All Comments on 'Separating Factors'

Story idea: Good. Dialogue: between husband and wife not good. Story although about adults seemed like it was about grade schoolers. Work on your dialogue.

The dialogue sounds like adolescence! Instead of sounding like the mature, successful business man he is, he sounds more like a 15 year old.

Anonymous made the comment about him wondering how she would get relief instead of why she wanted the separation, which was a good observation! He certainly didn't sound very mature there. The whole thing seems implausible.

Your comment is Pretty much a stupid, unrealistic bitching and crying from the asshole of LIT! Dear Annony!

The wife asks for a separation out of the clear blue sky and the husband barely asks why. Instead, he's more concerned about what the wife will do for "relief" during the separation. Really? That's his main concern? He doesn't feel the need press his wife as to why she feels they have to separate? Totally unrealistic story, and for that matter, dialog.

From reading dozens of comments that were almost as long as the story.

Enjoyed your tale, however I have never understood how being separated and only seeing each other a couple of hours every month did any relationship any good

I would of filed for divorce as-soon-as she left to find herself. Going to find oneself is about as-stupid-as it gets.

For Paige to separate from Carl without telling him why is so incredibly stupid. Every husband deserves to know why his marriage is having trouble. How did she become so clueless, thinking that spending *six months* apart would help?

She's dating and fucking around. He can't possibly do anything but divorce her. And you want to blame her actions on him! What a joke. God awful ending.

Neighbors, Co-workers, friends, and even family cause more divorces than they help to strengthen marriages. And the important thing to remember is the people who are doling out marital advice are not licensed professionals, they do not stand to lose a thing if your marriage deteriorates. No one but you and your husband stood before a clergyman or justice of the peace in front of family and friends and shared the vows you expressed before God to your husband nor did they share in his vows before God to you. In short, anyone but your husband is only a troublemaker. You should not be sharing private information about you and your husband to others. Would you like it if every old boyfriend sat down with your husband and told him every tiny little detail of your time with them?

Is a brained moron. If that is how you would go about things you are a zero and deserve what ever happens to you. Why did brother have to see to the investigation. It was his job as soon as she gave him the name on their date. Hell as stupid as he is she sold dump him for someone with half a brain.

hubby is a moron and a wimp. wife is as dumb as a post and makes zero sense. great story.

As someone else said, the guy should have stayed living in his mother's basement. Husband? Jerk!

Carl should of just divorced her as-soon-as she left to go find herself..what a fool.

She wants a separation to screw someone else then he needs to divorce her.

The way you wrote this makes me feel so so about taking her back.

Married that long and instead of talking, and refusing counseling, she moves out?

She forgets her husband date?

She agrees to dating the guy.

She sits there and allows the guy to fondle her in public, doesnt jump up, scream, etc?

Sure sounds bad.

Real serial cheating wife exposed on Facebook profile of dearbornmt@yahoo.com.

Married college instructor in Helena Montana has affair after affair and refuses to stop. Husband knows does nothing.

She lost teaching position because of Facebook details.

She coerced married male student to have sex. At the time her pursuit began she was seeing at least two other men

He was pathetic. The answer to "I want a separation and I refuse to talk to my spouse, or to seek counseling" is "You can't have a separation, but here's a divorce." If that doesn't wake up your spouse, it's already over.

And why the fuck would you fight for a spouse who won't fight for your marriage ?

Carl should have gone ahead with the charge of sexual assault on his wife by the boyfriend. That would allow him to sue him and the company in civil court for sexual harassment. No jury would have convicted Carl of assault for defending her. Carl told him to stop but the boyfriend slandered him in front of everyone in the restaurant. The boyfriend actually propagated the fight by his continuing banter.

Her flat out refusal to even TRY counseling is a huge red flag.

And her reluctance to make it a legal separation is very suspicious, I’m surprised she went along with it!

Had her changed attitude (I assume she’d brighten up?) when talking about the owner’s sun is MORE than a red flag, it’s alarm bells!

“I wish I had never moved out. – So move back!

As she herself says, when the people at work started bad-mouthing her husband and marriage, she should have spoken up and straightened them out!

And how an intelligent(?) 21st century woman couldn't know that she had a sexual harassment case when the owner's son threatened her job if she didn't date him baffles me!

While I'm happy it turned out well, at the beginning he should have given her 3 choices:

1) TALK to him about what she sees as their problems.

2) Counseling.

