Misinformed

Contents: British English spelling and grammar.

This is a combination of two true stories. As always, it ends in the right place.

***

Misinformed

Mac and Erica didn't often go dancing. They enjoyed it, but didn't usually bother. But tonight it was Will and Tabby's turn to choose the venue for their monthly foursome, and the decision was made for them. Not a cinema or the theatre; this Friday they would go dancing.

There was a live band and a dancefloor at the George Hotel, and the evening was going well. Mac wore a long-sleeved blue-striped shirt, and Erica wore a short blue button-through dress. Will and Tabby were also casually dressed and they were all having fun.

"Your Mac's very flirtatious isn't he?" remarked Tabby.

Erica followed her gaze onto the dancefloor. Her husband was dancing with a younger woman that neither of them knew. She was also wearing a short dress; hers was pink. Mac had his hand resting on the top of one buttock.

"He's a good dancer Tabby, and lots of girls want to have a twirl with him. He tends to make them look better than they are. A little bum squeezing goes with the territory."

"As long as you're comfortable with it." she sniffed.

"Oh, come on! Are you telling me he's never squeezed your bum? All the times he's danced with you?"

"He has not!"

('You're a good friend Tabby, but he probably leaves you alone because you're a bit of a sourpuss!' she thought.)

"Oh. Perhaps he senses your disapproval. Anyway, he knows where to draw the line. He will not grab both her buttocks, or put his hands under her dress. I trust him."

Tabby watched a little longer and Mac returned.

Suddenly Erica's phone went. She spent a while listening before speaking. And then said: "Of course. I'll get there as soon as I can."

"Problem?" asked Mac.

"It's Emily. She's had another of her nightmares."

"Oh no, I thought she'd grown out of them."

"Me too. Luckily Sandra has dealt with them before; she copes well."

"But Emily still wants her mum, right?"

"Yes. I'd better get back."

"I'll come with you."

"No need. You stay with Tabby and Will, and have fun. We don't both need to go."

"What happened?" asked Will.

Mac explained Emily occasionally had awful nightmares.

"Sandra our babysitter, sorry - child minder now, knew what to do. She's calm, but still needs a hug from Erica before she'll go back to sleep."

Erica looked up from her phone.

"The taxi will be ten minutes. Sorry about this, but I won't come back. You stay here and have more drinks and dances."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure. I've just got time for a pee."

Sitting in a stall in the Ladies, two adjoining doors banged open. Erica heard two girls at the sinks; they sounded young.

"You going to dance again?"

"Too right! I want to try and wean that tall guy away from his old lady."

"The one in the blue striped shirt?"

"Yeah, him. He says if he can get away, he'll book a room. His erection pushing into my belly button has got me all wet. In fact he's the reason I needed the loo!"

"He probably says that to all the girls."

"Probably. Who cares? I'm only looking for a good fucking, not a life partner!"

They'd gone by the time Erica came out. Tabby came in as she was washing her hands.

"Will you be ok?"

"Fine. You guys make a night of it."

"OK."

"Look, how do you feel about doing something for me?"

"Sure, what?"

"Just keep an eye on Mac. Nothing heavy; I'm probably just imagining things. Just observe him, ok?"

"OK. no problem."

"I'll wait for the taxi outside."

Back at the table, Mac was explaining to Will.

"She stopped having them when she was about five."

"Are you talking about Emily's nightmares?" asked Tabby.

"Yes. She hasn't had one for about six years. But she's entering puberty soon. You know, closing her bedroom door and so on. Last time she and Erica were shopping, she got her first training bra. Girl stuff; she doesn't discuss such things with me of course."

"Bit of a mummy's girl is she?"

"Sure, but that's normal in a girl. She and Erica will end up as mates."

"It doesn't worry you?"

"No. Some daughters are daddy's girls, and some are not. My job is to help with homework assignments. And provide the finances for her to indulge in the latest craze. When I go shopping with her, I carrying the bags and flash my wallet!"

Half an hour later, the conversation had taken a lighter turn. Erica called Mac to say Emily was fine, and now asleep.

"Is Sandra still there? You could always come back for a couple of hours."

"No, I'm home now. I paid her and let her go."

More lager and wine was bought, and Will and Mac took it in turns to dance with Tabby.

Mac was holding her as a slow one started.

