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Ann put her face in her hands and sobbed, "Please don't look at any more tapes Brian. I only love you."

"OK Ann, I guest that answers my question. The problem from my perspective, is you have no respect for yourself, me or our marriage. Even if I could believe you tried to avoid Mark, you still met with him. Mark was in your apartment and you went to his apartment."

"Given enough time Ann, I might have forgiven you for having sex with other men, but the real problem is trusting you. I do not trust that you won't do this again in the future. Trust is the issue. It is the reason for the postnuptial agreement and the three month separation."

"But Brian I love you, can we just get by this?"

"No Ann, you just don't understand. Although you knew I was having trust issues with you, you continued to meet with Mark. We agreed you were not to meet Mark again under any circumstance, but you did it anyway. For that reason alone Ann we are finished. You felt giving him a going away present was more important than keeping your word and mending our marriage. You even allowed him to come to your apartment, into your bedroom. He should never have been there."

"Brian, I will never meet with Mark again."

"Too late for that Ann. Three months ago you made the same promise and shit on it. I just don't believe I will ever be able to trust you again. You will get the papers from my attorney and we will proceed with the divorce and our agreements."

Ann could not restrain herself any longer and launched into her plea,

"Brian, I know trust is the issue, and I would never do anything again to destroy your trust in me, I know it and I need you to understand it."

"Ann, you are missing the point. You needed to do things that reassured me and not things that make me distrust you even further. You weren't thinking about my needs, our life and your commitment, you were focused upon Mark. I need a woman in my life who understands the value of keeping her word and promises. I'm interested in a long term commitment where my partner values our relationship and won't be looking outside of it for entertainment or excitement."

"Brian, is there any chance at all for us?"

"No Ann, there isn't. I will always value our years together and I wish you had not done this to us, but it is done. Have a good life Ann."

Epilog:

I left the sailboat and two women crying, one comforting the other. The next day I went to the attorney's office and arranged for Ann get the house as well as the lion's share of the proceeds from the sale of her company.

The divorce was finalized as Pam and I entered the Panama Canal. Pam had agreed to join me on my sailing adventure. So far she has proven to be a good sailor and a better companion. She is a lot of fun and we are enjoying each other's company.

I still love Ann and often think of her, wishing she could have been here. I hear through the kids that she has tried to date but always finds something lacking. She sticks close to home and does not appear happy or at peace. I was relating my dismay to Pam at how things have turned out for Ann, when she suggested we invite her to join us on the boat for the rest of the trip.

So now, we are sitting at the dock on a beautiful morning in Panama while we wait for Ann to join us. This promises to be a very interesting trip.

finis