The Author

We did too.

That led to sneaking out into the yard, naked, and getting some bug bites in places you normally don't have bug bites. It funny, but you never noticed the bites until the next day. I guess it has something to do with hormones, or maybe the adrenaline from what the two of us were doing.

Things were never better than those first years. But then I started to notice her drinking. At first it was an extra glass of wine with dinner but soon it began with a before dinner cocktail, then an after dinner drink, then two.

Soon she was sitting in one room "watching TV" and I was in another room working on improving my writing. Eventually, I was sleeping in our bed alone. Of course all the great sex stopped.

In all cheating wife stories, it's the wife that bestows her charms on anyone buying her a drink. Not in my case. I was the one supplying the money to purchase the bottles and I was getting nothing at home. Please understand she was the one who turned off our loving times. She was no longer interested in us. Just her bottle.

That's right, I said, "At home."

I was the one having sex outside of our marriage. There were plenty of women out there who shared their bodies with me with no strings attached. I stuck to married women so the chance of any attachment was greatly reduced. My biggest worry was husbands, but most of the ladies were getting revenge on cheaters, so I wasn't that worried.

That's how the last ten years of my marriage went.

My accountant said I better start planning for what was likely going to happen. So I set up hidden accounts for any extra income. I moved a lot of my finances off shore. I bought into a car wash with a friend who needed a diversion from his wayward wife

Car washes are great businesses, all cash and no receipts. A lot of that income went "south" into my off shore accounts.

My partner died and his cheating widow forced a sale. Actually that wasn't that bad because it got me another large cash transfer. I handled the sale and she got 50% of the book value, I the other 50%, plus another 50% under the table.

If she wasn't such a bitch to me, I'd have made it a fair sale. But her long term boy friend was coaching her on how to handle the sale. Not only did he screw her out of about $250,000 but then milked her dry for the money she did get, and then disappeared.

My next little endeavor was food service. That's another all cash business. I was managing to hide about $25,000 a year for something I did only on weekends and a few holidays plus the auctions. Both the buyers and auction staff had to eat so I had a captive audience.

My off shore accounts were nice and fat. The company that I worked my regular 40 hour weeks for was bought by a larger firm. I was offered early retirement with a nice fat bonus. I took the money and ran.

The only problem was now I was home 24/7 with my wife, the drunk. When I was out working 6-7 days a week I could put up with her drinking. You know "out of sight, out of mind". But now that I was home, things had to change. I started putting pressure on her to stop drinking. That trick backfired on me and I was served with divorce papers.

Well to make matters simple, I won and I've been walking around with a smile on my face for the about the last 10 years. And to make it even nicer, my books started selling. Soon I was a multimillionaire. It wasn't like winning the lottery because I still had to work for it, but it was just about as nice.

+++++++++++++++++++++

Now here I was screwed again by a wife I thought I had gotten rid of. I thought about just walking away again, but I'd probably lose Jackie and her kids. I really liked being back in the fold with them again. The other thing was, somehow the word would get out that I abandoned Mary and my book sales would drop.

So I was forced to stay the course whether or not I wanted to. But let's look at it from the bright side, as long as she was 4,000 miles away, I could put up with her.

But fate was not on my side.

We stayed at the sanatorium almost two weeks before I could create an excuse that allowed me to leave. While I hated deadlines, this time I used them to my advantage and returned to Hawaii and my book creation.

During the time we spent at the clinic, Jackie did everything she could to help her mother recover her memories. Me? I stayed in the background and kept my mouth shut. Bill kept giving me dirty looks but never said anything.

It took me about another month to finish my book and get it approved by the publisher. Of course I was forced to again do the pre-release book tour of the major networks and national radio shows. Jackie was still at the clinic working to help Mary recover her memory so I went on the tour alone.

The first couple of appearances went without a hitch. Then there was the jerk who asked the audience if they had any questions. One little old lady in the back stood up and asked, "How's your wife doing?"

That one question opened the flood gates. Not only was I bombarded with questions about my wife's progress during that program, but on every other show I appeared on for the next couple of weeks. My publicist coached me on my responses as well as how to cause my voice to "break" as if I was trying not to cry.

The first printing of my newest book sold out in a little over three weeks. My older books went into another round of printings. I was making money hand over fist. This was probably the first time I ever returned happy from a tour.

But the fates were against me again. I arrived home and was greeted by Iolani, Jackie, and Mary at the front door. After I gave each of them a hug Jackie said, "Dr. Bill suggested Mom move here with us. He feels that a normal home environment will help her recover."

"I'm going to get that guy," I thought. "She's always welcome with us," I answered.

