Modern Day Marriage

Travis must really be out of sorts. He never left that fucking iPhone anywhere. If they were going on vacation he took the phone with him. She dialed his office. Travis' assistant Melissa answered the phone. Betty had never liked Melissa. They were total opposites. Where Betty was middle aged and beginning the down swing, Melissa was only twenty four. She'd started working for Travis right out of college and seemed to get prettier every day.

Betty had short, dark hair. Melissa had long, rich, chestnut brown hair with blonde highlights.

Betty was voluptuous and curvy. Melissa was slim and toned. The thing that Betty hated the most about the girl was that she was totally devoted to Travis the same way that Betty was. Melissa had even turned down a chance at a promotion last year to stay with Travis. That had put Betty's ears up. Not that she had anything to worry about. Betty had made friends with several of the people who worked in Travis' company. If anything had been going on, she'd know about it. She had heard that Melissa flirted with Travis all the time, but Travis never seemed to notice it or do anything about it.

Betty had considered asking Travis to get another assistant, but thought better about it. For one thing, Travis had never shown any intention of cheating on her with Melissa or anyone else. And secondly if Melissa was gone, then her replacement might also go after Travis and be more successful. Lastly, there was the fact that if Melissa was interested in Travis, she'd make sure that no other woman around them got close to him. So Melissa, without knowing it, became Betty's guard dog.

Betty had also maintained a courteous though icy relationship with Melissa.

"Melissa, when Travis gets there, have him call me," said Betty.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Sutton," said Melissa. "Travis is already here. He came in early for the big meeting. He's probably going to be tied up all day. From what I've heard, there's a good chance that the meeting will keep them here late tonight and even continue for most of tomorrow. You'd probably have a better chance of speaking to him when he comes home tonight than I will, but I'll tell him you called."

That's what this is all about, thought Betty. There's obviously something really important going on at Travis' job. It's something that has him really nervous. He shouldn't be. He could get another job easily. And maybe if he did he wouldn't have to work so hard.

That news put Betty's mind at ease, but she was still pissed off at Melissa. As soon as the girl finished telling Betty what she had to say she'd hung up the phone. She didn't give Betty a chance to reply to what she'd said or even say goodbye.

There was another very subtle dig that the girl had thrown. She'd called Betty, Mrs. Sutton. Calling her Mrs. Sutton implied that she and Betty were casual acquaintances or just people who knew each other from the job but were not close. This was despite the fact that Melissa had been in their home several times for parties or celebrations that had nothing to do with work. Betty had often told Melissa to call her Betty. The girl's refusal to do that was insulting because it sent the message that Melissa simply didn't want to be Betty's friend.

On the other hand, she called Travis by his first name. And even the way she said, "Travis," was so familiar. It was almost like the girl's mouth was having an orgasm just saying it. Betty might have to rethink having her husband get another assistant.

* * * * * *

Melissa's expression as she hung up the phone was evil. If looks could kill, Melissa would have been tried and found guilty of Betty's murder within moments. As she headed back towards the door that separated Travis' office from hers someone came into her office. It was Barney Clark. Barney was an account manager. He often came into the office on the pretense of needing to discuss something or other with Travis.

Barney took one look at Melissa, in her short skirt and audibly gulped. She snapped her head around to look at him and his eyes got visible larger as her mane of hair settled onto her shoulders.

"Is there something I could do for you Mr. Clark?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"No, I just stopped by to ask Travis a couple of questions about the new line of products," he said. Melissa knew it was bullshit. Travis only handled corporate accounts. He probably had no idea of anything specific about any of the company's products. It simply wasn't his job.

"I'll tell him that you stopped by," she said, smiling brightly. "He's in a meeting right now with Gary. "

"Okay, thanks," said Clark. He watched as Melissa turned to go to check on Travis. He got his wish. She turned and he got the treat of watching her ass moving up and down like two cats fighting under her skirt. Ordinarily Melissa would have waited until he left, but she had to find out what was going on with Travis.

Before she got to the door, it opened and Travis and Gary came out. She noticed that as soon as the door had begun to open, Barney Clark had scurried out of the office like a cockroach when someone turns on a light.

