Paper Matches

Not that they had had sex yet; he was very concerned about how that would go when the time arrived, and how he could avoid it, but the little things like caressing her ass, or grabbing her from behind and cupping her breasts while he kissed her neck, had been small bridges he had successfully crossed.

Having sex with her was the very last thing he wanted to do, now that he knew she'd cuckolded him, maybe for years, but it could possibly become necessary. He had to somehow buy some time to let his plans come together.

"I hope my parents are happy with the crystal set I got them. I know it's something that my mom has often said she wanted, and I'm sure my dad will go along with whatever she likes." She grinned at her husband and continued, "Men usually go along with what their wives want, don't they dear."

Bill considered what she had said and answered, "I think there are probably a few things that a husband won't agree with his wife on. Some things just cross a line that no husband can accept."

Linda didn't seem to put any importance on his answer, at least none that he could notice. Their conversation during the rest of the drive was pretty mundane, without any opportunities for him to subtly make a point to his wife, a point that would by design try to go over her head. He knew he had to be careful, and not give her cause to panic about what he might know.

It was later in the day, after the four of them had enjoyed a nice meal and were sitting around the dining room table with glasses of liqueur, that the conversation turned to an area that Bill felt was tailor-made for him.

It began when Linda asked, "What can you and dad tell Bill and I about the secrets for having such a long and happy marriage?"

When Patricia answered her daughter's question she said, "You must always have respect for each other, and for your partner's ideas. Without mutual respect, I don't think a marriage can survive."

Her mother's answer didn't seem to make Linda think of her own actions, and the disrespect they showed for her husband, so Bill quickly said, "I guess that kind of respect would include things like respecting your marriage vows, you know like 'in sickness and in health', or even the 'forsaking all others' part."

Bill's mother-in-law immediately pointed at him with her index finger and reply, "That's exactly the kind of thing I mean, Bill. You have to be there for your spouse when they're sick or hurt, and even if you don't agree with their opinions on things like politics and religion, you have to be respectful of their beliefs."

Bill glanced at Linda and could see that she had lost the smile that had been on her face. Before anyone else could speak to the subject he turned to his father-in-law and asked, "What do you think, Jim? Surely over your 45 years together the two of you must have faced some bumps in the road."

His father-in-law was a rather reserved man, one who thought about things before speaking, but he finally answered with, "I have to agree with Patricia. When you look around at younger couples these days, you see a lot of disrespect between the partners; things like the constant 'me, me, me' attitude, and all of the divorces that seems to be happening. Patricia and I never had those problems."

Bill couldn't have hoped for a better answer from his father-in-law if he'd handed him a script. He quickly took advantage of it by saying, "I was thinking of things like that, too. I'm not quite as old as you, but I think we may share some of the same values."

He continued, "What do you think is causing all of these divorces? I read the other day that close to 50% of all marriages are ending in divorce now."

His mother-in-law had been listening and quickly said, "I think a lot of it is the fact the younger generation has no patience, and they don't try to work out life's little problems. Of course, there's a lot more drug addiction, and now with casinos all over the place, there's problem gambling as well."

Bill quickly added, "And then there's sex addiction, like that golfer with all the girlfriends."

His mother-in-law obviously didn't agree with that addiction very much as she waved her hand dismissively and said, "That's nothing more than good old-fashioned adultery, and as far as divorces go, that's probably the main reason, by far. With so many Internet dating sites, and even special sites for people who want to cheat on their spouses, it's no wonder it's getting so common and ending so many marriages."

Bill thought it was time to bring Linda back into the conversation and said, "What do you think about what your mom just said, Linda? I think she probably has a good point, don't you?"

Linda had the 'deer in the headlights' look, but quickly recovered and said, "I'm sure she's right, dear." It was obvious she had become uncomfortable with the topic, and she managed to change the subject almost immediately.

+++++++++

At just before 10 o'clock on Monday morning, Jason Shields walked into Bill's office. He was smiling as he entered, but after taking one look at Bill's face, his own smile disappeared.

