Summer A Marriage In Trouble

"What makes you think she would even want to stay?"

He shook his head, irritated at my defiance. "Ask her yourself, but if you want a future with this organisation, accept her decision with grace."

Swiping away his hand, I stormed back inside. I found Summer talking with a group of wives. She got a shock when I walked up behind her and gripped her shoulder. "Can we talk please?"

She turned and saw the expression on my face. "Of course, Honey."

She followed me into one of the quiet corners where I snapped, "What the hell's going on? Fucking Reynolds just told me you wanted to stay. Is that what you want?"

She cringed a little, her pretty face tightly drawn. "Honey, I am having such a wonderful night. Yes, I would love to stay."

"It means you will have to sleep here."

"Yes, Hon, I understand that, but Ross did say he would bring me home in the morning."

Angry at her, I snapped, "Let's be honest Summer, if you spend the night... you will not be sleeping alone. You will be expected to sleep with him."

She grimaced; her face a deep pool of guilt. With a shamefaced expression set across her face, she muttered, "Honey, it's just one night."

"So, you actually want to do this? Fuck that greasy bastard?"

"Don't be crude, Artie, yes if you are okay with it, I would like to stay. If you aren't happy then we will leave."

"Fuck, Summer, I can't believe this. Just like that you're going to blow me off and fuck that prick!"

"Artie, it's just one night. He can be very compelling. I like him."

"Oh... so you like him, that makes it all okay? Jesus Summer. I won't put up with this shit. I am leaving. I will walk out to the car. I will give you fifteen minutes to join me. If you aren't there, I'm leaving without you."

She leaned in kissed me softly, her lips tasting of cigar. "Babe, it's going to be all right. We don't have to fight. I will see you tomorrow."

I stormed off. I did wait by the car but she never showed up.

I drove home on autopilot. My mind in complete turmoil, a swirling mass of conflicting emotions, angry at Summer. Jesus, what the fuck was she thinking? Did she think I was just going to roll over and accept this?

And him, the unscrupulous bastard, preying on his employee's wives. Christ, I wonder how many others he had tried this on with?

By the time I got home I was ready to kill, smash, just destroy something.

Jessica was awake and angry, as well. I had to pay her an extra fifty bucks to appease her dissatisfaction at having to wait. Her mother came and picked her up, and she was even angrier. It seemed the whole world was angry...

I waited for them to leave before walking in and checking the girls. They were curled up sound asleep like the angels they were. I walked back out and collapsed on the sofa. What a fucking nightmare. Honestly you couldn't make this shit up.

I stewed, I paced like the proverbial caged lion. What a fucking nightmare. I started going through options. Nothing made sense. Nothing except my marriage was now over, and I guessed I was going to need a new job. There was no way I was going back there. Not for all the tea in china. It was nearly four in the morning before I went to bed.

In the morning I was woken by the girls crying for their mum. I went in to console them. I was now in charge of breakfast. With their favourite cereal dished up and a coffee in my hand, we sat and talked about their evening with Jessica.

They did enjoy spending time with her, she was good with them. They wanted to know where their mummy was, why she wasn't home. I simply said that she stayed with a friend. They were far too little to understand.

They helped with the tidying up and went to play in their rooms. The night did one thing, and that was give me time to think. My marriage was now over, it hung, dangling by a thin thread over a steep precipice. As I made another coffee I went into the study and dragged out the old divorce papers I had drawn up the previous year when things were at rock bottom with us.

Ha, rock bottom, fuck, if that was rock bottom what was this? I was angry. I read through them carefully. There was no hiding from the fact I was going to get fucked over. Courts today were so heavily weighted in the women's favour it was unfair.

It didn't matter that she fucked another man. She could fuck the whole neighbourhood and it would make no difference at all. She would get to keep the house because of the kids and I was going to be encumbered with child support and alimony. "FUCK!" I screamed.

The girls came running in to see if I was okay. I decided to take them for a walk down to the park, just to get out of the house.

We played on the swings and jungle-gyms. They climbed and we kicked a ball around before returning home. Still no sign of Summer, I started the girl's lunch. Their favourite was burgers, so I got busy. At least it kept my mind busy.