"Mind if I cut in?" asked Will. "This is our favourite song!"

Tabby beamed and melted into his arms. Mac grinned and stepped back with a slight bow, only to be grabbed by the blonde in the pink dress again.

Back at the table, after 'their song', Will went to the toilets. Mac was now dancing another slow one with Miss Pink. His hand was in place on the top of her buttock. Pretending to be checking text messages, Tabby took a couple of photos of them. Will returned from the Gents' and pushed a white wine in front of her.

"Get that down you and I'll get another round in."

Tabby knocked it back and then looked at the glass.

"Oh, that wasn't mine. Wrong colour lipstick."

"Erica probably left it then. Don't worry, you won't catch anything! Here's yours behind the table lamp."

Tabby drank that too, and her head started to spin slightly. She noticed the blonde in pink again and reached for her mobile. This time she zoomed in. The hand, resting on one buttock, now slid downwards. A moment later, it was squeezing her bottom tightly enough to lift the hem of her dress six inches. They turned, with the girl's back towards Tabby, who took more close ups. So, Erica was right to be suspicious; the dress was showing her panties now and Mac's hands delved under them. The girl's hand had left his shoulder and was out of sight between them. It could only be fondling his penis. Tabby put her phone camera away and got drunk.

Next morning she sent the photos to Erica's phone, attaching a quick text detailing what she'd witnessed. Erica was making coffee and Mac was still in bed. There was a flurry of texts confirming that Mac had come home in the same taxi as Tabby and Will, and had not gone out again. Erica had gone to bed early. No, Tabby did not think Mac could have slipped away long enough for sex with the blonde.

Erica was now recalling exactly what the girl in the toilets had said. The dishy tall guy might book a room to have sex with her, if he could get away from his wife. But of course he could always do that on a different night. It was unrealistic to imagine Mac would sneak off during a foursome night out; he'd do it later. Last night had just been groping and making arrangements. Erica felt stupid now. She'd been so dismissive with Tabby; her smug comment came back to haunt her. 'I trust him.' Tabby had always been a bit of a goody two shoes, and now she would be gloating.

She sat down with a coffee and wondered what she should do. Usually she'd have taken one up to Mac by now, but he could damn well come and get his own. She went out onto the rear decking and sat in a lawn chair. Had he cheated on her already? Maybe this had been going on for years. Or was this his first time? Was there a way to stop him straying? And was there any way she could find out if he had? Erica couldn't think of one. And if it had been going on for ages, how could she prove it? That in turn got her to thinking about how to go about getting a divorce.

She and Mac were well off. A straighforward fifty / fifty split seemed fair. She didn't care which one of them kept the house. Could she begin a new life on her own? Definitely. Her slight concern was custody. Mac earned more than her, but Emily was a mummy's girl, so Erica would almost certainly get custody of her. Girls usually stayed with their mums, and she was the wronged party after all. And manage on her own? Yes, she was still an attractive woman. 'There's life in the old dog yet!' she muttered under her breath.

There was Patrick, for a start, who made no attempt to hide the fact he fancied her. He worked in the same office as her at Branston's. OK, he must be fifteen years younger than her, and they had never done anything. Well, except for a grope and a passionate kiss under the mistletoe, at the last Christmas party. His flirting, and constant asking her out to lunch was all very light-hearted.

But she wasn't stupid. Beneath the joke flirting, Patrick was serious. Now she started wondering what it would be like to have sex with a younger, stronger man. Probably very vigorous. And exciting. She found she was squirming in her chair, and went in for another coffee. Mac was downstairs now, and pouring one himself.

"Well, that was fun last night. Pity you got called away. Is Emily up yet?"

"No, she usually sleeps like a dead thing after one of her dreams. Good job there's no school today. So, what did you get up to?"

"Oh, the usual you know. Took a young blonde out the back for a knee trembler. Only had time for a quick blowjob with the two darker girls. Tabby Toogood was watching most of the time!"

'And that must be how it's done.' thought Erica. 'Mix up the truth, lies, and fantasy. Make a joke of it and throw me off the scent, would you?'

"Score any cocaine?"

She might as well continue in the same vein.

"Not at the George dear. I usually go to the The Fountain for that!"