"Hello, Bill. I was going to ask you how your surveillance system worked out when you went out of town, but the look on your face suggests it didn't work out too well."

Bill had looked up when his friend entered and replied, "Is it that obvious? I thought I was doing a pretty good job of hiding my feelings from, and about, my wife."

Jason sat down in the chair that Bill had pointed out as he spoke before he said, "Maybe it was because it was me that came through the door, and you knew what I was here to ask you, or maybe you're just better at hiding your emotions when you're at home."

"You have a haunted look, one that I'm familiar with all too well, considering I went through the situation you were worried about. Maybe it takes one to know one." He could see that Bill had sat back in his chair and relaxed a bit while he was speaking, and now Jason waited for Bill to speak.

Bill had a look of resignation on his face as he started with, "I would never have believed it could have been so bad, Jason. At midnight on Thursday she and her girlfriend, a woman that I've told her repeatedly I didn't care for, came into our home with two young university guys. I still haven't been able to bring myself to watch everything on those videos."

He continued, "It took all of my willpower not to have a confrontation with her, and so far I don't think she's aware that I know all about her... cheating. I realized that I needed to get my ducks in a row before I confront her about it. I've decided to get what revenge I can against her and her friend, maybe even the bar, The Puma's Den, and I'm not sure who else."

Jason had begun to look worried as Bill spoke about his plan to get some revenge and quickly said, "What do you mean by revenge, Bill? I hope you're not planning on anything physical or illegal, as it would get you fired at least, if it ever came out. You might have a real problem getting a job in this field anywhere, if you had some sort of record."

Bill gave a quiet chuckle and said, "I don't have plans, at least I don't have them yet, to do anything illegal or violent, if that's what you're thinking. I made an appointment already this morning with a lawyer, a good friend of mine, for next week; he's tied up in court right now. There are some other things I'm looking into as well."

"I have some ideas on how I can exact a bit of payback, although the years I've lost with her can never be made up for. I'm going in for STD testing, you know, blood tests, on my way home on Wednesday, but if she has one I'll have it by now. I'm certain the two of them have done this before; maybe even for years. It appears she's adamant that her partners use condoms, but that's no guarantee she's not infected with something."

"Nothing I can do to her will probably ever make up for the hurt and pain she's causing me. All I can hope to do is make it as hard on her as possible. Letting her think she's putting one over on me is the start. I... I want her to think I'm still madly in love with her, so when I... drop the hammer she won't be expecting it, and hopefully she'll feel it more."

Jason smiled and said, "I sort of did the same thing. I had all the legal stuff done, and then I had her served with divorce papers where she worked. It seemed to get maximum shock value, anyway."

Bill nodded slowly before saying, "I haven't thought ahead quite that far, but I'll have to consider that idea myself. All I know right now is that she has stepped so far over the line I can't see any other solution. It's not just the cheating, it's the disrespect, the lying... the fact that it was all planned out in advance."

Jason sighed and said, "It's like they don't even consider the consequences, or that they'll be caught."

"That's for sure. I think if Linda knew about the video I have, she would just pack her things and leave."

Bill's face got serious as he thought about the videos once again, but suddenly it brightened and he asked, "That's enough about my problems; it's going to take me a while to solve them. I want to hear how your dinner date with your old friend Heidi worked out. Did it turn out well?"

The serious expression on Jason's face lifted immediately, changing into a broad smile as he answered, "It couldn't have gone better! We got along just fine, and spent a really wonderful evening together. We still have a lot in common, and I think she enjoyed spending some time with me. At least it sure seemed that way."

"That's great, Jason. Do you have any plans to go out with her again?"

Jason's smile got even broader. "We have plans to go to a play Friday night, after we have dinner. I may stay in Cincinnati overnight, because we discussed the possibility of going to a Reds game on Saturday afternoon."

"Sounds pretty interesting, Jason. Do you have plans to stay with Heidi that night?"

