Seduction Ch. 03: Romance

"I'll see you then."

When I get there, I see why Seymour was so reluctant to have Millie kick him out. The house was a freaking mansion! I ring the doorbell and an exotic beauty opens the door. She has Hispanic features, straight black hair, olive skin and dark eyes. She's too well-dressed to be a servant, so I ask, "Millie? I'm Bob."

"Come on in! Can I get you something to drink? Some wine, perhaps?"

"Do you have beer?"

"Certainly! I'll be right back."

I sit on the sofa as she heads to the kitchen. A house this big, I'm surprised she doesn't have servants running around. Perhaps she doesn't want them around for our conversation.

She returns with a glass of beer, a white wine and a plate of cheese and crackers on a tray. I thank her, take a sip of my beer, and ask, "So what would you like to know?"

"I found Seymour's copy of the book. He had several passages highlighted, and notes in the margins. These were his inspirations, I guess. So, I know the basic plot. I must admit, he was very clever."

"Well, one thing I think neither you nor Seymour know is that Cheryl planned to carry the story to the end, where Genevieve gets pregnant and has Jacques' baby. Cheryl had stopped taking her contraceptives and made sure we didn't have sex for two weeks before her date. She wanted to have Reynaldo's baby and to have me think it was mine."

Millie shakes her head in disbelief. "What does your wife look like?"

"She has blond hair, blue eyes and a light complexion."

"Just like you. Didn't she realize that there's no way the two of you can have a child with either dark hair or dark eyes? And that her child with Seymour would almost certainly have at least one of those?"

"I mentioned that to her the day she came home from her date. I don't think it had occurred to her. Everything was following the novel so closely that I guess she figured it would end the same way."

She takes a sip of her wine while she stares into space for a bit. She looks at me and says, "I read the letter she wrote you. She certainly seemed repentant. It was also very well written. She must be very intelligent and accomplished. Her behavior seems quite out of character. Don't you agree?"

"She is all of that, and quite beautiful, too. But it's easy to be repentant once you get caught. Sometimes it teaches you to be a better person, and sometimes it just teaches you to be more careful. Look at Seymour. I'm sure he was repentant the first time you caught him."

"Well, I never actually caught him. Two years ago, a woman showed up at my door, begging me to let him go so they could marry. Apparently, she had told her husband she had fallen in love with someone else and wanted a divorce. When Seymour told her that he didn't want to marry her, she collapsed. We had to have her taken to the hospital."

"And you took him back?"

"Seymour swore that it had been innocent flirting and one drunken night of sex. He said he never asked her to marry him, and the woman had deluded herself into thinking it was more. Well, that seemed believable, and Seymour can be very persuasive."

"What happened to that girl?"

"I paid for her treatment, and she was able to go back to a normal life. Her husband divorced her, and she moved back to her home town. I lost track of her then."

"Any chance you'll take him back again?"

"After hearing him call me a bitch and brag about all the women he seduced? No way! When I made it clear he was out, he tried to hurt me by telling me how much better all those 'sluts' were and what a lousy lay I was."

"Well, I can't believe that last. Listening to him, I got the impression that Seymour is all about Seymour. He never had a minute's thought about pleasing Cheryl. She did all the work. Good sex is about cooperation and communication. Seymour's skill seems to be what he can do to a woman's head, not to her body. I wouldn't pay any attention to his opinion."

Millie smiles and puts her hand on my thigh. She bats her eyes and says, "Why, Bob, are you flirting with me? Maybe you'd like to give me a second opinion? Cheryl gave you such a glowing recommendation."

I turn red and stammer, "Millie, I didn't mean ... I can't ... It's too early to ..."

She laughs, gives my leg a squeeze and pulls her hand back. "You still love her, don't you?"

"I guess I do, but it's not about love. It's about trust. She looked me in the eye and lied to me. She kept her two-month-long emotional affair secret. Seymour looked you in the eye and told you he would never cheat again and then went right back to it. I just don't see how I can ever believe her."

"Yes, I suppose that's the hardest part. But her behavior was not that of a rational person. I see she's in therapy. Maybe she'll uncover something that would explain what she did, and make it easier for her avoid it in the future."

