Mission Trip Trepidation

I never understood why people who have jobs that require long periods of time away from their spouse bother getting married. I'm sure that some people have the constitution and will power to crush any carnal desire for great lengths of time, but I can't imagine that there are many of them.

My wife Margaret and I were home bodies. We vacationed together, we worked in the same city, lived in the same house and had the same friends.

A good friend of ours had a wife who was a doctor and she got a six month placement with with a group delivering health care in some god-forsaken country. It was a hard time for the couple. My buddy had plenty of phone calls from his wife for the first month, then it dropped off to once a week, to become every other week. The calls became shorter and shorter. Soon he began to suspect she was losing interest in him and their marriage. When she returned she admitted to having an affair with a young doctor she was working with there. He later found out that this was a common occurrence among the doctors who signed up for these missions. They divorced.

I thanked the almighty that Margaret and I wouldn't have that problem. Until that one day, after the church outreach meeting.

"Paul, the outreach committee is arranging a mission trip to Frobisher Island in the Caribbean. It sounds exciting, they will build basic housing, dig wells, all sorts of great things. It's going to be in February so it will be really warm there and it will still be winter here.

It would be a great opportunity for us don't you think?"

"How long is the mission trip?"

"Two weeks, the organization is working there long term but they welcome various groups of volunteers for two week stretches."

"Two weeks away will be tough. February is a hard time for me to clear my work schedule."

"But it is a wonderful opportunity don't you think?"

"I suppose for some people it is. Not for me though."

I thought that had pretty much settled it until December when Margaret told me that the deadline for booking the mission trip was the end of the week.

"I told you we can't go, I can't take the time off."

"I know you can't go but I can."

"I thought we agreed not to take separate vacations from each other. Why start now?"

"I really feel that this is an opportunity I want to take. It isn't a vacation, it is a mission. We will be working."

"What about your vacation time at work? You only get a couple of weeks. What happens when you and I want to go away together later this summer?"

"I know it's a sacrifice Paul, but I am positive that I am meant to go on this mission."

"What if I said no. Would that stop you?"

"You won't say no. I know you too well."

I walked out of the house and went for long, long walk. When I came back home I cornered Margaret.

"I don't want you going without me and I can't go at this time. If you need to go on a mission then wait until a more convenient opportunity."

Margaret's normally cheerful countenance soured.

"I know you aren't happy about it but I've decided I'm going to go with them. I'm sorry but I feel that strongly."

"Well then, Merry Christmas to you. You have two months to prepare."

Christmas and New Years celebrations were muted to say the least. I thought maybe the holidays would bring us closer together but this mission trip seemed the only thing on her mind.

January flew by.

The night before the mission left we lay in bed together.

"I'm going to miss you Paul. We've never really been apart in our fifteen years of marriage."

"I wish we weren't breaking that trend. I am really uneasy about this whole thing."

"I know, things will be fine. Let's make love for the last time until I come back in two weeks."

We started off well but I started having issues with the dreaded erectile dysfunction. It was going soft. Soon we both realized that this wasn't happening. It upset both of us. Not a great way to say goodbye.

The first phone call came in from the island. Margaret spoke of a good flight and gave a description of the basic quarters they were given. They were living in tents, very basic and not what she was used to or comfortable with, however it was an adventure.

I heard from her every other day for the first week. The second week I heard from her midweek and then the night before they were to fly home.

"Hi Paul, how are things at home?"

"Lonely, I haven't heard much from you."

"We have been very busy and the phone service can be a bit dodgy."

"So are you all set to come home? What time should I pick you up at the airport tomorrow?"

"Actually, I've decided to stay for at least another week. We are doing some important work here and we need time to finish."

"The whole lot of you are staying? How is that possible?"

"No, the others are going to fly out tomorrow. I am staying here to help finish this job."

"Margaret, you should be returning with your group tomorrow. You only took two weeks vacation time. You should be back in the office on Monday."

"I've asked for an extra week. They are giving me the week off without pay."