The rest of Saturday progressed normally. The three of them went shopping and had lunch at Pizza Hut. In the afternoon Mac mowed the front lawn and then had a short nap. He couldn't deal with hangovers as quickly as he had in his youth. Erica baked some bread, mostly as a distraction; plenty of time to think, while waiting for it to rise.. Emily spent a couple of hours on the phone to various friends, telling them what she'd bought in town. Mac and Erica settled in front of the tv for the evening movie.

"You ok?" he asked. "You seem quiet."

"Just thinking about Emily." she replied.

Which was partly true.

Erica found herself looking for clues on Sunday, but didn't really know where to start. She cried off going to the cinema, so Mac and Emily went on their own, which gave her the opportunity to search the whole house. He even left his mobile phone behind and she scrolled through that. There was nothing; not even a section that needed a passcode. His clothes, everything, revealed nothing untoward. Erica thought she'd better stop this and calm down. It was driving her insane. Emily was full of Disney details when they got back. She sat on Erica's lap.

"You should have come mum. It was great."

She was inclined to agree; she should have.

She couldn't bear the thought of making love with Mac just yet and put him off. By Wednesday morning he was getting irritated with her. The only conversations they seemed to have were him saying 'Is something wrong?' and her replying 'No, nothing.' Erica knew this getting ridiculous. She could end up driving him into having an affair. And it was possible he hadn't done anything. He usually left for work later than her, but today he was up early, making his own breakfast. She prepared herself for more 'What's wrong?' questions, but he ignored her.

There was a clunk from their letterbox and she walked towards the front hall. But Mac was already there and was shuffling through post. He dumped it on the hall table, except for one white envelope. She could just make out a 'Private and Personal' hand-written under the address. Mac frowned, put it in his jacket pocket, and left, leaving Erica worrying about what it could be. It was rare that either of them received a real letter. She decided to try and get a peek later. She didn't have a good morning at work, thinking about it. If he left no clues, and there was nothing on his phone, that letter could be the way he kept in contact with the blonde.

Mac was not having a good morning at work either. He sat at his desk and read the letter for the third time. The shock was not getting any easier though. He picked up the phone and dialled the number it gave him.

"Hello. This is Macintyre Davis. You wrote to say I might want to call you."

He just said 'Mm' and nodded agreement a few times, as he listened to the woman on the line. She reiterated, in detail, the letter's contents.

"When and where?" he asked, and made a note of her instructions. "Friday, the Leicester Marriot, at noon. Fine. Will she be alone?... Good. Tell her I'll buy her lunch."

Then he buzzed his secretary and queried availability of trains to Leicester. She answered almost immediately.

"East Midlands run trains from St Pancras to Leicester every 20 minutes. The journey takes just over an hour."

"Thanks June. Book me one before ten am on Friday would you please? And a taxi to get me to the station?"

"Will do."

"Thanks. Is Cameron free?"

Cameron was co-director. Cammac was their company.

"Cam, I've got a bit of a situation. It's personal, but I'll probably be in a position to tell all next week. Meanwhile I need to take Friday off and go up to Leicester."

Cam knew better than to ask any questions. They'd known each other since grammar school and if Mac said it was personal, Cam didn't need to know the details.

"All I can say at present is I must meet a young lady. Later on, I'll probably need to see her parents too."

"Take as much time as you need. You the boss!"

"Thanks mate. You the boss too!"

Their little joke.

"One last thing." said Mac. "Again, I can't tell you everything yet, so don't read too much into this."

"Go on."

"Erica has been acting very, shall we say, strange and distant. Ever since last Friday night when she was called away from our usual foursome."

"Was that when you went dancing with Will and Tabby?"

"How do you know that?" Mac laughed.

"Me the boss! I see all. I know all!"

"I believe you do. Which makes you the very person I need to be talking to. Yes, I think something happened after she got home. Something she's now hiding from me, and it's bothering her. She refuses to talk, so it's bothering me too."

"So you'd like me to keep a discreet eye on things while you're away."

"If you could."

"No problem." said Cam.

"Here, take this." Mac held his hand out. "It's my spare back door key, just in case."

Then Mac took a selfie, and sent it to Leicester.

Erica stopped by Patrick's desk mid morning.

"You haven't asked me out to lunch for almost a week. Found a new girlfriend?"

He went pink, but quickly recovered.

"No girl could compare with you Erica. Would you like to come to lunch with me today?"

"Why not!" she replied. "How about we meet outside at twelve fifteen?"