"Millie, I'm a lawyer. Even though I specialize in corporate law, I'm familiar with the insanity defense. If a murderer is found not guilty by reason of insanity, they don't just let him go free. Temporary insanity is one thing, but her 'insanity' lasted for two months! I'll keep an open mind, but forgive me if I'm a bit skeptical."

"I understand. It just seems a shame that two people so obviously in love can't find a way back. Have you filed for divorce yet?"

"No. I'm still sure that's the only option, but I make it a point not to make any important decisions when I'm angry or upset. I would probably be too harsh and regret it later."

She looks at me with an unreadable expression. "Smart man," she says. She stands up, and I do too.

She walks me to the door and says, "Let's keep in touch." Then she hugs me and gives me an intense, lingering kiss. Sighing, she whispers, "I wish I had met someone like you instead of Seymour. Now, go, before I attack you."

Cheryl

It's been more than a month since Bob left. It's Saturday, and as I wake up, I wonder what Bob is making me for breakfast. Then I sob as I remember that Bob would never be bringing me breakfast in bed again. I think about the first time he did it. We had been married for two years. I was just waking up when he came in with the bed tray. I was so excited! I told him to wait while I jumped up, put on some lingerie, brushed my hair and got back into bed. I made him take a picture of me with that beautiful tray. When did it stop becoming special?

I try to remember the last breakfast he made me, and I realize I can't. I remember Bob left to clean the kitchen and I ate while I fantasized about the coming week, when I would take Reynaldo to the park, kiss him and tell him Bob was going away that weekend so we could consummate our love. God! That was the last romantic thing Bob did for me, and I ignored it while I daydreamed about betraying him!

I hit a new low when Susan calls to tell me she's pregnant again. She sounds so excited over the phone - I could almost hear her tears of joy. If I hadn't been such an idiot, I could have been that happy, carrying Bob's child. At least I'm not carrying Seymour's.

I'm spending another lonely evening at home when the doorbell rings. I get up and open the door, and see a well-dressed woman standing there nervously. I relax a little as she doesn't look like a process server. "Yes?"

"Excuse me, are you Mrs. Williams?"

"Yes," I say, wondering how much longer that will be true.

"I'm Millie Parker, Seymour's wife. May I come in?"

"Yes, certainly. Have a seat. Oh, Mrs. Parker, I'm so sorry ..."

She holds up her hand, stopping me. "Please, call me Millie. And I should be apologizing to you. I should have divorced him the first time I caught him cheating. Instead, I took him back, and he's been using my money to destroy the lives of good women."

"Please call me Cheryl. Millie, you're not to blame. The only thing he bought me was a rose. I know he spent a lot of money on our date, but by then I was so turned on that he could have taken me to a burger joint and a cheap motel. What happened was all on him and me."

"No, Cheryl. He has an accounting firm, but it's losing money. It seems he has been spending more time chasing women than chasing business. He's been using my money to keep it afloat, and to fund his activities. If I had cut him loose, he would be too busy to romance so many women.

"But the main reason I came here was to talk to you. I had a visit from your husband. I had a long talk with him and he shared those horrible conversations he recorded. So, I have both his story and my husband's. I'd like to hear from you. I think it would help both of us to talk about it. Please, Cheryl, be completely open with me. Seymour said that the night he spent with you was the best sex he ever had. From his description, I imagine that it seemed that way to you too, at the time, at least. I'm going to divorce Seymour no matter what, so be honest. What are your feelings toward him now?"

I struggle with my thoughts, and then decide to stop overthinking and just say whatever pops into my head. "Millie I won't deny I still have feelings for 'Reynaldo.' I had such strong feelings for him that I can't just turn them all off, no matter what my brain says. And, yes, the sex was terrific.

"Bob doesn't know this, but he took my virginity. Until last month, he was the only man I had ever had. Sex with Bob was always warm and loving. I had such intense feelings whenever we made love. Of course, after a few years, it became a little routine. I began to think our sex wasn't hitting the high notes. I had nothing to compare it to except my novels. But sex with Bob was always special. It was on a whole different level from the rutting I did with Seymour. When Bob was inside me, I felt like I was his whole world. Sometimes, it was like he was gazing into my soul. Even now, thinking about Bob making love to me makes me shiver."