3) Divorce

versus enemies and self help. TK U MLJ LV NV

"Nah, let's just file for divorce." Either the vows you took matter, or they don't.

As for this stupid bint, she already broke her "word" when she dated. Story's over, close the book for God's sake!

What did she do? Park her ass in her lover's bed and then take her tits to the market? She's a lying, cheating slut. No way to take her back. Just file for divorce. Its coming sooner or later. What wife needs her husband to beat on another man to be sure he loves her? What is she? A cave woman? Too damn funny and not good.

wimp that shoulda stayed home with his mother, rather than marry another woman.

If a wife asks for a separation then obviously she is not fully committed to her marriage. The husband should simply tell her so and explain that since she is no longer committed to the marriage that the best thing to do is end it before either of them do any more damage than has already been done. This will save pain and heartache all around. Harsh, perhaps so, but it's better than taking a chance that someone will end up physically hurt or even dead because the wife wants to be free from the marriage even though she wants to maintain the illusion that the marriage still exists. In reality all she is doing is keeping the marriage as a fallback option in case whatever she has planned falls through. If someone has time and money to burn then they can go to counselling or sit back and hope that they get through whatever the problems are, but even if they do the husband will always have doubts unless he is totally stupid. If so then he deserves all the pain and suffering that lie in wait for him. Better to just end it clean before it becomes crapped on beyond repair.

My ex wife asked me for a separation years ago. I told her fine, we'd separate if that was what she really wanted. She said she needed time to herself before we started our family. No problem I answered, especially after I learned she was already packed and had a place to stay. It was like a piece of me would be torn away but she was adamant. She swore it was temporary and she would be back soon.

She moved out, not realizing she wasn't going to come back. Hell, I didn't realize it yet either. We rented our place, having been married only 4 years and still didn't have that much stuff. I moped, not leaving the house except to work and then returned home. I'll admit, beer was my companion every night, I just couldn't bare sitting around at night, all alone. Everything changed when I got a call from my buddy, a guy I worked with.

He was at a restaurant, where he and his wife, along with me and mine, had went out to many times. The problem was, they were there, so was my wife and she was with another man. And, it seemed as thought they were very huggie feelie. Doug thought I should drive over and see for myself. Well, unfortunately for my marriage, I did. Walking in, I found my friends and sat at their table. From there, they pointed out where my wife and her date were sitting and were entirely correct, it was much more than any wife should do.

While I sat there, they actually fed each other food. Ellie was laughing and really having a good time. When they kissed, I almost died. It was't just a kiss, it was the kiss of lovers. My heart sank and I knew my marriage was history. The longer I sat there, the worse it got. Finally, I watched as one of his hands went below the table and there was no resistance at all. Oh, I couldn't see her legs spread or anything but when his hand hit the mother lode, there was no doubt. None at all, even my buddy was embarrassed.

It was funny, not laugh funny but strange funny. I knew my wife, knew everything about her and especially as she began to rise toward her orgasm. And I watched it play out right in front of me, from a short distance away. Perhaps the best thing happened after I watched another man watch her orgasm. Her eyes closed as she rode the wave and stayed closed until it was totally over. And when she opened them, she was looking directly into my eyes from across the room. I stood, stared at her for only a moment and then left. I would guess she knew we were over the moment her eyes opened.

Heading home I locked the doors, put chairs under the knobs and retired to the bedroom after unplugging the phone. I heard her banging on the doors, but ignored her. With a whiskey bottle in the room with me, I eventually passed out. I woke up Sunday, the next morning, with a massive headache. After using the bathroom, I looked around downstairs and saw no sigh of Ellie either inside or out. But the minute I plugged the phone in, it began to ring. Not thinking, probably thinking it was Doug, I answered it. The moment I heard Ellie's voice, I hung up and unplugged it again.

She was at the house within minutes. With a garage, she couldn't tell if I was there and went from window to window, looking for me. I ignored her and took another nap, I had a lot of work ahead and knew exactly what I was going to do. Parked in the attached garage was my 1972 Chevy pickup, only 10 years old at the time, with a canopy and only 30K miles on it. When I woke up I could find no signs of Ellie still being around.

I started packing. Yep, I packed everything I owned and I'm ashamed to say, everything I wanted fit in the bed of my truck. It was stuffed, from side to side and top to bottom, from front to back. But it all fit. I was done by three a.m. on Monday morning. I took a nap on the sofa and waited until I was rested. Then I drove to work, quit and got my final paycheck. Afterward, I stopped by my landlords house and gave him back my key and told him we were moving out. He was sad to see us go, the old duffer used to love to come over and beat my ass in chess.