It was about one in the afternoon when I served up their burgers. We were sitting around the kitchen breakfast bar as they chattered away, giggling and laughing. I looked out through the window to see a huge stretched limo pull up and Summer climb out, her heels in her hands as she leaned back in to kiss the slimeball and walk in.

She completed her walk of shame proudly, apparently not caring who saw.

As she walked in the girls saw her, jumped down from their stools and rushed into her arms. They were like tracer bullets as she knelt down; they flew into her outstretched arms and they knocked her over screaming. "Mummy, you're home. Where have you been?"

She lay on her back with them climbing all over her. They bounced on her tummy, they rolled around getting cuddles and kisses.

It was over ten minutes before they came back to eat their lunch. "Daddy made us burgers!" Sarah chirped.

"That's good, Angel," Summer whispered as she stared at me. There appeared no sense of shame or guilt, just a deep, almost brazen, confidence. She walked up behind me, her arm circling my waist from behind. Her head leaned over and she tried to kiss me. "Hi, Babe, did you miss me?"

I turned my head away in disgust. Her face twisted into a frown. "What, no kiss?"

I kept my mouth shut as her arm tightened around my waist. "Come on, Babe, don't be like that."

"Mummy, Daddy took us to the park and we played on the swings."

Summer turned to her. "That's good, Sweetie, did you have fun?"

Seeing there was going to be no response from me, her arm slipped from around my waist and she sighed. "Am I going to get a burger, too?"

She looked at me as I bit into mine. With a mouthful, I managed, "If you want one, make your own."

She smiled a teasing flirtatious smile, whispering, "But, Babe, yours are so much better than mine." She leaned closer. "If you make me one, I will tell you all about last night... give you the juicy details."

I sneered. "As if I care, tell them to somebody who gives a shit." I took another large bite and waved for the girls to hurry up.

Summer wasn't going to be denied. She leaned closer to get a bite of mine. I snatched it away. "I said get your own."

She sighed. "I'm not hungry, anyway." She smiled evilly. "I had something to nibble on in the limo." I think she thought she was teasing or arousing me, when all I really felt was disgust. I think she realised it was the wrong thing to say when she saw my face fall.

She turned away and walked towards the bedroom. "I need a shower."

The girls and I cleaned up and I decided I wasn't going to hang around here. When Summer reappeared, the girls grabbed her and dragged her into Sophie's room to play dolls with them.

I picked up the divorce papers and walked in to join them. I handed her the papers as I muttered. "I'm going for a walk."

She frowned. "What are these?"

"They're self-explanatory. Read them carefully. I will be filing them on Monday; it would be nice if you signed them."

I walked out, slamming the front door behind me. Rage overwhelmed me; I was being eaten alive by a terrifying fury that threatened to rip open my guts. I walked, with no notion of where I was going or what I was doing; I just walked. Down through the shops and then on to the beach. As I walked past the little pub on the corner, I realised how far I had walked. I was feeling it, so I found a seat at the bar and ordered a beer.

There was a game playing on the big screen, and I watched it. Another beer, another game, and by the time the second one was finished I was a little drunk.

I headed for home, thinking. "Fuck." I was exhausted already, and the beer hadn't helped. It was nearly eight when I walked in at home. The girls were in bed and Summer was sitting in the lounge. The divorce papers were spread over the coffee table. She looked up when I walked in. "What the hell is this?"

I sniggered. "What does it look like. They are our divorce papers."

She hissed, "What... because of last night. Don't be petty. It was nothing."

"Nothing!" I screamed, venting all of my anger in one snarling retort. "Fucking nothing. Jesus, Summer, I can't believe you could be so cold, so god damned callous! Last night you totally disrespected me. You embarrassed and humiliated me in front of everybody in that damn room. You made a fool of me. This sham we call a marriage is over."

She snorted. "God, stop overreacting. Things have been distant between us for a long time. Things haven't been right. I thought a little bit of flirtation might stir things up, build a little excitement back into our marriage. Divorce... Christ, there is no need to get overexcited about it. You're getting upset over nothing."

"Say what you want. But I assure you, our marriage is now over. I'm going to bed. You can sleep out here."

She hissed, "Like hell I will. If you don't want to sleep with me, then you can have the damned couch."

I walked into the bedroom, leaving her seething. I had a long shower and climbed into bed. The bedroom door didn't have a lock, so there was no way of keeping her out. I drifted off to sleep only to be woken later. Summer slipped between the sheets and snuggled up behind me.