"Thanks for your help, Travis," smiled Gary. "It's great to have a mentor like you." Melissa noticed that Gary was smiling happily and Travis looked even worse than he did when he first walked in. Gary was a mousy little man, that Melissa simply had no time for. He wasn't creepy or weird but he just seemed dull to her. Today was different though. Gary was smiling from ear to ear like a schoolboy who'd gotten his first piece. He'd even walked straight up to her and looked her in the face, when he'd come into Travis' office. Something had turned the titmouse into a tiger.

Gary looked straight into her eyes and smiled at her as he walked away from Travis. Melissa got ready to follow Travis back into his inner office and was surprised when Gary blocked her way.

"Melissa, are you busy tonight?" asked Gary looking in straight into her cleavage.

"Gary," snapped Melissa sharply. "My eyes are up here. And I'm busy EVERY night." Then she walked around him and followed Travis into his office, or tried to because she found that his door was locked.

Melissa knocked softly on Travis' door. When he didn't answer or open it, she used the key she had for emergencies and opened it herself. She quietly walked into the office and was unprepared for what she found.

Travis had come in very early this morning, which in itself was unusual. But then he'd told her that if Betty called, to tell her that he'd be tied up in meetings all day. That told her that he and his wife were probably having a tiff of some sort.

If Travis and Betty were arguing, there was no doubt which side Melissa would be on. But seeing Travis, who was usually a rock, with his head down on his desk, pissed Melissa off even more than Betty's phone call did.

I'll kill that bitch, thought Melissa. She walked around the desk and started to gently rub Travis' back and shoulders. She did that for a long time, reveling in the unusual closeness and the intimacy of the act. To most observers it wouldn't seem very inappropriate, but the feelings it brought to Melissa, who had been in love with her boss for years, had her nether regions in an uproar.

"Thanks, Mel," said Travis. He gently touched her hand and that set off a new set of tingles running through her body.

"Trav, what did she do now?" asked Melissa.

"It's not something, I want to talk about," said Travis.

"Bullshit," snapped Melissa. "Anything that has you this upset is my business. We're a team. If your head isn't in the game, the whole team suffers. So if I'm going to suffer, I want to know why. Besides, you told that twit, Gary. And I've known you and worked for you a lot longer than he has. You're going to start hurting my feelings here."

"Gary doesn't know," spat Travis. "I trust you more than anyone, Mel. You already know that."

Melissa inwardly loved the fact that he'd said that he trusted her more than anyone. He hadn't said more than anyone except Betty or placed any sort of caveats on his statement. He trusted HER more than anyone. Her heart was doing back flips.

"Then Travis, out with it; maybe I can help," she said. At times like this, her southern accent came to the fore and her voice cracked just a bit.

Travis hesitated and then began speaking. "I think...well, I know...Betty is cheating on me," he said. Melissa was shocked. She walked out of Travis' office and into her own outer office. She closed and locked the door. Then she locked the door to Travis' inner office as well. She crossed the room again and hugged Travis. It was something she'd done before but never like this.

Their hugs before this had always been just a tad above professional. Usually when they landed a big account or successfully completed an assignment, Travis would give her a friendly little hug. Melissa worked so hard, partly because she lived for those hugs. But this one was different and it made her feel guilty. Travis was feeling awful. His emotional well being was in jeopardy and she was pressing herself into him, molding her body to his like a two dollar whore. She backed off a bit. One part of her mind was really concerned for Travis. She had loved him so much and for so long that she didn't want him to go through anything painful. But the other part of her mind saw this as her opportunity.

Melissa was very smart and plans and parameters raced through her brain at the speed of light, even as she sat Travis down in the chair and begged him to explain it to her.

She was smart enough not to say what she was really feeling. She didn't jump up and say "Travis, I need the day off so I can go and kick your wife's fat ass." She also didn't say, "You don't need her when you have me." Melissa just sat and held his hand. She knew that when he was ready he'd tell her.

"Yesterday, Gary came to me for some advice," began Travis. "I've been trying to get him to relax more and have more of a life outside of the job. At the rate he's going, he's going to burn out before he's thirty."

