm not looking for a job with a newspaper."

All the way home she had anticipated his objections and formulated a plan. She knew she'd have to be firm with him. "Trey, you've been looking now for more than a month and haven't had a single offer. We need two incomes," she snapped. "We can't keep living off of my paycheck alone, that's all there is to it. Mr. Cunningham was nice enough to recommend you, please don't disappoint him and me by not even calling for an interview." With that she turned on her heels and went into the bedroom to change clothes.

Trey sat there a little stunned. In all the years they'd known each other she had never talked to him in that tone of voice. He didn't like it, but she did have a point. So far he'd not brought one red cent into the family coffers. He was still sitting there, staring at the phone number when she returned, dressed in Levis and a tank top.

Her plan wasn't totally made up of sticks; there were some carrots in there too. She walked over and sat on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed her breast against him as she reached up and gave him another kiss. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so bitchy, but we really do need a second paycheck, hon."

"Yeah, I know," he responded with a small sigh. "I just..." He shook his head and let his words just hang there.

"I know, honey. You just want a studio job so you can be more creative. I understand and I want you to be happy, baby, but you can still look for a studio job while working for the paper, can't you?"

"It's kind of hard to go around handing out resume's and setting up appointments while working full time, hon."

"Babe, we need the money if we're ever going to buy a house and start a family."

He sighed again. "Okay, I'll call tomorrow," he relinquished.

That brought on an ear to ear smile and another kiss. "Thank you, Babe. I have an idea; let's go out to eat tonight, nothing expensive, but we can celebrate."

"Honey, I don't even have the job yet."

"I have all the confidence in the world in my guy," she said just before giving him his third kiss in ten minutes. "Come on," she said, "let's take a shower and go."

He knew an invitation when he heard one. He loved sliding his hands over her slippery body parts. She hummed with delight as he reached around from behind and lightly pinched her soapy nipples before sliding down to her waiting pussy. She leaned back against his shoulder and stretched back to lather up his hard cock. The warm water rained down on their naked bodies as they got each other off, knowing it was just a precursor of what would come after dinner.

*****

Keeping his word, Trey called for an appointment early the following morning. He was given an interview that same afternoon and was hired on the spot.

All day Lisa wondered if he'd called. She'd had an image of them covering the Chicago beat together ever since college; she, the hard hitting investigative reporter like her father and Trey, the prize winning photojournalist at her side. Learning The Tribute wouldn't employ a married couple was a setback but she had a dream and was determined to somehow make it a reality. She was so excited from daydreaming all day, she forget her usual greeting when she walked in and found him at the computer again.

"Did you call?" were the first words out of her mouth.

"Well, hi to you too," he replied. "Yes, I called."

"And...?"

"And you're looking at the newest photographer at the The Northwest Star.

She literally squealed as she jumped in the air. "I knew it, I knew they'd hire you."

Unfortunately, Trey didn't quite share her enthusiasm. He had been busy sending out resume's by email ever since he got home.

As time progressed, both Trey and Lisa were making headway in their careers. Even though press photography wasn't what Trey wanted to do, he was very good at it and his photos were getting noticed. A few of his human interest shots went out over the wire and had been picked up by newspapers across the country. In two years the paper's circulation had increased by over forty percent. Lee Weatherstone knew a substantial part of their good fortune was due to Trey's skill with a camera and thanked him with a healthy raise. Even with the increase; however, his paystubs were still smaller than his wife's.

Lisa was also getting better assignments that required more in depth journalism. She had stumbled a few times by not getting the complete backstory or skipping facts that were pertinent to a story but Bill Cunningham always made sure everything was corrected before it went to press. He had subtly taken her under his wing and was determined to make her as good a journalist as her father was.

As a couple, Trey and Lisa were doing fine. Of course they had a disagreement now and then but they didn't last long and usually ended with Trey making a small concession of some kind and a lot of make-up sex.

A little before the three year mark they talked it over and decided Lisa would go off her birth control. They were both secure in their jobs, had a decent income between their two paychecks, and she had enough seniority to get maternity leave. The next day Trey picked up a bottle of champagne. They toasted to their future child while happily flushing the rest of her birth control pills down the toilet.

It was only two days after that when Lisa got home a little later than normal but with a grin across her face that you couldn't have blasted away with TNT. Trey hadn't seen that much excitement in her green eyes since their honeymoon.

"Guess what," she almost screeched, "You're never going to guess. Oh, honey, this is so exciting. I can't believe it," she rambled on. "I didn't think anything of it at the time."

Trey figured whatever it was, it must be good. Now if he could only get her to calm down enough to tell him what it was. "I give up," conceded her anxious husband. "What happened, honey?"

"WGBO wants me to come in for an interview," she gushed.

Trey was stunned into silence. All he could do was stare at her. Out of all the possible scenarios he could think of that would explain her exuberance, that wasn't one of them. WGBO was a Chicago affiliate for one of the top three national network TV broadcasting stations.

He finally found his voice. "For what?"