Before I left town I had two more things to do. I stopped by Doug's house and gave his wife money to pay Doug to empty out our rental, taking everything to Ellie's parents house. She promised he would do it that night after work, she would help him. Cashing my check at our bank, I took that $750 and $1000 of the $2500 we had in savings. At the outskirts of Mobile Alabama, I decided to point my truck north. As I drove past our old house to leave town, I saw Ellie standing at the front door, peering in the windows, trying to see if I was there. My Chevy had a very distinct sound to its exhaust and when I drove past, she heard it. Running out, she attempted to stop me but I kept going.

Within a few minutes, I saw her old Volkswagen Bug in my rear view mirror and her flashing her headlights and honking the horn. I ignored her and just pressed a bit on the throttle, turning loose just a little more of that big 327 V8. On the interstate I was traveling 80mph and watched over the miles, Ellie dropping further behind. You see, I'd drove it many times and knew it's top speed was about 76mph. Besides, I had two tanks that each held 28 gallons and wasn't going to have to stop for many miles. Once she wasn't in my rear view mirror, I slowed down until I was doing about 65, for best gas mileage. Soon enough, in my rear view mirror, I watched as she caught up.

I guess you could call it a race. The ending wasn't in question because each time she tried to pass me, I just sped up until I was doing at least 77mph. Eventually, what I expected happened and I watched as suddenly she began to drop back, having run out of gas. Backing back to 65, I cruised on and I'll admit straight out, I cried. I cried a lot.

A week later I had a job in Eastern Montana on a wheat farm. Having run machinery my entire life, along with being a pretty good welder, I was hired on the spot. For better money than I'd ever made before! On top of that, they had free housing and if I wanted, free board too! Most of the time, I ate with the rest of the hands.

I worked there for 4 years before I got a call saying my mom was sick and if I wanted to see her, I needed to get back to Mobile. Being the offseason, I got the time off and hurried back to my hometown. Mom was bad, having suffered a stroke and I never got to talk to her, she died in her sleep, having never woke up. Sitting in my parents house, I wasn't surprised to hear a knock on the door and answered it. There stood Ellie. I guess she had heard I was back in town. She asked to come in and I simply closed the door and walked back to sit with my Dad. Ellie found me the next time at the service. Thankfully she had a modicum of decorum and left me alone until it was over. Instead, she cornered me at my folks house afterward, during the dinner.

She apologized, although I refused to speak to her. Saying she should have never left, she began to cry. My dad was there and he was angry with me for not interacting with her and began to read me the riot act, telling me life was short and you never knew when someone was going to be gone forever. I looked at him and said "Dad, I know exactly what you're saying. My wife died in front of my eyes the moment I saw her kiss another man and he put his hands down her pants and give her an orgasm in a public place."

Now, dad had no idea what had happened and was openly shocked. My ex wife burst into tears and continued to say how sorry she was. Finally I broke my vow of silence and asked her the one question every man would want to know. "Ellie, did you sleep with him?" She dropped her eyes and I had my answer. My dad asked her to leave and she did, almost in hysterics.

The next day I saw her again. She was walking down the street, holding the hand of a little boy. Stopping by Doug's house, I learned Ellie had no where to go, when her parents learned what she'd done, they refused to let her come home. In desperation, she moved in with the guy I had saw her with. As far as they knew, I was still married to her. She lived with him for about a year, until in a fit of rage, he beat the hell out of her, although she was pregnant. Not only did she almost die, but they barely saved the baby who was born minutes after she was admitted. Her boyfriend was sentence to 7 years and had been released in 3. It wasn't until right before I left, Doug's wife clued me in. Apparently they had terrible arguments, always about me. He wanted her to divorce me and marry him, while she said she still loved me and would never divorce me. Ellie and Doug's wife, Barb, were still good friends, although not as good as before.

The next day, I stopped by a lawyer and signed everything I could, left him most of my savings and he promised to have Ellie served and would send me the final paperwork. Well, somehow, Ellie found out where I lived and after refusing to sign the papers, showed up in my new town (pop 156) and found a place to leave. Not only that, she found a job in the only store in town. Now, almost 20 years later, she still lives in the same rental, works the same job and lives alone now. Her son has left for college and she spends time with her new friends.