"Without pay? Why don't you just come back? This project is not your responsibility."

"I'm sorry Paul, but it's important work. I'll keep in touch."

She hung up. I tried to call her back but there was no answer. I was frustrated beyond belief. I phoned the church office to talk to someone in charge of the mission. Nobody in the office had any information. The leader of the mission was on the island with the mission team and they were expected back early tomorrow morning.

This was so atypical for Margaret that it had me worried. She was so adamant that she go on this mission and now she wants to stay later than the rest of the crew.

I showed up at the airport when the others were scheduled to be back. I found the leader and asked to speak to them. They were a bit miffed but when I explained who I was they gave me some time to talk

"Why is Margaret staying behind?"

"I really don't want to get involved in any marital dispute Paul. Margaret told me she wanted to stay behind to help the organization wrap up what we started."

"Why her? What special skills does she have that necessitated her being left behind?"

"She is a forty year old woman, she can make up her own mind to stay or go whenever she pleases. I don't know the specifics, she just said she was staying."

That was all I was going to get from them.

I knew that Margaret's friend Doreen had gone on this mission and Doreen was the biggest gossip in the parish. I called Doreen and she was a little more forthcoming.

"Margaret seemed to be very friendly with the local manager of the mission on the island. They were frequently huddled together talking or eating lunches. Our social events saw them together a lot. I'm not saying there was anything going on between them but they were pretty friendly."

"What is the director's name?"

"Frank, Frank King."

"Thanks Doreen, I hope it was a good mission."

I kept trying to get through to Margaret's line but got no answer. Finally a week later she called me.

"Paul, I'm really sorry. I have some news. I quit my job."

"You quit? What the hell! What are you doing? Why?"

"They want to hire me here full time. I will be working with the mission management company. You won't believe all the good we are doing for these people."

"You've lost your mind Margaret. You are thousands of kilometres away from home. What about our marriage?"

"I love you Paul. I know it will be hard but we can do it. Many couples have long distance relationships for a short time."

"Yes like my friend who ended up divorced! Margaret this is the kind of thing we need to decide together, not unilaterally."

"If we discussed it you would simply say no. So I needed to make the decision myself. We are doing good work here Paul, please don't be selfish."

"When you say we do you mean Frank King and yourself?"

That name elicited a long pregnant pause.

"They've told you about Frank?"

"Oh yes they have."

"He is a very dedicated humanitarian. He is a wonderful man and boss."

"So he's the one who hired you?"

"Yes, what else have they told you Paul?"

"Well they suggested that your relationship with Frank might be a little more intimate than business like."

"Just a bunch of rumour mongers."

"I am not happy. How long will you be there?"

"I signed on for six months."

"Six months! Fucking hell Margaret."

"Don't swear Paul."

"I want you to come home now. I'm not going to wait six months for you to come back."

"It will pass quicker than you know, it will..."

The phone cut out at that point, or she hung up mid sentence, which I find more likely.

I was beyond anger I was approaching apoplectic. I complained to the church pastor who told me it was beyond his control. I spoke to the mission society and complained that Frank King was luring and probably screwing my wife on that cursed island. They didn't seem to give a rats ass but they took my complaint.

Another two weeks passed before another phone call came in from my wayward wife.

"Why are you stirring up so much crap about Frank and I? The mission society has been asking a lot of questions and you are the one who's started it all."

"No, you are the one who started it all by staying behind."

"Well just stop it. I'll be home when I'm home and not until.

This time I hung up. This was approaching intolerable. If she wasn't coming home then I was going to her. I wasn't going to go empty handed. I visited my lawyer who prepared a petition to dissolve our marriage.

Getting tickets to fly to the island was expensive and a pain in the ass but it was necessary. Five hours in the air was about the maximum bearable for me so I was happy to see land. It was still dark in the early morning hours.

The village where they were working was a tiny place. The mission staff were sleeping in tents on the site of a building they were restoring. I asked some of the security people where I would find Margaret and was told she'd be with Frank. They pointed to a tent in the centre of the compound. I noticed the tent was zipped up. I knocked on the canvas but got no answer. I grabbed the zip and opened the flap.