Her naked body nestled close to mine. We had always slept in the nude; I wished right then that I had pulled on pyjamas.

Her head slipped over my shoulder and she kissed the hard muscles of my neck and chest. Her arm slipped over my waist and she went to grab my cock. I grabbed her hand hissing, "Stop. I'm not interested. Fuck off back out the lounge."

She sighed. "Come on, Babe, it was nothing, just a little fun between consenting adults. No harm done. I'm home now. Pease... let's make love, I promise everything will be okay."

I pushed her away. "If you're not leaving then stay over on your side of the bed."

"You're being childish, just push aside your stupid male pride. Big deal, someone else played with your toys, there's no need for this bullshit. Just get over yourself."

"Male pride!" I barked. "Jesus Christ, Summer, you fuck another man and expect me to just roll over and play dead. Well, fuck you."

She rolled away. "Suit yourself. You're the one who's missing out."

"The only thing I'm missing is catching some fucking disease."

I felt the angry slap of her hand as she rolled away from me. "Go to hell, you bastard. This could have been a lot of fun. Last night was wonderful and now you've ruined it."

I kept my mouth shut, biting back my angry retort.

I laid in bed, my anger boiling away, usually it dissipated, but that night, no amount of Alka-Seltzer was going to quell the burning. It was nearly dawn before I fell asleep. I was awakened by Summer shaking me. "Rise and shine, sleepy head. You'll be late for work."

"Fuck work, I am having a sleep in."

Looking serious, she whispered, "Hon, I'm not joking, it's actually late. I already let you sleep in. Come on, pull yourself together."

I snarled. "I said I was having a sleep in, now piss off."

She sighed. "Oh well, don't say I didn't try. You will be in trouble when you go in."

I pulled the blankets up over my head and tried to go back to sleep. I was in deep shit. We didn't have a huge bundle of savings, and jobs were few and far between. Good ones, anyway. I would circulate my CV and contact recruitment agencies. Still, even if I was lucky enough to find something, it could take months.

I wandered out about lunchtime. Summer had the girls outside playing on the trampoline. The girls saw me and ran inside. I was busily making a sandwich when Summer walked in. "Have you called the office to say you aren't going in?"

I shook my head. "No." Short and simple. She turned away. "You're being silly, Artie."

She collected the girls and I slipped into the study. I updated my CV and sent it to a number of agencies, reputable ones. I rang a few friends to see if they had anything going. That was a flop; nobody could even make me a suggestion. I updated my LinkedIn in profile and started scrolling through the situation's vacant columns.

Summer poked her head in several times to see what I was doing. When she saw the sits vacant site she sucked in a deep breath. "Artie, don't do anything stupid. We need that job."

"Fuck that. There's no us and there sure as hell is no way I'm ever putting my head in that office again."

"Oh, Hon, that's just silly. Ross spoke very highly of you. He said he had a new position for you on the project team. He is talking promotion, Babe. Please don't overreact and fuck it up."

"Piss off, Summer. Leave me in peace, and don't forget to sign those papers. If it's uncontested, it reduces the time and cost."

As she walked away, she grumbled, "We are not getting a divorce, now ring the office, tell them you're sick or something."

There were several messages from my department head on my phone and there were several missed calls. I chose to ignore them.

I decided on a walk. When the girl's saw me pulling on my shoes, they demanded that they come, as well. I tied their shoes and got jackets for them. Summer stood at the door and watched.

We went down to the park, we played and stopped at the ice cream parlour on the way home. It was actually a pretty fun end to the day.

When we got home, the girls scurried off to tell Summer all about the adventure. I heard her laughing and giggling with them. It was hard to reconcile her. Loving caring mother, in many ways a wonderful wife. I mean, the house was always spotless. She was a wonderful cook and she looked after me remarkably well. All that and she could be so cold, so heartless. I mean, I could probably forgive a transgression, a mistake, but what she did was unforgivable.

I went back to scouring the help-wanted ads. A little later she popped her head in. "I called Ross; said you were feeling a little under the weather." I think she expected me to say thanks, but that was the furthest thing from my mind. When I didn't respond she sighed. "He was really pissed. Apparently, people have been trying to get hold of you all day. I said you took some sleeping pills and went to sleep."