Did we get back together? Nope. I still haven't talked to her. Oh, I've shopped where she works, thousands of times and yes, she's waited on me. And yes, she talks to me each time, telling me about her life and how much she loves me, every single time. We're still married and no, we haven't had sex. As far as I know, she doesn't and hasn't had a boyfriend, although I don't pay much attention. My sex life? Very good. I have a long term girlfriend that yes, Ellie knows about, and we live together. I'd love to marry her but I guess it'll never happen, Ellie refuses to divorce me. So we've lived in sin, had bastard children and now they all three are in high school.

Weird how life can be sometimes....

The end while ok didnt mesh well with the story.

She was a picture of someone that didnt love her husband.

Ignored him, refused counseling, ruined the dates, when on dates with someone else.

and a 6 month separation?

No thats the same as wanting a divorce.

No guy would have tolerated all that disrespect and abuse.

Thanks for sharing.

and wife comes back and later find out wifer has not been pure as the driven snow... secrets will leak out... 4 stars because a lot of us have been here

Are NEVER about 'Finding yourself', they are a selfish person's way to see what else is available, while having that faithful safety net waithing back at home, just in case. When things are gone to the point of wanting a separation, it means that they already have no love for you, and don't give a shit about you or your feelings. At that point, all they care about is themselves. What kind of rationale thinks that being apart, and not communicating at all, is the best way to work on a relationship? It's like trying to fix your car engine by parking it in the next street, and steadfastly refusing to work on it, or let anyone else check on it either!

That is why a 'Trial separation' is merely an excuse to cheat, without that pesky conscience interfering.

When she says 'I want a separation', the correct response is 'Fine, try the rest of our lives, because I want a divorce!' See how many still push for that separation!

No way a husband would accept a 6 month separation just like that. Only see each other once a month??? Come on not at all credible!

who is scared to live on earth without the stupid bitch he wants to be cucked by.

1 star

realizing there exists wimps like this cucky wimpy carly girly boy

but no need to write the auto-bios

If she has issues in her marriage, she has to share them with her husband. She cannot just say she has issues, and refuse to let him know what they are. How about his issues, such as his wife not returning home in three months. This story was well told, but I have a hard time believing the character of the wife has any love for her husband, as she seems to demonstrate a complete lack of empathy. She says otherwise, but words, actions, and all that.

What a complete and utter moron. She moves out, you move on. He should have put the house up for sale, closed all the accounts and looked for either a job transfer or a new job, far, far away. Who needs to stay with a woman that doesn't love you and obviously thinks so little of you that she moves out? What a completely moronic story. No stars.

Why couldn't she at least tell him what was bothering her to the extent she felt she needed to separate to work on it?

And when she said she had resolved some issues, why keep them secret, let him know what she has learned.

A great story until the last few paragraphs, where you substituted in a different wife for the one that had been ignoring her husband for a number of months. She was so extremely self-centered, and despite protestations otherwise, couldn't have felt much for her husband to treat him like she did. I think after month three at the latest, the husband should have filed - and told her that the clock was ticking and she was running out of time. Her cancelling their date to go out with the boss' son would have been the final straw. Great story until the final few paragraphs, where it became average. I simply cannot believe anything she is saying at the end after her actions.

the unknown "X factor" leaves them in a muddle, TK U MLJ LV NV

of bandwidth, writing about two morons. they do deserve each other,

1 star

this really sucked big time. C2c you need to consider writing other types of stories.

Now I'm curious. How did you get from "better off to be rid of her" to "he lived in paranoid misery and died bitter"? My point was that, without much discussion, his wife announced she wanted a separation and moved out. She obviously had given her actions a lot of thought since she already had a place to move into. Their "dates" had gone badly and he was "frustrated and lost". At that point in the story, it was clear that his wife was an egocentric, self-centered woman that only cared about her own feelings and clearly had little regard for her husband. He then got the PI report and I felt/feel that he should have gone to his lawyer, enforced their agreement, divorced her and moved on with his life. Moving on should have included finding a woman that might actually love and respect him, someone he could grow old with and enjoy his well earned retirement. You, Mr User110, got to miserable all by yourself.

how do you read 'Paige and I are doing lots better' and 'just sometimes; things left alone do work out in the end,'

and interpret that as 'his marriage was over' and 'Better to be rid of her than to be constantly wondering when the next shoe was going to drop?'

it's obvious that the marriage WASN'T over nor was he worrying himself bald. so i just don't see how you get "he lived in paranoid misery and died bitter" from "and they lived happily ever after." not rationally anyway.

