Tea and Sympathy

For a long moment, there was absolute stunned silence. Then the audience went nuts, jumping to its feet, shouting, whistling and clapping. A couple of minutes went by and the applause continued to build.

Then the curtain parted again. The extras did their curtain call as a group. Then the actor who played the husband came out. I could hear a loud shout of "Daddy!!" from a little girl a couple of seats down on my left. He looked in her direction, gave her a sweet smile and waved. This was a totally different person than the asswipe I had been watching.

Then the kid and Penny came out, holding hands. He looked a little the worse for wear, which is what a moment with Penny can do to any man. But he acknowledged the cheers. Penny was embarrassed by her reception. It was overwhelming adulation. It was clear that the audience thought she had stolen the show. She bowed. Then she looked in my direction and gave me a smile, seeking approval.

To my eternal regret, I didn't react. I just sat there staring at her, devastated. The final seconds of the scene had rocketed me back eleven years to that nightmare party. I recalled exactly what I thought then and I felt the same way now; complete and utter despair. I could see that Penny was confused. She looked pleadingly at me. Then she abruptly turned her back and walked slowly off stage.

My rational mind was screaming, "Come On!! It's a play!! She was acting for God's sake!!" While my gut yelled, "She just had sex in front of 300 people. Everybody heard her breathing accelerate. She swapped tongues with him and moaned with passion, he felt her tits and he dry-humped her. You can't fake that. She had to be feeling it."

My rational self, sneered and said, "Seriously???!! I knew that you were insecure, but I didn't think that you were THAT stupid. You would have to be a total narcissist to think that Penny's actions reflected on you. I knew that was right. Deep down, I realized that I was confusing the here-and-now, with something that had happened eleven years in the past.

I was suddenly very ashamed of myself. Jane's behavior was humiliating because it was motivated by out-of-control lust. Penny's actions were planned, rehearsed and designed to drive home the play's ultimate message. Naturally, she would put her heart and soul into selling the idea. Deborah Kerr did the exact same thing 712 times and then filmed it. Do you think that anybody thinks she's a slut!!??" She's considered one of the better female actors of her generation.

Penny was just playing a part. So, I should be proud of my wife's talent, not sulking like some clueless nerd. The actor who portrayed her husband wasn't a troubled homophobe. He was a family-man with a little girl. Of course, Penny's incandescent acting was one more proof of what an exceptional woman she was; which was ALSO extremely troubling. I suppose that was what was REALLY eating at me. How could somebody as special as Penny be married to a complete non-entity like me?

The house lights came up. People stirred, gathering up their stuff, and they began to make their way down the aisles. I was sitting there like a poleaxed moose. The woman next to me gripped my arm. She had tears in her eyes as she said, "She was brilliant, so honest, so true to the part. You have to be very proud!!"

I just looked at her blankly, unable to speak. She read my reaction as "overwhelmed with awe of my wife's talent," not, "feeling insanely threatened." So, she said, "Yes, I know. It's hard to say ANYTHING when you are confronted by genius." That didn't help. Then my seat-mate made her oblivious way down the row leaving me drained. I started to shuffle up the aisle. I was beginning to get my mind around what I had just done and I cringed with horror.

Penny had accomplished something truly remarkable and I had spoiled it by letting her see how irrationally jealous it made me. THAT was so excruciatingly childish and self-centered that I wanted to slap myself. I walked through the lobby and around to the stage door. I just hoped that I hadn't ruined things.

The significant others of the cast were standing there with me. One of them was a cute and precocious little girl. She was the one who belonged to Penny's pretend husband. She was telling anybody who would listen what a great actor her daddy was.

I wondered what a girl so young was doing at an adult play. But that was really none of my business. Maybe they were trying to expose her to culture. I just hoped that she was too young to understand the wrestling around that had occurred at the end.

A couple of guys were waiting for the kid. They were obviously joshing about Penny. So, I sidled over to listen-in, trying to NOT look like I was hanging on their every word. One of the friends said, "Can you believe that he gets to touch those tits." The other said, "He told me he can feel her nipple when he does that. It gets hard."