She didn't think she'd ever seen someone look so grateful.

And lunch with Patrick was very pleasant. He stood behind her chair and waited for her to sit. Passed her the menu so she could order first; and made the same choice as her. Then kept his compliments and verbal flirting to a minimum throughout the meal; they were still there, but very subtle. And he did not make any physical move on her.

'Quite the young gentleman!' Erica thought.

She found herself basking in the attention. He was making her feel young again. He was also making her feel a little damp in the crotch region. As they left the restaurant, he automatically stepped to the outside of the pavement.

"You're a proper gentleman Patrick. I didn't think walking on the outside of a lady was practised by your generation these days."

He blushed as if caught out doing something wrong.

"Ladies need to walk on the inside, so they can look in shop windows!" he said, making light of it.

Erica smiled and linked her arm through his. Then held it against her breast. Nothing too obvious of course; just enough so he could feel the swell of them. Well, one of them. It was also just enough to make her nipples hard, not that he would notice. Patrick smiled too.

As they approached their building, Erica let go of him. She was a married woman after all; no need to set themselves up for office gossip. But in the lift she stood on tiptoe meaning to give him a quick thank you kiss on the cheek. He deserved that much for the lunch. With hindsight, she thought what happened next must have been an accident. Unaware of her intentions, Patrick turned towards her to say something at the same moment. Her kiss landed squarely on his lips. Erica pulled back; now it was her turn to blush.

"Thank you for a lovely lunch." she said.

"I hope we can do it again soon." he replied.

She wondered whether he meant the lunch, or the kiss. Probably both. It also occurred to her he may expect a kiss on the lips every time he took her out to lunch. Ah well, worse things could happen. The door opened and she stepped out.

"Bye."

"Bye."

Patrick worked on the floor above Erica. When he arrived at his desk he was still grinning from ear to ear. He adjusted his trousers before he sat down.

Erica was thinking about the letter again when Mac got home that evening. He looked rather pale.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

His eyes roamed around the kitchen as if looking for inspiration. They settled on his wife.

"Seems I've been asking you that for days. But you never answer me."

"Oh."

"Something's cropped up, that's all." he relented. "I have to go up to Leicester on Friday. I'll be there all day. It may be Saturday when I get back."

"Is it something to do with work? You don't usually travel."

"Yes... No. It's personal actually. I've taken the day off."

"What's personal in Leicester? We don't know anyone there, do we?"

"Sorry Erica. I can't say. But I promise I'll tell you everything when I get back. Don't worry."

If there's one phrase guaranteed to make someone worry; it's 'Don't worry'. So Erica did.

"Well at least tell me where you'll be Mac! What if there's an emergency?"

('This is an emergency.' he thought.)

"If you really need to, you can reach me at the Leicester Marriot, in Enderby. But I'd prefer it if you didn't. I cannot say any more until I return. Then we will need to have a serious talk."

Erica thought that sounded ominous but said no more.

Next morning at work, Patrick was passing Erica's desk.

"You look down in the dumps." he observed.

"Just worried about stuff. It's personal."

"My mum always used to say a problem shared is a problem halved. Why don't we go to lunch again and you can tell Uncle Patrick all about it.

'Uncle Patrick' indeed; she had to smile. She'd now found out he was just eighteen. Closer to Emily's ten years than her thirtyseven.

"Thanks, but I don't think you'd be able to help."

"Well the offer's always there Erica. Though you probably think I'm too young."

He walked away. That had stung. It was exactly what she had been thinking. Was he? Too young to offer some insight into her problem? Too young to have sex with maybe? Too young to have lunch with again? She waited five minutes then picked up the phone and called his desk.

"Outside at twelve fifteen again. OK?"

"Sure."

"But I'll pay. And this time it's just a friendly chat - nothing romantic."

He put down his phone and fist-pumped the air. Erica was going to lunch with him again! And she was going to share her problem with him too. But, best of all, she thought yesterday's get-together was classed as romance! Yes!

At the restaurant, she unburdened her suspicions. It was odd; somehow it seemed easier telling a younger man her worries. She would certainly have never divulged this much information to Tabby. Perhaps it was because he was so young. He couldn't possibly offer any meaningful advice, let alone help, so there was no expectation. Thus, he got the full story, including a look at the incriminating photos, still on Erica's phone.