Carl made a bad decision. If you can't communicate in your marriage, it's dead. When she announced she wanted a separation and moved out, she obviously had it all thought out well in advance. She had a place all set to go. This alone should have told him his marriage was over. She's not talking and she's moving out. He should have taken the PI's report and filed for divorce using their agreement. Better to be rid of her than to be constantly wondering when the next shoe was going to drop. Well written story, but poor ending given the circumstances set forth in the story.

When you love someone it is a slippery slope.

He was a bit of a wimp. It took his brother to send out the PI. It won't work. Get the lawyers ready.

yuk

"Carl...cool off...chill out. You have to let her decide who it is she wants to be with."

This is the stupidest statement anyone could have come up with. She made that decision when they were married; it is not something you get a do over for. This is infidelity what the word actually means not sex which is just the act that unveils the infidelity.

"No, it's all asshole's fault Paige. He shouldn't have been trying to cop a feel of you in a public place like that"

This is another load of bullshit statement. Last I checked he was married to her and therefore the fact that his wife is out on a date with someone else is her fault and not her dates.

"No. But I accepted a date with him when I already had one with you. There was no excuse for that. None whatsoever."

The wife seems to understand the situation better than her brain dead husband does. She knows she has been unfaithful and that there is no excuse for it. Yet in his ever stupid need to feel wanted he is willing to let the disrespect slide and lies to himself that it is somehow anyone's fault but her's.

This story is sophistry at best and that is why it only scores ***. It is a good cautionary tale about how not to be a wimp it is sad that that was not the intent of the author.

the making of a cuck wimp here, to my great dissapointment.

Highly wimpish. That says it all.

another month and she would have had her legs up in the air and cheated....dump her ass

I need time is just a fucking excuse for women or men that ask for it to fuck around. She didn't respect him or love him she went back on her wedding vows.

I learned Carl a wimp ass fucker to put up with that shirt for more than 3months fronm a fucked up wife. If he had left her alon she surely would have l;et tha other dicke head stick his cock in her shott his sperm in her and knock her up. Really Carlold she isn't worth keeping

misconceptions and lifes, get what they deserved. TK U MLJ LV NV

I was worried it would end up in the shit,nice

i realized it was part my fault. Oh, was that because you never asked her what was going on? Or didnt offer to go to counseling with her? Or was it you that walked in announced you wanted six months out of your married life and had already rented an apartment before you told her anything? Or was it you what took your secretary to lunch and out to a restaurant and were feeling her up in public? Might be more believable if the wife had got up from the table after having her married body man handled in a public place but she didnt she stayed there and even saying no let his hands get in towards her crotch. Finally, as some have indicated, why be married to such a dumb broad in the first place? She did break the deal and he should have divorced her right after his hearing and the charges were dismissed, almost as fair as what she did to him!

up until the end. Wow, this story went from a 5 to a 1 in just a few short paragraphs. He was very clear about her expected behavior and consequences in their agreement. Her conduct (beyond the original baffling separation) illustrated how little respect she had for their marriage. She will never be a devoted, loyal wife.

a strong man would have left the resturant went to his lawyers office and filed for divorce. She put off an date with her husband for another man and he forgives her. Nope dump the bitch and move on.

buh-bye.

she was stupid and easy led.if he got rich,she would loose it.

LET ME GO LOVER, just say OK and leave. No matter what will or did happen, the problems still all inside your head (50 ways and more) TK U MLJ LV NV

Strong man! Wonderful Couple!

I think this was a very well told story of a couple who were happy and got confused. Its called the real world people. Its not Jerry Springer or some supposed reality show. Its how a lot of real people act and feel. Great Job.

is right, she wanted strange cock = SLUT!

two fucking stupid scumbags that should just be shot and taken out of the gene pool. Curious2c... if this is your idea of married people... what a sad and pathetic life you must have.

It's a story.

Personally, you wrote it well and he tried everything in conversation with her to keep her home. The end for me started when she already had rented a place. The separation papers worked but I don't think most guys would go 3-6 months.

Yes, you painted him as a real man, loving, caring and trying to be patient - but, this was ridiculous, she was cold, she is attractive and he knew she would be asked out. I would have tailed her immediately, not out of trust but to keep my sanity to give her what she wanted and hope to hell she didn't go out.