"To join their news crew, silly." She was a little upset that he didn't greet her news with more enthusiasm. "What did you think, they want me to sweep the floors?"

"No, of course not but I didn't even know you were looking for another job. What about the paper?"

"I wasn't looking. Remember last week when we were watching the ten o'clock news and they interviewed the couple that was arrested for feeding the homeless people in the park? I said I interviewed them too, remember?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, before a TV news crew actually starts filming an interview like that, they have to shoot markers first. You know, like one of those clapboard thingy's you see for movies? Anyway, the camera caught me in the background as I was finishing up on my interview. Somebody at the station saw it and thought I looked good on camera. I could be a reporter for the ten o'clock news!" she shrieked.

Again, she wasn't getting the reaction from her husband she thought she was due. "You don't seem very happy for me. What's the matter?"

"Ah, nothing's the matter, honey. If that's what you really want, I'm happy for you, but..."

"But what, Trey, come on, spit it out. What's wrong?"

"Honey, it's just that I doubt you'll get a chance to do a lot of in depth reporting like you do for the paper. A news show like that is more interested with how much they can say in two minute soundbites. Have you talked this over with Bill?"

"No, of course not. I'm not going to say anything until I know for sure if I have the job. Honey, think of the money, I'm sure they pay better than the paper. Come on, Trey, I thought you'd be happy for me."

"Honey, if that's what you want to do then I'm in your corner. Come here, my star," he said, opening his arms and inviting her in. He was still surprised and a little disappointed with her lack of loyalty to Bill Cunningham and The Tribute. Three years earlier her goal had been to be as good a journalist as her dad. Now it seemed she was giving that up for a little fame and notoriety. Still—if that's what she wanted then that's what he wanted for her.

The following week she took a personal day and went for her interview. After discussing her qualifications with three important looking men in three impressive looking offices, Lisa was taken for a tour around the studio. With its harsh lights and glitzy décor, it was a completely different atmosphere than the paper. It was sensational and glamorous.

That night she couldn't stop talking about how exciting everything was. Trey listened, smiled and asked the right questions at the appropriate times but just couldn't muster the fervor she was looking for. It was disappointing but she wasn't going to let it bother her. She told herself to be understanding. After all, he was still stuck on a small daily newspaper while her career was flourishing.

The following week Lisa got the call she was waiting for--she was hired. She tried to be tactful when handing in her two week notice. She told Bill Cunningham she appreciated everything he'd done for her but she couldn't pass up the opportunity. He said he understood, wished her well, then curtly told her he had work to do.

Later, while talking with Jim Engles over a couple of drinks at their favorite watering hole, he expressed his disappointment. "Jim, I can't help but think that Dex is spinning in his grave right about now; and you know the worst of it, she has the talent. I wouldn't have spent the time I did with her if she didn't."

"Hey, maybe she'll turn into another Walter Cronkite," Engles joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"There are no more Walter Cronkites, Jim. The Cronkites, Murrows, and Sevareids are all gone. You, me, Dex, we're all part of a dying breed, my friend. No one's interested in the truth anymore; they're only interested in ratings. Jer," he called to the bartender, "two more for a couple dinosaurs, huh?"

Lisa never stopped to consider the type or quality of reporting she'd be doing. As far as she was concerned, she was on the fast track. She tackled everything they gave her with eagerness and enthusiasm, no matter how trivial the assignment. Soon she was growing in popularity, not for her in depth investigative reporting skills, but for her bright smile, lively personality, and most of all, how her beauty showed on camera.

She had been with the station about three months when Trey discovered the source of their first real fight. He was usually the first one home by about an hour, but she had called, telling him she was going to be late. They had some audio problems with her report so she had to stay and work on doing a voice over.

It wasn't that big of a problem in the digital age but it still took time.

Without being able to start dinner right away, Trey looked around for something else to keep himself occupied. Seeing the top of the clothes hamper propped open with overflowing laundry gave him his answer. Gauging about how late he thought she'd be, he started dinner as the clothes were drying. When they were done he started putting them away.

The difference between their underwear drawers was always a source of amusement for Trey. He rolled his socks inside themselves then folded his jockeys around them. Everything was neat as a pin. Lisa, however, just tossed her undies in the drawer without even folding them.

As he opened the top drawer on her side of the dresser he noticed something sticking out from beneath the pile of colorful silk. Panties were the only thing she kept in that drawer so it piqued his curiosity. He lifted the top row of his wife's unmentionables.

About a half hour later, Lisa smiled at the delicious smell of pot roast as she walked through the door. She slipped her high heels off in the hall and headed for the kitchen to give her thoughtful husband a hello kiss. She stopped short and the smile disappeared when she saw the round pill container sitting in the middle of the kitchen table. Trey was stoically sitting there, staring at her.

"I...I was going to tell you," she mumbled.

"Really? When? There're twenty pills missing."

"I know, honey. I'm sorry. It just never seemed like the right time."

"I thought we flushed them down the toilet."

"Trey, I can't get pregnant right now, not right after getting a new job."

"So you decided to renew your prescription for birth control pills all on your own, without even discussing with me?"