I ignored her, keeping my eyes focused on the computer. She blurted out. "He's not an idiot, Artie. He knows why you didn't go in.'"

When she saw, she was going to get nothing from me, she turned and walked away. A sullen grumbling of incoherent words was all I heard.

The evening passed coolly. She made a nice dinner and the girls were chirpy. They carried the conversation. We did our usual routine of bathing them and putting them to bed.

I left Summer sitting in the lounge, watching TV as I went to bed.

She came in much later and snuggled beside me. She lifted the covers. "Really? Pyjamas... For heaven's sake, Artie."

I sneered angrily. "Didn't want to catch anything."

She rolled over to the edge of her side of the bed. At least it gave me some peace.

The morning was a repeat. Summer shook me heavily. "Artie, get up for god's sake. You will be late."

I glanced at my watch; it was early. "Go away Summer, I'm sleeping."

"Artie, this is not a joke. You have to go to work. You will get the sack."

"They can't sack me, I already quit."

She ripped the blankets off me. "Get up now, Artie."

I snatched the blankets back. "Piss off."

"Artie, we can't afford for you to be unemployed. We don't have that much in the bank."

"Tough. I don't care." I sat up giving her the nastiest sneer I could muster at seven in the morning. "Perhaps you should have thought about that before you humiliated me in front of all the senior managers. Perhaps you should have thought, full stop."

She flopped down on the bed. "Artie, I'm sorry. I know it was a bit cruel, but I was drunk. He was so charming and so commanding. It was just one night. Granted, we should have talked about it, but, Hon, we need that job."

"Sorry, Summer, but it's all over, us, our marriage, the job. It's all gone."

We sat staring for what seemed an eternity, minutes becoming hours, hours days. Eventually she stood up, flinging her arms in the air. "I give up. Artie, I know you must feel angry, but think about it. We have been married a long time, had amazing times and low ones, this was just a single moment in time. I'm sorry I hurt you."

"Hurt me!" I snapped caustically. "You destroyed all my credibility with those people. Every single person in that room knew what was happening, all of them. Do you not understand? I felt completely humiliated."

She sighed deeply. "I am sorry, Artie, it was a misjudgement on my part."

"Misjudgement... what the fuck are you talking about?"

She sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Ross told me, in confidence. He has slept with most of the women who attended that party. Even the wives of his senior managers. He told me that there are men who get off on it."

All I could do was gasp, "What?" I was stunned, they were all into it... Jesus, twisted fucks.

She grimaced. "Ross explained it a little. He thought you were like that. He thought it would be hot. He is very compelling and I sort of fell under his spell. The house, the money, I thought that he might be right. I wanted him to be right."

"Well, he bloody well wasn't."

"Artie, we need for you to pull on your big boy pants and get over this. Nobody cares, they all do it. They have probably all been in your position. Don't you see, Hon. It's not a bad thing. He promised to give you a promotion."

"Oh, yeah, of course he did. All I need to do to get it is let him fuck my wife. Like hell."

She stood and waked out. When I went out, she had already left with the girls. There was no note, nothing.

I turned my phone on and it went ballistic, missed calls, messages. All from the office.

I made breakfast and started phoning some of the agencies setting up interviews. As I sat scrolling through the wanteds, my phone went again. This time it was an unknown number. "Hello, Arthur, my name is Michael Slocum."

"Hi, Michael, how can I help you?"

"I have your CV in front of me, I want to discuss an opportunity with you."

Shocked, I replied hesitantly, "Sure, sounds great. When do you want to meet?"

"Are you free today for lunch? My shout."

"Ummmmm, yeah sure. Where do you want to meet?"

"Odriscoll's."

"See you at, what... twelve thirty?"

"See you there."

Michael was waiting there when I arrived. He was leaning on the counter waiting. He strode towards me manfully with his hand outstretched. "Hi, Arthur, it's a pleasure to meet you. I have heard lots of great things."

I said thanks, he led us over to a table and said, "Order whatever you want. Do you want a beer or something?"

I knew I shouldn't, but I nodded. "Yeah, sure why not."

As we sipped our beers, waiting for the food to arrive and he got straight to it. "No sense beating around the bush. You're currently in trouble at Revington's. What's going on?"

There was no hiding from his piercing eyes. "I am just looking for something more, I want an opportunity to do things my way."