Jason quickly answered, "No, no, nothing like that. I already booked a room at the Super 8. I think we both want to take it slow. After what my wife did, I want to be very sure of things before I get involved in a relationship with another woman."

He shook his head and got a serious look back on his face before he continued, "It's too bad that my wife's actions have the potential to sour my attitude towards all women. I don't think Heidi is anything like my ex, but how well can you know anyone any more?"

Bill just nodded his head slowly, as no words were necessary to answer that question.

Bill finally got up and asked, "Let's go get a cup of coffee. I have some work-related things to talk to you about, now that you're here. Oh, I'll get your telephone recorder back to you later this week. I still haven't swapped out the memory chip that has the recordings from the night all this happened. I know there's at least one phone call there that I want to listen to."

Jason chuckled and said, "It's funny you should mention that; my neighbor just told me last night that he's concerned his wife might be stepping out on him. I offered to loan the telephone recorder to him, after you're finished with it. It's like an epidemic."

Bill shook his head and quietly said, "I doubt if anything would surprise me now. I'm finished with the video surveillance gear too. I'll get it all together and you can keep it after you let him use it."

+++++++++

Bill left work early so that he would have time to remove the telephone recorder and the surveillance gear. He realized it was always possible that Linda would make another incriminating phone call, but he knew that he already had enough evidence of what was going on; there was no need for any more.

By the time Linda walked into the house he had the sound file from the memory card transferred into his computer and the recorder and erased memory cards were back in their box and in the trunk of his car. They were joined there by the four video cameras that he had quickly removed from where they had been installed. He even had time to put the original clock radio back on their dresser. The house was now back to the way it had been.

There hadn't been any time to listen to the sound file, but he had already decided he would take a day off later in the week to review it and view the entire contents of the video files. He was already steeling himself for that task.

When Linda walked into the kitchen he was already there, and she quickly walked over to give him a kiss before she said, "I hope you won't mind waiting for dinner, because I want to make you something special tonight. It's a new recipe my mother gave me."

Bill was pleased to see that Linda was acting so comfortable in their marriage, because it proved to him that she couldn't possibly realize that he knew about what had happened in their bed. He smiled to himself, confident that the plans he was putting together would be a complete shock to her. It might not be possible to ever cause her the pain that he was feeling, but he was going to take a shot at it.

Later, after their late meal, he told her that he still wasn't feeling great, and so he was going to go to bed early. His decision pushed Linda back into mothering mode, and she seemed concerned when she found out his temperature was normal.

++++++++

The next day at work Bill started a new folder on his computer and titled it 'MR Plans'. Anyone that happened to see the file would likely think it was work-related, but in this case the MR referred to 'My Revenge'. He had come up with a number of possible things that he intended to do by the end of the month when he had already decided he would end his charade of a marriage, and had committed them to files in his new folder.

His very first action that morning was to call Jason and request a meeting in his office when he had some free time. When Jason let him know that he had work to do on Bill's floor, they set up a short meeting for 8:30.

Bill immediately outlined to Jason the ideas he had been considering, and asked for Jason's input. He felt that he could trust Jason to not share what he knew with anyone, so he was comfortable with the request.

The two men discussed at some length the ideas that Bill had come up with, and Jason offered several new ones. One of Jason's ideas became the seed of Bill's plan to somehow wreak some havoc on the bar that enabled his wife to so easily hook up with her young stud. He decided that they did deserve it, because he was sure that more than his marriage had been ruined by the venue they provided for married women on the hunt.

Jason suggested that perhaps a way could be found to discourage either the women or the college guys from going to the bar. While they were brainstorming a broad range of ideas Bill mentioned, "An outbreak of STDs among their patrons would be nice, but there isn't any way to arrange that." He laughed after making the statement.

He was joking of course, but Jason ran with that idea and said, "A real outbreak might not be necessary; the fear of catching an STD might be all it would take. Maybe we could think of something to make people believe there's a problem."