I reach for a tissue from the box on the coffee table, and dab at my eyes. "I keep a box or two in every room in the house. I've been using them a lot lately."

Millie takes a tissue and wipes her own tears. She sighs, and says, "I never felt that way with Seymour, or anyone else. I hope some day I can experience that kind of love."

My heart breaks again as I think of what I threw away. I take a deep breath, and continue, "Millie, that slut in the hotel room was never me. It certainly sounded like I was making love to him, and maybe some part of me was. I was acting out of years of romance novels, weeks of anticipation and sheer animal lust. I knew I was being naughty, so I did naughty things a good wife would never do. I would never see him again, and that added to the urgency and allowed me to really let go. I didn't do anything that I hadn't done with Bob, but with Bob it was always tender, while with Seymour it was frenzied. I guess it did hit some high notes, but after listening to him describing it, I realized that he didn't do anything special. The high notes were all coming from me, and I could just as easily have hit them with Bob, if I had only tried.

"I've been seeing a psychiatrist. I've only had three sessions so far, but I understand that what I felt was self-delusion. All of it. I had immersed myself in those damned bodice-rippers. If the heroine is married at the beginning, then she is married to a cold, unfeeling, inattentive brute. I conditioned myself to see Bob that way, at least a little. But looking back, I realized that he was warm, loving and romantic. He was totally devoted to me, and, while I loved him, I didn't really see that.

"If Bob never takes me back, I will curse the day Seymour came into my life. But if I can have Bob fully in my life again, I will bless that day. Because I was living in a dream world. Seymour, or I should say, Reynaldo, pushed me into it so hard I came out on the other side into reality. It was a painful lesson, but my blindness had kept me from being completely happy. Now I realize what a wonderful man Bob really is, and how much happier I could have been if I had only seen that.

"My goal now is to become the kind of woman Bob could love. Then if I ever get the chance, I would spend each day making him see that I cherish him for who he is and what he does. I would make sure he would never have a minute's regret that he took me back. I know I would be the happiest woman on Earth."

"Cheryl, what I can't understand is why you tried to have a baby with 'Reynaldo'. How could you have wanted to betray Bob so badly?"

I let the tears stream down my cheeks. "I could say that I didn't mean to hurt Bob, but the truth is I didn't think about him at all.

"When Seymour came to me that first day, he looked so much like the character in my book, I figured I could have a little fun pretending. I thought I'd never see him again. I was so happy when he came back a couple of days later, and I could keep role-playing. Seymour was so subtle that I never felt he was leading me -- I felt I was in complete control. During those lunches, I was in another world; I was the star of a play where Bob was only a bit player. Everything was going according to the script, so I knew how it would end. The book made it seem that the most romantic thing a woman could do was to have her lover's child. The therapist is trying to see how I could have gotten so far removed from reality, but even he can't understand it.

"When I came home after my date and Bob confronted me, my first reactions were confusion and anger. The bit player had suddenly broken character and started yelling at the star! I tried to tell him that it was only a fantasy, and it had nothing to do with us. It was only after he left and I listened to his voicemails that I understood what I had done. I had cheated on my husband! Then I heard Seymour bragging about this slut he was going to bang and I realized what a stupid, stupid fool I had been."

Millie shakes her head at that. "Bob told me that he might have been able to forgive the sex, but trying to get pregnant by another man! After that, and everything else you did that you never did with Bob, do you honestly think Bob will ever come back to you?"

I put my head in my hands and sob. Finally, I regain control, and look up at her. "No," I whisper.

Millie takes my hand, and says, "When I told Seymour I was divorcing him, he told me that the night he spent with you changed his life. He said you were the only woman he had ever loved, and for you he would remain faithful. He told me he was going to ask you to marry him."

I laugh through my tears. "Millie, please. Maybe in the world of romantic novels my heart would be doing flip-flops. But I don't live there anymore, and I threw away all those novels. I heard what he told his friends. Seymour will always be a self-centered bastard. Even if he just said, 'Let's go back to that hotel and fuck,' I wouldn't do it, even if I knew Bob would never take me back, or even find out. Seymour is not Reynaldo. I never had any feelings at all for Seymour, and I will never make love to a mere fantasy again. I know there is almost no chance that I can ever be with Bob again. But however small that chance is, I'll wait."