So, good story but tough to go along with - but...Good.

either curious2c is a cuckold, or a woman. People get divorced for less than half of what she did. And for some reason men try and make excuses for the woman. Females arent as weak and docile and men make them out to be. She wasn't worried about her husband on the date, also why defend her. She choose to be there, let him take care of her ass and move on.

You did a nice build up and discussion and then took the whole thing and ended it in 4 paragraphs.

It wants better closure.

Prior to the wife walking out. what did she state. No dating on either side. some of you fucking idiot writers need to proof read your stupid stories.

A decent story. I'm not sure what some of these people are reading.

Okay, the wife screwed up by moving out and not going to counseling with hubby. But the STORY clearly stated that she was not planning on dating, was starting to realize her mistake and only reluctantly accepted the date.

The date was a big mistake also and she was regretting it while she was with the guy AND she warded off all of his attempted groping. Whatever her errors, she had not left with the intention of cheating!

The story would be better if instead of pounding the asshole, he simply let her see him and then say "I'll be filing for divorce in the morning so feel free to fuck your new friend. And, don't call me, call my lawyer. We're DONE."

It was an interesting scenario but he should have just let her go. She didn't love him enough not to talk down about him to her friends and she didn't respect him enough or even have the courage to talk to him about her problems. She comes back to him after she embarrassed both of them and after he had gotten thrown in jail for trying to protect her. She betrayed him even if she didn't have sex with anyone else. These "marriage sabbatical" plotlines are always galling as hell to me. He should have left her with her friends and her freedom and gotten on with his life.

no wonder that the yanks have been rogered by gooks, japs, chinks, ragheads. the yank men are such wimps. the ragheads are so much smarter, they handle four wives with ease and the yanks can't even maintain the exclusivity of one single pussy!!

What a pathetic, passive, weak, jerk the author created out of his autobiographical storehouse. Was a struggle just to finish the story, wondering if somehow he'd pull out something intelligent, but it was not to be. The author has a poor handle on what love is in his stories and thinks that just declaring it makes it so. I guess this was supposed to be a morality tale with the male the self righteous hero. Instead the hubby was a passive jerk who did nothing to correct the situation. How many times do LW authors have to pervert the idea of "letting the spouse decide on their own?" The better stories have the two working together on demons or situations, rather than this unexplained, contrived wife being selfish.

but, if I haven't, I don't have the time and energy to do so now.

The whole problem in this story could have been negated with one very simple little thought...communication. Communication is the key to keep every thing in this world running smoothly. Whether it be between two nations, or just two friends or lovers (ie. husbands and wives). If instead of listening to her coworkers (big mistake), she listened to her husband everythig would have been great between them. The coworkers are not truly involved, and they should not be, in the heart to heart decisions between two people. Thier information is, at best, second hand or even incomlete and scewed, or colored by thier own past experiences. Communication and truth in many marriages today could lower the divorce rate by quite a few percentage points, besides putting a few blood sucking lawyers out of business (can always hope).

I might look at things a little different. There are a few things in life that should go the way they are supposed to go. Like some of the stories on this site where the boy and girl are each others first love. There are many things to look forward to. The first kiss, the first make out session, and the first sex. The key word is "first". Irreplaceable is another word that fits. A wife allowing another man to be the first at another is something that can't be taken back. Can she back time up and allow her husband to the first to have her ass after she has already given it to another. NO! In this story, my point has to do with time. She put him through hell. He felt abandoned and had to be questioning his manhood. Don't tell me his ego wasn't bruised too. But more importantly, he lost 6 months of his life. Time that can't be replaced. Experiences that would have happened that didn't. She need the time to determine who and what was important her. For her the time was somewhat useful. But he sat in limbo. I would have a great problem with that part of this. I'd have to do something for myself to help me feel better about myself. But this guy just sats there and waits for her to make up her mind. Love must be really bind, but does it have to make you stupid too?

And for the record, their agreement was that they wouldn't date. Just another way he let her off the hook.

c2c,

Great tale telling. He knew she was one of the "good ones" and his brother helped confirm it! Really enjoyed the charactors defining/explaining their feelings as you built the charactors frame of mind. You did not allow them to be shallow. You gave the readers all needed to enjoy the story.

Thanks for the Story..

xtremedd

I agree with other comments generally. Especially with the fact you make the husbands all wimps! He should have divorced her after the first month! She just listens to co-workers and lets them disrespect and demean him? She does not want to even date him weekly after dumping him? No sex?