The first one said, "Darryl told me that she wouldn't let him do any of that during rehearsals. They just talked about it. The dress-rehearsal was the first time she let him touch her. She wouldn't even let him kiss her." The second guy said, "Well he sure got it right. Of course, Darryl's a stud. He wouldn't need any rehearsal to get a chick hot and bothered. Man!! Did she ever go off!!"

I was thinking why not just hold up a big sign that says, "We're both virgins and proud of it!!"

I couldn't listen to it any longer. Those two were too nerdy to live. But the conversation was helping me put the final scene into perspective. It was obvious to anybody who had ever had sex that Penny had compressed the whole act into fifteen seconds. I knew Penny's sexual predispositions. She likes a half hour of foreplay just to warm up, not a few seconds.

The kid came out at that point. There was a lot of high fiving between him and his little buddies. They were probably all in their early twenties. But they were so small that they looked younger.

The one friend said, "So is she as hot as all-that?" The kid said with some bitterness in his voice, "That last scene gave me an incredible case of blue-balls. She pushed me off her the minute the stage went black. But she has an incredible body; you can't believe how big and firm those tits are."

The kid's words made me feel both better, and worse. My rational brain knew that Penny was simply doing what she had been directed to do. She had no-doubt lived up to every standard of proper behavior on stage. The sex perfectly conveyed the message of the play. Yet it drove me wild to think that another guy got to feel her stiffening nipple, invade her mouth, and have her legs wrap around him in passion.

Of course, the fact that I was reacting to fantasy, not reality, made me feel like the most naïve gomer in Eau Claire County. My inner voice said," Dude!! Grow up!!"

I knew that Penny had three more performances and I wanted her to be as real as she was tonight; not worrying that her husband was going to have jealous conniptions. So, I had to address that pachyderm as quickly as possible.

The only way I could do that was to talk it through with her. The fact is that; Penny isn't just my wife. She is my life's partner and my wisest friend. We always resolve problems by talking about them; rationally and open-mindedly. Our communication is how we keep a close and loving connection.

Then, Penny walked out the door. She got another cheer, which she acknowledged with a smile and a modest little wave. At the same time, she was desperately searching for me. I had been closer to the door than she expected and she looked right past me into the back of the crowd.

I said, "Bravo my love, you were absolutely brilliant!!"and began to clap. She made a startled sound, turned and saw me standing almost next to her. A look of utter relief crossed her face. she launched herself into my arms. I caught her and swung her around in a romantic sweep.

She put one hand on the side of my face, grabbed the back of my head with the other and tried to swallow me; all-the-while making little noises as she painstakingly explored my mouth. She is only five-two. So, as we kissed, she was plastered against me with her feet dangling a foot above the ground. That went on for a full minute. The crowd laughed and applauded. I put her down.

We were both breathing like steam locomotives. I said, "Let me buy you dinner, you must be ravenous." She looked sheepish and said, "Do you forgive me?" I said, "Nothing to forgive. But, that's what I want to talk about." We walked across the footbridge and drove the short distance over the Lake Street Bridge; not saying much. I parked at the curb and walked into the restaurant holding her hand.

The Mona Lisa is a high-class joint. You take a woman to a place like that for special occasions. In my mind this was a VERY special occasion. I wanted to celebrate Penny's achievement; while I resolved my issues. We sat and I ordered a good bottle of Merlot. I like the hairier reds. Penny is into the sweeter vintages, and this was her evening.

She was sitting opposite me looking a little apprehensive. My heart melted. She had on one of her trademark spaghetti strap sundresses with the built-in bra. That device hoists her girls into two epic mounds. Her bare shoulders were covered by her ubiquitous shawl and her startlingly bright blue eyes were searching me for answers.

I poured the wine and offered a toast. I said, "To the most marvelous actress in the world. I had absolutely NO idea that you were so brilliantly talented." Her beautiful face melted; you could see how much she loved me in her glance.

I said cryptically, "Let me tell you a story." She looked puzzled. I said, "I think I told you that I had a bad experience with a former love." She said, "Yes, she slutted around on you."