"I knew you'd be disappointed, honey. Look, I want kids as much as you do but you know why the station hired me, because of my looks. If I got pregnant now it would ruin everything."

"Funny," he responded quietly. "I thought having children and raising a family WAS everything."

"Honey, please..." She stopped talking as he stood up and walked passed her. "Where are you going?"

"Out," he yelled without looking back.

"What about dinner?"

"I'm not hungry," he replied.

In an attempt to stop him, Lisa ran out to the living room but he was already halfway out the door. He caught a glance of her standing there. "You didn't even discuss it with me," he said as if he couldn't believe it.

Lisa ran to the window and watched as he drove off. As far as she knew he had no clothes with him, although she didn't know if he'd packed a bag and already had it in the car. She could only think of one place he would go. She called his folks and explained that she had decided to put off having children until she was more settled in her new job but she assured them they would be grandparents in the near future. She asked for their assistance in smoothing things over with her angry husband.

He didn't come home that night but was again sitting at the kitchen table when she walked in from work the following day. She could feel a chill in the air.

"I am NOT your lapdog nor am I your servant," he roared. "If you EVER make another major decision like that without discussing it with me first I WILL BE GONE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME? I WILL BE OUT THE FUCKING DOOR!" he yelled.

She was shocked. She'd never seen him like this. She couldn't remember the last time she heard him use the "F" word. "Yes, honey, I'm sor..."

"I AM YOUR HUSBAND, GOD DAMN IT, IF YOU THINK I AM LESS THAN THAT THEN TELL ME AND WE WILL END THIS MARRIAGE RIGHT HERE AND NOW!"

Evidently his parents weren't able to do much about smoothing things over. Lisa hadn't realized how badly she screwed up or how close she came to losing her husband until that moment. It scared the hell out of her. She broke down crying and begged his forgiveness with promises of never doing anything like that again.

For the next week the atmosphere was charged with anxiety and even after things felt like they were cooling off, he rebuffed any overtures she made for sex. Finally, one night he was about to drift off to sleep when he heard her quietly crying from the other side of the bed. He rolled over to face her. She had her back toward him but he could see the heaving of her body with each sob.

He had maintained the wall between them to emphasize the gravity of her betrayal, but he wasn't made of stone. He gently laid his hand on her bare shoulder.

"Please," she quietly wept, "please show me you still love me, Trey. I'm so sorry."

It had been three weeks since their argument. He had been angrier with her than he'd ever been with anyone, but it didn't mean he didn't still love her. Maybe it was about time to show her again.

"Come here," he said softly.

As she rolled over in his direction, Trey slipped his arm under her and pulled her in tight to his body where she continued to gently whimper. He wasn't going to apologize for being angry, he had every right to be, but he wasn't going to punish her anymore. He reached over with his other hand and reassuringly stroked her hair then leaned in and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I love you?"

"Still?" she sniffled.

"Yes, honey...still. Don't you know how much you mean to me? You are everything, my entire world. I can't picture my life without you in it. It's because of the depth of my love for you that it to hurts so badly when I feel that love has been betrayed."

He heard her sniffle a little louder at the harsh word but he wasn't going to be distracted from what he had to say.

"Honey, the kind of love I feel for you cannot be contained to one person. It needs to be shared—expanded. Our kids will be a part of us. They will be created from the love we have for each other but they will also be infused by it. It will spread to them and their children and their children after that.

"Ours is a love that will go on for generations. It's a part of us and it's too important to for one of us to make decisions without the other."

"I'm sorry," she wept. "I...I didn't think about it in terms of betraying your love, I...I just got so caught up in the excitement..."

"I know," he said, pulling her tighter against his body. "As much as I want children, I agree that the timing has to be right. We'll talk again when you're more settled in your new job."

They were still in the same position when they awoke the following morning.

Like she had done with his parents, Lisa promised Trey they would toss the pills again as soon as she was secure in her new job. He had already forgiven her, subsequently he accepted her promise. Later that night they made love and after another week, all was forgiven and life went back to normal.

As the months passed, Lisa's popularity grew and she continued to get better assignments. She had been with the station for almost a year and was considering having another champagne pill flushing party when she was given her next assignment.

At the same time, Trey's work was also getting more and more recognition. He was just getting ready to leave one day when he was called into Lee Weatherstone's office. After having Trey take a seat, he had a request.

"Trey, are you familiar with the INPA awards?"

"Ah, not really."

"Well, it's sponsored by the Illinois News Photographer's Association. Every year they invite press photographers from all over the state to submit their work. It's really quite a big deal. They have a bunch of categories; spot news, feature, human interest, things like that. They have a category for just about every kind of situation a press photographer runs into. The work is judged and certificates are given for first, second, and third place in each category. Each time someone wins he's awarded so many points. The photographer with the most points at the end of the night is named Illinois press photographer of the year. In the past we've had a few guys win a couple awards here and there but we've never come close to the big prize.

"Anyway, I'd like you to enter something in each category. Go through your work and pick out your best stuff. If you need help I'll volunteer somebody."