Shit, thought Melissa. I was sure he was already over thirty.

"Anyway, he told me that he'd placed one of those singles ads on Craigslist. He was really nervous about meeting the woman and he wanted some pointers on what to do and what not to do," said Travis.

I knew that bastard was pathetic, thought Melissa, as she rubbed Travis' hand. But I didn't know he was that desperate. Craigslist, my God, how sleazy can you get? Next time he stares at my boobs I'll probably have to wipe them down.

"I really think that Gary has potential. He just needs to learn to relax and be himself. He needs to develop more confidence," said Travis.

Oh boy, he has more confidence now, thought Melissa. He did actually ask me out this morning. That was a first. Usually he just stares.

"So I agreed to go with him and observe him on his date. At least until he felt comfortable," said Travis.

"That was really nice of you, Trav," said Melissa.

"I really wish I hadn't," said Travis. His voice broke and Melissa could really tell that this was hard for him.

"If I hadn't gone, I never would have known," said Travis.

Alarm bells stated going off in Melissa's head. She squeezed Travis' hand just a little harder.

"Gary's date turned out to be Betty," said Travis, sadly. "And it wasn't just dinner. Once she met him, they didn't waste any time getting out of there. They didn't even eat dinner. She just took him to a motel and fucked him. It obviously isn't the first time she's done this. Gary said she wasn't nervous at all. He said the waiters at the restaurant knew her and the people at the motel."

Melissa was floored. Her mind was racing. Maybe she would go over to Travis' house and kick Betty's ass. The satisfaction she'd get from hurting that bitch for hurting Travis would be worth going to jail for assault.

Melissa realized that she had to let Travis make all of the decisions, here. Her job was just to be there and support him and help put the pieces back together, no matter what he wanted to do. She knew though, that her opinion was that Travis needed to divorce Betty. But realistically, Melissa thought that Travis should divorce Betty for anything as serious as a stray fart, so nothing was new there.

"But why would Gary fuck Betty?" asked Melissa. "It doesn't make any sense. You went with him to help him out and he stabs you in the back. Plus, please don't take this the wrong way, but Betty is kind of old. Even for someone as desperate as Gary."

"Mel, you have to remember," said Travis. "Gary has never been to my house. He's never met Betty. The only pictures he's ever seen of her are those pictures over there on the wall. They were taken over ten years ago. Her hair was a different color and she's uhm, filled out a bit since then."

"He had no idea that the woman who answered his ad was my wife," said Travis. "And I didn't get a good look at her until they got ready to leave. By the time I got outside the restaurant, they'd already left."

"Maybe he's was lying about them having sex," offered Melissa. "Guys always lie about that."

"No such luck," said Travis. "I told him to tape their conversation on his iPhone. That way if he did or said anything stupid, we could go over it. So on his next date, whether it was with her or someone else he'd do better. Gary got so nervous that he forgot to turn his phone off. He recorded everything. And it wasn't his fault. Gary was so nervous, he was a perfect gentleman. She asked him to go to the motel. She was the one making all of the moves."

"Don't worry about it," snapped Melissa. "We'll fire Gary and divorce her cheating ass. We'll..." Melissa stopped abruptly. She'd allowed her anger to make her more aggressive than she should have been.

"I'm sorry Travis," she said. "I'm just so pissed that she would do this to you. We'll handle this however you want to."

"Mel, I've thought about this for a long time," said Travis. "None of this is Gary's fault. He had no idea that Betty was married to me. And if you listen to the tape, you can tell that she was the one in the driver's seat."

"So, what do you want to do?" asked Melissa. "Should I start looking for divorce lawyers or marriage counselors?"

"To tell you the truth, I just don't know," said Travis. "I guess maybe it's because I've had this on my plate for less than twenty four hours. I'm just shell shocked. I'm surprised and hurt and a whole bunch of things that I can't even begin to describe."

"Mel, I never thought I'd be in this position. I never thought that Betty would do anything like this. I really believed that she loved me. I thought that we'd spend the rest of our lives together. Sometimes when I hear about people's marriages breaking up, I understand all of that modern shit, but I always thought that the only way for Betty and me to not be married would be if one of us died."