I said, "Precisely, but it wasn't like she did that behind my back. I almost wish she had. In fact, she had a couple of monster orgasms while I was standing four feet away from her. Then she proceeded to fuck all comers, no pun intended. Every friend I had was present when that happened."

Penny looked appalled. She said, "I didn't know it was THAT public. I thought you just walked in on her, like I did with Billy." I said, "I was humiliated. After that I couldn't face anybody I knew." Penny looked at me inquiringly, like she was waiting for me to finish the story.

Then she gasped and put her hands over her mouth in horror. She said, "Oh my God Jake. You are equating what I am doing in the final scene with that past bad experience."

I just stared at her. She said, "I don't know what to tell you. You know that it's all simulated, right? You know that I'm playing a role, not actually betraying you. Please tell me that you understand that!!" I looked at her lovingly and said, "I know it's just acting. But don't you feel anything?"

She looked a little wary and said, "He smokes. So, the kissing is kind of gross. The humping is painful. He isn't touching anything vital, but the stage is hard on my back. The problem is that he plays with my nipples. Those are the most sensitive part of my body. So of course, it turns me on. I just crack the door a little bit to add realism to the scene."

Then she looked appalled and said with haste, "It doesn't mean anything except I like the sensation. I am not giving myself to him. I don't have any feelings for him; in fact, he's an irritating little shit backstage. But there is no denying that I have to sell intimacy with him for a very short time every performance.

She looked directly at me and said, "I get it. I really do. If the situations were reversed, it would be just as difficult for me to watch you do that. But as far as people imagining that I'm doing anything but acting; I apologize for what that woman did to you. Because what you're thinking is crazy."

That cemented it. I said, "I love you. I will always love you. I know that I am confusing the situations and frankly I am tough enough to weather through this. That is, if you promise that you'll wear a full-suit of chain mail in your next part; perhaps Shaw's, St. Joan."

She laughed her deep throaty laugh. It's the Celt-Italian blood. Penny doesn't hold anything back; even her laugh.

She was berserk that night. I had a feeling that her little interlude on stage had fired-her-up. She went totally feral the moment I touched her big beautiful nipples.

Penny has large brown aureoles and the nipples themselves stand up on the mountains of her huge boobs like two stalwart watch towers. They almost look like little Nuks when they are engorged with blood. They are extremely sensitive. In fact, I can make her cum just sucking on one of them. Consequently, the only thing that the kid could have done to stimulate her more, would be to play with her clit.

I licked and sucked her to a violent orgasm. She was very noisy all-the-while I was doing it and she uttered a wholehearted "YES!!" when she finally came. She was moaning and gasping as she desperately dragged me between her wide-spread legs. Then, she inserted me into her molten center, rocked her hips up, and wrapping her legs around my waist.

I pounded on her for ten minutes while she groaned and shrieked with desire. Then she put her feet on the back of my thighs, and frantically humped against me, using that as leverage. Her insides were fizzing like a shaken-up bottle of champagne and she was whipping her head back and forth, in an absolute frenzy.

Then she erupted in the mother of all orgasms. Her feet slammed down on the bed and beat a tattoo of pure sensation. She sounded like she was choking to death. Her hard, little body was spasming as she writhed underneath me; our mutual sweat enhanced the sensual contact.

That pushed me over the edge and I just blew up like the Death-Star. I had never come like that in my life. It was like the center of a white-hot supernova was located right between my legs. I heard a lot of "fuck me's," and several loud, "give it to me's," while that was all going on. Then I didn't hear anything.

I was lying between Penny's widely spread legs when I finally got my sanity back. She was just coming around. I had been distracted dealing with the life extinguishing happenings in my groin. So, I would have to, "go to replay" to confirm whether she had passed out.

I realized that we had faithfully re-enacted the scene she had played earlier that night; whether we had planned it, or not. She gave me her totally-with-me-in the-zone look and said with a secret smile, "I hope you noticed the difference."

I was front row center the next night. It was almost the same situation. In fact, I was sitting next to the same woman. She said that she had been so GREATLY moved by Penny's performance that she had to see it again. GOD!! This woman really needed a life.