"Well, he talked me into asking you if you would see him again. He followed me here and he's waiting outside your door. He's very handsome, and you admitted that he gave you some great sex. You know how persuasive he can be. I think you should at least give him a chance, if only to see how you really feel. After all, you're all alone now, and he did persuade you once before. Shall I let him in?"

"Damn you. Millie! I never want to see that bastard again." I stand up and take a deep breath. "Alright, maybe there are some things I want to say, but promise me you'll stay right here. I want you to listen to what I tell him, and then make sure he leaves."

She opens the door and he walks in. Suddenly, I forget everything I was going to say. I lose all power of speech as I look at his handsome face, his muscular body, and I gaze into eyes I thought I would never see again. He smiles at me and says, "Hello, Cheryl."

"Bob," I croak.

Millie bursts out laughing. "Why, who did you think I meant?

"Actually, Cheryl, Seymour did tell me that you had changed his life. You proved to him that he could seduce married women without spending a lot of money. I'm afraid he'll continue his philandering ways. Despite my promises, I think I'll leave you two alone. Goodbye, Cheryl."

She gives me a hug, and then throws her arms around Bob and gives him a big kiss. "Goodbye, Bob. I know it may take a while, but stick with it. She's worth it." She's still chuckling as she walks out the door.

I'm frozen in place, unable to move. "Bob, I..."

"Hush," he says, and opens his arms. I fly into them and hug him as tightly as I can, as he caresses my back. We stand there for several minutes while I sob into his shoulder.

Finally, I look up, and he says, "Let's sit down."

He leads me to the sofa, and I hold his hand tightly, as if he would disappear if I let go. He says, "First, let me tell you that I was on the phone with Millie the whole time she was here. I heard everything you said. It was her idea. You see, my biggest problem with you is trust.

"For two months you had a secret relationship that you knew was wrong. When you told me you had a yeast infection, I brought you flowers, remember? You thanked me, looked me in the eye and told me you loved me, even as you were planning to screw another man. For a week, everybody in your office knew how excited you were about your date, but I never had a clue.

"Millie thought you would be more likely to open up to her. After all, you had no reason to lie to her, and you were sisters in misery -- you had both been deceived by the same man. Also, I didn't think you would be as forthcoming with me. You would try to spin it, either to make yourself look good or to spare my feelings.

"I think that it's going to take us a long while. You did so many things with him that you never did with me. Not just in the hotel and in the park, where you let out your inner slut. You bought a sexy new dress and took an afternoon off so you could look extra special for him. You might have done that if we were going to a party, but did you ever do it just for me? When I took you to a restaurant, you were annoyed that I tried to buy you a flower, but he said you almost came in your panties when he did. And worst of all, I've been wanting to have kids, and you've always said you weren't ready. But you were ready for him. What does that do to my self-esteem -- my own wife was doing so many things to please a relative stranger that she wouldn't do to please me. I'm willing to make an effort with you, but I have grave doubts it will work. Are you willing to give it a shot?"

"Oh, God, YES! A thousand times yes! Honey, I've had long talks with Jim and Susan. They helped me see what a damned bitch I've been. You did so many things to make me feel special, and I never realized just how special that was! I don't know if they told you, but Reynaldo took me to the same restaurant where you took me to celebrate my promotion. For him, I bought a new dress, had my hair and nails done; I let him valet park and buy me a rose. For you, I did none of these things. You tried to make it special, and I treated it like it was ordinary. My ho-hum attitude ruined what could have been a magical night for both of us. Honey, this stupid bitch has learned her lesson. If I ever get the chance, I will treat everything you do for me as something precious. I'll make you feel that you are as special to me as I once was to you."

By now, I'm crying so hard I can't go on. Bob hands me the box of tissues, and I blow my nose in a very unladylike way. Finally, I manage to calm myself enough to go on. "Susan also told me what she did to get Jim to accept her again. The most important thing was to promise to always tell the whole truth, even if it would hurt him. I would like to make you that promise. No more lies, half-truths or omissions.