A husband deserves sex with his wife doesn't he? I am convinced that she would have had sex with others before the six-month period was up... She violated her agreement not to date during their separation and was the second good reason to divorce her! Her job was more important to her than her husband? So...where was there any love for her husband? She couldn't attend marriage counseling with her husband and solved her lack of attention problems? She may not have screwed around in this story but she still cheated on her husband by removing all attention and love her husband deserved! That makes him a sorry wimp because he still wanted her back after all that! Even she stated that she thought he would divorce her after her date and what she had done! Whats with you?

Your stories are continually disappointing. The women are stupid and the men are without balls. I shall not read any thing else that you write.

Enjoyed story. The advice they got was all too rotten. The problem here of course was no true communication. The trouble with finding oneself is that you have to first surgically cut the 2 person team, who are bonded in matrimony for better or worse, in two. That leaves you both weak and vulnerable. Followed by the comment, "It's not you, it's me", which means more often than not, it's you and I am not going to talk about it. The advice from the brother didn't seem right. He got a P.I. for him who advised, "don't do anything until it happens or you'll be chasing wolves away for life". That is a bunch of crap. If the wolves know that they won't be walking or breathing right if they mess with his wife, they won't be as tempted to mess with her or him. And his brother held him back from doing anything at the restaurant. Any man who loved his wife would have done the same to that creep that hubby did. Women like this should learn to stand by your man and both men and women should not take whatever their so called friends say as gospel. And don't let them run down your mate.

No wonder she wanted a man.

Another man stupid enough to put up with dumb $--- from a woman... Kick her to the curb is what he should be doing.

and she is one stupid slut wife. Why do your stories always have the slut wife come back under the famous "reconciliation at any costs" concept. It would make one wonder if all these males in your stories are insecure & have these sadistic need to allow the slut wife(s) get away with adultery & chaos. And then still take the sluts back for more eventual humiliation.

WTF

I enjoyed the story and thought it was going into the crapper when she walked in to the resturaunt and then into the sadness and seperation of divorce. But I liked the way it ended and kudo's for writing it as such. Enjoy your writing and am looking foreward to enjoying your work.

In counseling it came out the husband was to involved in work and not spending enought time with the wife. I thought both of them worked. Unless he is staying late at work every night, how is he not spending time with her any more than she is not spending time with him?

figure out what she wanted in life, in six months the divorce would be final. She decided what she wanted when she married me, to change now was to alter that marriage contract. Next it would have been stupid to stay in the restaurant, go by so she sees you leaving and let her stay. No need to the tomorrow date, when she called to say why werent you there, just ask her why she dcesnt go out with the same guy again. The wife was displaying mental illness symptoms. She was not confronting those issues, in refusing counseling and refusing her husband she was putting off treatment for her illness. Sorry but I just dont think the wife in this story was marriage material.

your male in your stories are weak and no common sense.

It was good writing but the story line was pretty far out there. Very few husbands would have put up with the actions of the wife. It would have been more likely that the husband would have gotten fed up and filed for divorce. The wife didn't want counseling, and she didn't want to tell the husband what her issues were at all. She wanted to be a way from him and she didn't have the courage to be honest with him about it. It seemed like all she was doing was testing the waters to see if she could make it work on her own and if it didn't work out she still had a golden parachute, her husband, back at home that would save her. She had told him when she first left that there would be absolutely no dating but she did any way. I think that she wanted to make sure that while she was out searching, she didn't want to take the chance that her "safety net" might do some searching and finding of his own. A better ending would have been if instead of beating the would be lover up, the husband would have walked up to the table, said hello, and wished the guy good luck and then walked out of the establishment.

What kind of wimp are you?

and has so called " got in touch with herself. Does the stupid woman realize what she has done. She has caused Carl to become villified where she works and he didn't deserve that. Can the dumb ass woman realize that the damage she has done to the marriage and to the business, I can just imagine that it took a beating while she way trying to "find herself' She should have done that before she got married. The fact that she had a job figures heavily into the faction. When a marriage partner works in a certain setting then the job seduces her. Her co workers become friends to her and her husband becomes just the guy that she has to blame every thing on. sooner of later a guy from work will hit on her and since he spends more time with her than her husband does she falls for him. Usually cheating occurs which would have in this case had not Carl acted like a REAL MAN and not some wimp British woosey. Please beware...evil stalks the land and he is greedy and wants to see people at odds with each other. The best way to accomplish this is to make life so expensive that the wife has to go to work...Ahaaaaa there's the rub. Evil has this happy couple in it's slimy grasp. next the wife wants things...baubles that Evil dangles in front of her. The couple become fat and useless and estranged from each other. They usually end in divorce and EVIL is gloating ...he's happy because he has destroyed yet another haven of happiness...he can't stand people being happy...he wants people miserable like him...So beware...there are traps in married life. They are usually found at the wife's job.

she lost all my respect first when she made unilateral decisions that effected carl without his knowledge then presented them as a Fiat-accompli, second when she agreed to NO DATES she as a typical woman broke her given word because her word has no value to her.