Nonetheless, Penny was as brilliant as she was the night before. The play zipped along to the final scene. But, I wasn't cringing in anticipation this time. I was basking in the reflection of my wife's extraordinary talent.

The scene began the same way as it had the night before. Penny lay down next to the kid; conveying her love and compassion. When she delivered her, "Be kind," line you saw how totally her character had evolved; from timid housewife to a woman in control.

Unlike last night, I wasn't paying much attention to the action on stage. There was a party for all the major donors after the performance, and I was savoring the pleasure of escorting the show's star.

My lack of attention to the simulated sex was a tribute to how far I had evolved.

Penny made the same move with the kid's hand to her left boob, inviting intimacy. He took it and fondled her with increasing ardor. But this time I could see him sensually rolling her rapidly rising nipple. THAT hadn't happened last night. It was also obvious that the timing of the scene had slowed way down.

The kid kept kneading Penny's boob and rolling the nipple. It was now well past the point where the kiss had happened. Penny made a startled cry of sensation. Her head rocked back. She looked confused. It was like she suddenly woke from a dream and found herself being fondled in front of 300 people.

THEN the realization seemed to hit her that she had to play the part to the end. She abruptly dragged the kid down to the passionate kiss. It was like she was trying to get the timing back on track. The kid locked her in a fervent embrace, and continued to knead and roll. Penny moaned loudly. Timing-wise, this was the point where the curtain had come down; but they were still swapping tongues.

Penny was giving little cries of pure sensation as the boy crawled between her legs. Her hips rocked up and her legs rose. She wrapped her legs around him, just as she had done in the first performance.

But then she began making loud grunts, Uh!! Uh!! Uh!! as the kid vigorously humped her. He was clearly hitting a different spot than he had last night.

Meanwhile the fade to black was taking way too long. All the time, Penny's eyes were screwed shut, her mouth was wide open, and her face started to contort in a mask of passion. She was fighting it. But the intense stimulation was overwhelming her defenses, and she was lost in a world of sensation.

Finally, she gave a strangled groan and threw her arms back in abandon; completely opening her body to the kid. She shot her legs straight up, and began to hump back. That was a new feature. But as far as the audience was concerned it was perfectly consistent with the scene.

She started low rhythmic cries as the blackout finally began. Those progressed to a long keening wail, "Ahhh!! Ahhhh!! Ahhhh!!" as the stage went to total darkness. Lurid moans and whimpers continued for several seconds in the dark.

It was the hottest thing I had ever witnessed. Everybody in the audience thought that it was an amazing job of acting. But I knew better. That was Penny in sexual extremis.

Just as it had last night, the audience sat there stunned. Then it erupted in an ovation that was so deafening. I couldn't hear anything that was going on. The curtains parted, the supporting actors took their bows and like last night, Penny and the kid came out hand in hand. He looked even more wrung out than the first time. I noted with horror the spreading stain on the front of his pants. Penny looked mortified.

You're asking what I was doing during that time?? I was deciding whose ass was going to get kicked first. Last night's scene had been 10 to 15 seconds. This one was closer to three minutes, and THAT was clearly NOT a coincidence. Penny had been ambushed and somebody was going to pay.

We were going to the Theater Guild's snooty after-party. Penny was loaded-for-bear when she came out the backstage door; four inch FMPs and a figure hugging, scoop necked little black dress. She is stunning in that outfit.

She isn't a formal kind of girl. In fact, I only see her dressed like that for our anniversary and New Year's Eve. But this was the most important cultural happening in Eau Claire County. You don't have to tell me!! Eau Claire culture is an oxymoron. But tonight, was the best we had.

I was standing directly in front of her with my most loving look plastered on my face. That was a waste of time. Her Irish temper was up. She marched past me toward the kid, who was smirking at her with a group of his buddies. She had fire in her eyes, and it wasn't that fun kind of fire either. I knew that I had to head off the confrontation; because the ensuing fight would reveal to the whole-wide-world that Penny wasn't acting up there.

I grabbed her arm, and said, "Later!! let's do a little planning first." Then I steered her across the street to the Courthouse Bar and Grill. She was sputtering every step of the way.