Selfish Yvonne

In some ways if felt like we were back in high school, except that we were more mature and didn't have to sneak around.

It was a short engagement and a small wedding, but the honeymoon was spectacular. We went to a clothing-optional resort, and took full advantage of that option. It did cut down on the number of pictures we took, but we had other things on our mind than photography.

I didn't get a large amount of alimony, which stopped once I married Rob, anyway. A good portion of my share of the house went to our honeymoon, the rest towards our house. It wasn't as nice as the one Adam and I had, but it was our love nest and we were happy.

At first, it was all that we dreamed of back in high school, but after a couple of years we settled into a bit of a routine. We were struggling a bit, Rob didn't make as much as Adam, but we were in love, and we were happy.

One Saturday while Rob was at work, I was puttering around the house when I had a realization: My marriage was "comfortable."

I was confused. Where did the passion go? I tried to "spice" things up, with naughty nighties and some new positions, and while it helped, soon we were back in our old routines.

I thought about talking to Rob, but he seemed happy and content, how could I tell him that I didn't feel the hot passion anymore?

There was only one person I could think of to talk to: Adam.

To say that he was surprised to hear from me is the understatement of the year, but he agreed to meet with me, though he made it clear that if I had any ulterior motives he'd be out of there in a heartbeat.

When I got there, Adam had my favorite drink all ready for me. I sat down and he just smiled at me. I could see that he wasn't going to make it easy for me.

"Adam, when I . . . when I left you to be with Rob, it was so exciting. It was almost like we were back in high school. I'm sorry to say that it was what I missed when I was with you."

Adam just frowned and let me continue.

"As time went by, things cooled off. We were still in love, but the passion, the lust was gone. It felt sort of like it felt with you before Rob came back . . ."

Adam actually laughed.

"Why are you laughing?"

"You really don't see it, do you?" he said.

"See what?"

"When I met you, when I fell in love with you, I felt that passion, but you never did, did you?"

I could only shake my head.

"My love matured as we grew together, and I got comfortable with our love, but that's how yours started. You never felt a passion for me, you were always just "comfortable." You were still hung up on your teen-age infatuation. Nobody can maintain that level of passion for an extended period of time. All love, if it is true, becomes comfortable over time."

"But that means that I left you for nothing," I cried. "I could have stayed with you, saved you all that pain."

He just patted my hands.

"It wasn't for nothing," he said. "You may have been comfortable, but you weren't truly happy. If you had been, even Rob couldn't have taken you away.

"Go to Rob, show him how much you love him, yes, show him how comfortable you are in his arms."

I was tearing up, so Adam got up and gave me a big hug and kissed me on my forehead.

"You're a pretty special guy, Adam. I'm just sorry I didn't recognize it sooner."

"You're a special woman, too. Now go to your husband before he wonders where you are."

"Don't worry about that, I'm going to show him just how special he is to me."

We hugged once more, and I went back to my comfortable marriage.

You know, comfortable is a pretty nice place to be.