The two of them tossed the idea back and forth, and finally, just after Jason had left to return to his department, Bill started researching an idea on the Internet. Within a few minutes he was making a phone call to the Montgomery County Health Department. After a brief conversation he hung up the phone with a smile on his face, and went back to his job with renewed enthusiasm, anxious to get some work done before leaving for his doctor's appointment.

+++++++++

That afternoon, shortly after Bill checked in with the clinic's reception desk he was ushered to one of the examination rooms to wait for his doctor. When he said that he was only there for some blood tests, the nurse that showed him to the room left the door open, saying that the doctor would be there very shortly. It was while he stood there waiting that he overheard a conversation in the hallway between his doctor and another patient.

"Dr. Nelson, I just dropped in for a moment to see if you had the results of my tests."

"Yes, Bert. They just came in. You have a garden variety Urinary Tract Infection; I'll write you a prescription for some medication. It's a sulfa derivative, so I need to know if you have any allergies to sulfa drugs."

"Not that I know of, Doctor."

After a slight delay Dr. Nelson said, "Just take this to the pharmacy downstairs, and they'll fix you right up." A couple of seconds later the Doctor continued, "Oh, Bert, I should mention that it's very easy for women to get a UTI. You should be very careful, and use a condom until your sample comes back clear. If you've had intercourse recently, you should perhaps ask your partner to be checked as well."

"Oh, I didn't realize that. I'll mention it to my wife."

"Tell you what, Bert; pick up a urine sample container from the nurse on your way out, and your wife can just drop it off at her convenience for testing."

"Okay. Thanks a lot Dr. Nelson."

As he listened to the end of the conversation Bill was wishing that it was him with a UTI; that way he would have a ready-made excuse to avoid sex with his wife. For the next five minutes, as he awaited his turn with the Doctor, Bill thought about what he had heard, and came up with a plan.

+++++++++

That evening, shortly after his wife got home, Bill called her into the living room. "I think I know why I haven't been feeling well, Linda. One thing I noticed was some tenderness when I had a pee, so yesterday afternoon I went in to see Dr. Nelson about it."

Linda paled slightly and got a look of concern on her face before saying, "What's wrong, honey? It's not anything serious, is it?"

Bill immediately waved a hand to dismiss her concern as he replied, "It's nothing to worry about, dear. Dr. Nelson told me when I went back to him today that I have a garden-variety Urinary Tract Infection, and he gave me some medication for it. He had some pharmaceutical samples right there in his desk." Bill opened his briefcase and pulled out a plastic blister package containing 13 large pills, with another one of the pill cavities already empty.

He handed the blister package to his wife, and she turned it over to see that there were two stickers on the back, one with instructions, and the other with the product name, description and the manufacturer's name. It was easy to see that he should take one per day for 14 days, and then be retested.

When she read the whole information sticker through she said, "Avoid intercourse until the test is negative! You mean we can't have sex for... two weeks?"

"I asked the doctor about that, and he said that women are more susceptible to these infections than men are, and it's easy to pass one during intercourse. It can happen very easily, even with a condom, if you happen to contaminate it with just the touch of a finger."

"He said that we could have already shared it, and that you should have a test as well. Actually, he gave me a sample bottle, and I can drop it off for you, if you like. His clinic isn't far from my office."

Bill had noticed that his wife had paled again momentarily when he said that they could've traded the infection already, but she quickly returned to her normal coloration and said, "That sounds like a good idea. Just give me the bottle and I'll take care of getting the sample later. You don't mind dropping it off, then?"

Bill turned, ostensibly to put his briefcase down beside his favorite chair, but actually to avoid having his wife notice that he smiled to himself as she had just confirmed her total acceptance of his story. "No, I don't mind dropping it off there at all."

+++++++++

That night after supper Bill and his wife took their coffee cups outside so they could sit on their deck and enjoy the evening sun. Bill could tell that Linda seemed to have something on her mind, and he wondered if he had somehow lost control of his emotions and let her realize he knew something about her actions while he was out of town.