Lying there in an extra large sleeping bag was Frank King. Frank was spooning my wife Margaret. I coughed loud enough to cause them to wake.

"What the fuck do you want!" He shouted.

"My wife, if you don't mind Frank." I said calmly.

Margaret shrieked,

"Paul, what are you doing here! You aren't supposed to be here," she cried out as she began to weep."

"Frank, why don't you fuck off for a few minutes while I talk to my wife."

Frank stepped out of the sleeping bag, nude. He pulled on a pair of jeans and left the tent. Margaret sat up but pulled the sleeping bag up to ensure her breasts were covered.

"Really babe? Modesty? I've seen your tits thousands of times. You sleep in the nude with your boyfriend and boss but you're modest with me?"

Realizing it was stupid she let the bag fall to show her breasts, those beautiful breasts that I've loved for fifteen years.

"What are you doing here Paul?"

"I have come to collect my wife and bring her home with me."

"You know I can't do that, I've signed on for six months."

"So what are the penalties for quitting early?"

"I wouldn't get paid for any of the work until the end of the contract."

"So strictly monetary?"

"Yes."

"Then I will buy out your contract. I'll pay you what you have earned."

"I want to do this Paul."

"You want to do what? Stay here and fuck your boss for six months? What about after the six months, would you sign on for six more? Or maybe then come home to your cuckold husband?"

"I'll come home after the first six months, I promise. If I renew I will come back here afterwards."

"Not good enough Margaret. If you want any possibility of saving our marriage you will pack your bags and come with me this morning. We can fly back home on the next plane out. Then we will go through counselling to deal with this."

"I can't Paul."

"If you don't then this is the alternative."

I handed her the petition for divorce in an envelope.

"Come with me now or sign, and we'll end this marriage."

She sat there looking at the envelope. The tears rolled down her cheeks. She stood up and walked to me. She hugged me and I hugged her back. She was naked and her embrace made me want her so bad I could taste it. The entire tent smelled of sex. She smelled of sex and I wanted her.

I kissed her long and hard and she kissed me back. My hands reached for her ass, she was so soft. I felt myself grow hard. She fell to her knees and undid my belt and pulled my pants and boxers down. She took my rising cock in her mouth and gave me the first blow job she had given me in many years. She was not being gentle either, she wanted to bring me off as quickly as possible. I pulled her away and stripped off my clothes. I turned her around, bent her over and I pushed my hardness into her pussy. We fucked there on top of the sleeping bag until I felt her orgasm. I flipped her over and took her in the missionary position, which I thought ironically appropriate. Frank came in after ten minutes. We weren't finished yet. He stood there watching as I made love to Margaret. I forgot Frank and I concentrated on reclaiming my wife. Frank had taken his jeans off. He stood beside us masturbating to the same tempo that we were making love. Margaret's eyes were locked on mine. I groaned as I spoke a single word to her.

"Mine!"

Her eyes never wavered as she replied.

"Yours."

She closed her eyes for a moment, opened them and looked over at Frank as he stroked his cock faster. She groaned then looked into my eyes and spoke."

"Mine."

"Yours". I replied.

I kept my attention on Margaret and made love to the best of my ability. Before I finished I heard Frank grunting and saw a stream of cum land beside us.

"Fuck you Frank!"

He pulled the jeans on and dashed out of the tent.

In retrospect mine was a primitive response. Call it cave man brain or lizard brain. All I knew was that logical thinking was in damn short supply. The only thing that mattered then was reclaiming the woman I loved.

"Holy shit Paul, where did all that passion come from?"

"Come with me now, or sign the divorce papers. I know which I prefer but this is your choice."

She got up and got dressed, I helped her wash up. She packed her things and we left the tent. Frank told her she would lose all her pay. She told him that she resigned anyway.

As she loaded up my rental Jeep I took Frank aside.