People are not factors. You need to get to know them in order to tell a story. That’s the essence of my following comments. Nothing wrong with experimenting in a new medium theme or a genre. Still the way I believe it should be ventured is by exploring bit by bit each time telling of what you find – staff that you have come to know. On the other hand I can’t see the benefit for either you or the reader in trying to replicate a formula without really knowing the characters which play the roles, even if it’s a formula. But all that we have is the standard over worked husband. The rest are non specific generalities the likes of “rumors”; “problems”; “needs for space”; “needs to find one’s self” etc. It’s all fine as a headline which prepares for the substance to follow, but it never does. It would have been a whole different ball game if you started with a couple of people that you could really imagine, about which you could tell at least five distinct personality qualities portrayed in specifics. <P>

Not knowing what’s in the black box allows every one to project their own sensibilities and/or life experiences with the opposite sex, but after all it’s not a projective test we are talking about. We simply need to know the characters, not just their mannerisms while they are away from each other.

walking all over Carl. For me the ugliest action on Paige's

part was to instead of having a night of love to reassure Carl before moving off to the condo, she withdraws to the guestbedroom.

But she definitely was not setting him up for the divorce as

was suggested by some. She had him over the barrel, she only had to request a divorce for incompatibility to ruin his business so he would really have to cede even a lover if she demanded it!

I do not understand why Carl did not divorce her, except for the short conversation the previous day, after all she broke the agreement in more than one way. He suddenly changed the rule to no fucking rather than no dating.

But the point is that it was a good story, well told and even if I disagree with what the characters did and how the plot worked out is does not disminish the quality of the author's work. I am amazed how people pontificate when they have never apparently published a story on this site. (Now I will the object of anonymous mudslinging, but,,,)

I'm convinced you are the most pathetic asshole that probably exists on this planet. Please do the world a favor and take yourself out of the gene pool. This story is just so ridiculous on so many levels.

Why describe the wife multiple times throughout the story that she has a "high" sex drive, even "higher" than the husband? Nothing is developed off this characteristic - it is not brought up as a problem during theri separation, she doesn't sleep with anyone, just a wank or two. It adds nothing to your plot. Is it one of her "issues" that you also never develop but stress at every turn? What is the point of her demanding separation and why would co-workers be involved (besides the boss's son) offering advise to solve some undefined personal problem?

The whole premise of the story was the wife had to 'sort some things out' yet we were never told what these things were and how they got sorted out. Also the husband had a very 'that's okay' attidue towards the fact that his wife blew him off in favour of a date with another man. Most husbands would simply not accept that under any circumstances.

a smart male lead and a smart wife.this story didn't have that on neither side.in most of your stories the men are moron and the women a sluts or dumbies.weak male leads suck and they act stupid.

you know, your characters seems to have the wrong gender. the wife has balls and the husband is a wuss.

At the beginning, when she told him about the 'separation'. you wrote this:

"Please try to understand Carl. I'm not wanting to divorce you. I only want to figure some things out."

"So...you're going to date other men during this time then too?"

"What? No. No dating by either of us. We need to remain faithful to each other during this time."

So, how did that suddenly become 'not sleeping with someone' at the end. This bitch broke her own undertaking, the husband is one of the weakest wimps I can recall reading about - ever.

The husband was not standing up for anything as he just acquiesced to give his wife what ever she wanted and he had no idea what he was agreeing to. Not a very healthy relationship to begin with. They both need a lot of counseling and to find out what their relationship has meant to each of them all along.

Interesting take on a marriage of inequality.

Thanks for the entertainment

PT

The story did not get any better. I'm sorry that I wasted my time. These are two really stupid people. They deserve each other.

Honey? Dear? Carl is one dumb motherfucker. Dump the slut and get on with your life.

I posted my comment mid-way through the first page. Now I'll finish the story. I sure hope it gets better and Carl gets smarter.

Curious,

You are a good writer and I enjoy your work. I hope there will be more of your work soon.