"I guess I've always thought about what I'd do if Betty passed on before me. You know, whether I'd start dating, or just grow old taking care of my grandkids," said Travis.

"So what would you do?" asked Melissa. "The dating thing sounds right up your alley."

"Ooh, you don't need to know the answer to that," said Travis.

"I really wish I could feel something right now," he said. "But to be truthful, all I feel is numb. I'm hurt, and I'm upset at Betty. But it isn't even really anger. All I feel right now is nothing. I wish I could just get really pissed at her and yell and scream and get this out and try to decided what to do. I'm sure that in time I will. So maybe you'd better get me one of each?"

"One of each?" asked Melissa, she'd been listening to every word he said but she still didn't know what he was asking for.

"Yep," said Travis. "I need a marriage counselor AND a divorce lawyer. You pick them."

Melissa nodded her head and sent all of that pretty hair tumbling about her shoulders. She already had a plan in mind. She had to find out who was the very, very best divorce lawyer in the state. Maybe she'd find the very best divorce lawyer in the country. Then she needed to find the very, very shittiest marriage counselor in the world. Maybe just for good measure she needed the shittiest marriage counselor in the universe.

She wanted someone so bad that he just gave up and told all of his clients to just get the fucking divorce. Maybe she could find someone who was so bad that he failed to even show up for the appointments he scheduled. She'd get right on that.

* * * * * *

Melissa took Travis to lunch that day. She took him to Pizza Hut. She still laughed about that because someone of Travis' age and income level really should go to a restaurant that wasn't the same one he'd loved when he was a teenager. But his boyish side was only one of the things she loved about him. And if she played her cards right, she'd have the opportunity to discover a whole lot more of them.

While they ate, Melissa just listened to Travis talk. She listened to him talking about how he'd met Betty and all of the things he loved about her. As the conversation went on though, he began to bring up some of the things he hated about his wife as well. Melissa filed all of the information away for future use. She spent a lot of her time touching him and gently rubbing and stroking him, both physically and mentally. She just wanted him to feel loved and cared about.

Before they finished lunch she gave him both the counselor's and the lawyer's contact information.

A few hours later, Travis' cobra pulled into his driveway. He walked into the house and right past Betty without saying anything.

* * * * * *

Betty turned off the TV and got up as soon as she heard Travis' Mustang in the driveway. She'd spent the entire afternoon cooking his favorite dinner. She'd dressed in one of Travis favorite outfits that she had too. She wanted him to feel comfortable and maybe then he'd tell her what was going on. It couldn't be that bad. Sure he had a lot of years invested in this job and she knew that good jobs were hard to come by. But with Travis' skills and experience, it wouldn't be very difficult for him to get another job. Besides they had a substantial amount of money saved up over the years. They'd be fine either way.

Betty turned and smiled as the door opened. Travis didn't even look at her. He just walked right by her and up the stairs. She stood there for a second with the smile frozen on her lips. Then she got angry. Travis had never treated her this badly in all of their years together. If he'd treated her like that they never would have gotten married and Betty wasn't going to put up with it now.

She ran upstairs to their bedroom and slipped on the last step. She fell flat on her face in front of their bedroom, tearing her dress. She was even angrier now. The dress had been one of her favorites as well as one of Travis'. She opened up the door and stalked into their bedroom, to find it empty. She looked into the connected bathroom and it was empty too.

Finally she tried the guest room and there was her husband lying on his back looking up at the ceiling.

"Travis," she screamed. Her anger about ruining the dress and her husband's strange behavior over rode her sense of reason and she started yelling at him. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Travis simply looked at her as if she was crazy. Sometimes it takes a lot of abuse or a pattern of behavior to shock a person into action; sometimes not. Sometimes it can be the tiniest thing that upsets the balance one way or another. Betty's actions the previous night had weakened her marriage far more than she knew. Travis had been vacillating between confronting her and just writing her actions off as a one-time thing and moving on.

He didn't feel good about letting her get away with it. But at the same time, he wasn't sure that he wanted a divorce either. Betty screaming at him was the straw that broke the camel's back. Travis suddenly sat up on the end of the bed and just smiled.