"Frank, only a piece of shit like you would take advantage of a middle aged, innocent woman like Margaret and make her your sexual play toy. You knew she was married yet you took her anyway. Fuck you Frank. I will ensure that you will end up being sent home. I will do everything in my power to see that you never get hired by any NGO operating on this planet. You are a sexual predator and you are dangerous. Margaret isn't the first do-gooder that you've co-opted and seduced is she? I am using every bit of will power I have not to tear your nuts off and shove them down your throat. But I'm likely to be the one to suffer if I did that. Your security guards are armed and I wouldn't make it out of here alive. So I will have my revenge. It will just be delayed and not as physical as I'd prefer. If you are harbouring any thoughts about offing me before we leave just remember that a lot of people know where I am. If I don't return there will be hell to pay."

Margaret was sitting in the Jeep waiting. It was a quiet drive to airport and then a short wait for a flight home.

Once we got home and settled Margaret came to me.

"Paul, can we talk?"

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

"I want to understand what happened to me and why? Frank was the man in charge. He was so good to us but he seemed to pay me more attention. I was flattered."

"Marg, you are a beautiful, mature forty year old woman. You may not realize just how attractive you are. I accept some of the blame for that. How many times have I told you how beautiful you are lately? Not nearly enough. He saw a dazzling woman and he seduced her."

"We were doing good work. He started sharing ideas with me during lunches and dinners. By the start of the second week he hugged me after dinner and kissed me. I told him I was married but he said what happens here on mission is different. We are away from all that confines us."

"Ultimate libertarianism, do what thou wilt."

"I was missing you and his kisses were warm and soon I wanted more but I held back. I avoided calling you because I was embarrassed and I felt so guilty."

"I was very lonely and missing you. I was beginning to get suspicious that something was going on."

"Frank convinced me to stay for that third week. It was at the end of the third week that he offered me the job. It was good money and I loved the work. I accepted the job, signed the contract and quit my job back home. That night Frank got me drunk and took me to his tent."

"Fucking another man's wife, some humanitarian!"

"Last night was only the second time we slept together. It wasn't that good sober. I felt horribly guilty about it. I am so sorry it happened. I knew you would plan on divorcing me but I never expected you to come here to serve me with the paperwork."

"When I saw the two of you lying together I wanted to kill either him or myself. The pain was intolerable."

"You seemed so calm."

"I wasn't. When I saw you I realized that I loved you more than I thought I ever could. When I got here I had no intention of offering you a way to save our marriage. I thought it was lost, but when I saw you I had to offer one last chance."

"Then you ravished me, right there in his tent. I have never seen you so turned on."

"When you stood up and hugged me I didn't know whether it was a goodbye hug or a please take me with you hug. I felt your warm, smooth, soft skin and I had to have you, no matter what your decision would be."

"Before I left home for the mission, you had erectile disfunction, you sure didn't have that problem then."

"I think the disfunction was more a product of my not wanting you to go."

The counselling helped us to uncover the reasons for Margaret's folly. It was not unusual for a woman her age to feel bored, unappreciated, taken for granted. Her job was mundane and unrewarding, she had fifteen years if her husband so no mystery there, their sex was spotty and unexciting. The mission trip provided meaningful, rewarding work, mystery and excitement in an exotic environment. An illicit romance was a byproduct of all the above, icing on the cake if you will. Add in that Frank was a skilled and experienced lothario and the inevitable happened.

We pledged to add some excitement to our lives. A weekend here and a weekend there. I also pledged to begin medication to alleviate the ED problem. She never went on another mission trip but we did cruise to Caribbean islands as tourists.

I forgave Margaret because my life was better with her than without her. I never forgave Frank King. Frank was recalled from Frobisher Island and he was fired. Word spread to the NGO community and soon Frank was a pariah. I lost track of him at that point. I felt my work was done.

All this happened so long ago. We just celebrated our thirtieth anniversary together. Thirty wonderful years with only one big bump in the road. Thank God for that!

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