I watched as she followed Jackie around like a lost puppy for the next week. My heart broke because when I first met her and fell in love Mary was a strong willed beauty. Now she was a broken person, a shell of her former self. I sort of missed the old Mary; she was a lot of fun and gave pretty good head besides.

I called Dr. Bill and told him I was considering hiring a California hit man. He laughed at me! Then he explained why he thought Mary could be helped by staying with us. So by the time he got done I found myself agreeing to his plan.

My job was to bond with Mary and help her to gain her confidence back.

And that's how I found myself with another shadow. It started when Jackie and Iolani went to the mall together. They left Mary in my care but forgot to tell me. I was hard at work in my office when I needed a bathroom break.

I opened the door and found poor Mary sitting on the floor next to my door shaking in fright. I sat down on the floor next to her and asked. "Why are you so scared?"

"Because I thought I was alone again. I don't want to ever be alone again."

"You're not alone, I was here. All you had to do was knock," I replied.

"But Jackie told me not to bother you if the door was closed."

I began to understand exactly how far she still had to go and it appeared to be a very long way. I helped her to her feet and gave her a little hug. I explained that I was going to the bathroom and would be right back. When I finished in the bathroom I found her sitting on the floor outside the bathroom. I walked her back to my office and sat her down on my couch.

And that's how the rest of the week went, where ever I went Mary followed.

One afternoon she asked, "Mendon, why do I want to call you Jack? It doesn't feel right when I call you Mendon."

I was distracted by my writing and not thinking when I answered, "Because that's my real name. You used it when we were married."

I heard a sob and she ran out my office door before I could stop her. As I searched the shoppers returned. I enlisted everyone's help to find her. Iolani found her huddled in a closet. All she kept saying was, "If I loved him, why don't I remember him?" over and over again.

They got her up and settled her in her bed. One of them stayed with her until bedtime. Iolani went home and then Jackie joined her mother in bed.

I called Dr. Bill and updated him the next morning.

For all my trouble, all I got was my ass chewed and informed how stupid I was. He indicated that I probably undid the last 6 months of their work. When he calmed down he offered some suggestions to me.

In my guilt I tried to faithfully follow his suggestions;

1. Whenever I was in her presence I was to softly touch her, or hold her hand, or put my arm around her.

2. If she was sitting on the couch I was to sit next to her.

3. If she entered a room I was in, I was to give her a friendly kiss on her cheek.

4. If she announced that she was leaving to go somewhere, I was to hug her and tell her, "Hurry back, because I'll miss you."

One night a particularly nasty thunder storm rolled in. I was awakened by a loud clap of thunder, then I realized that someone was in my room. The next flash of lightening reveled Mary standing by my bed.

In a small voice I heard, "Please hold me, I'm scared."

I sat up and held out my arms to her.

That's how I woke up the next morning with her curled up in a small ball in my arms. The next morning Iolani gave me a nasty look when she saw Mary leaving my room.

"She was scared by the storm last night," was all I said.

From that night on, Mary slept in my bed, in my arms. It felt good having her there, it felt right. We didn't have sex or anything stronger than a simple good night kiss. These actions seemed to calm her.

Jackie was another problem all together. While she was happy that her mother found solace in my arms, she worried the reasons for our divorce would surface. Jackie spent a lot of time on the phone with Dr. Bill.

One morning my private line rang, "Mendon? This is Bill. What's Jackie's problem?"

I explained about Mary's new no sex sleeping location and Jackie's withdrawal from me.

"OK, if I can't bring her out of her funk, you'll need to send Jackie to me. If she indicates that I want to see her, don't question her, just buy the ticket."

We agreed to get in touch again next week and review Mary and Jackie's progress.

That night in bed Mary took the next step. "Jack, I remembered that we got divorced but not the why. Why don't you have another woman in your life?"

"Because I haven't found anyone who could measure up to you," I answered truthfully.

She rolled over until she was facing me, put her arms around my neck and kissed me. It wasn't the kiss of friends but of lovers.

"I'm not sure, but I think I love you too," was her reply.

That night we slept face to face for the first time. Her with a smile on her lips, me with an erection. I was embarrassed by my body's reaction to Mary. Mentally she was just too fragile for any kind of sex.

As the months living with us went by, Mary started to regain some of her previous confidence. She began by holding her head up as she went about her daily routines. She was gaining confidence and it could be readily noticed. Iolani's cooking was starting to put a little weight on Mary's frail body. Mary was filling out and starting to resemble the person I was once married to.

I had a small exercise room set up in a lower level of my house. I tried to exercise daily to keep in shape. Soon I was being joined by Mary. The first few days she only watched me. Then she started trying to walk on the treadmill. I showed her how to work the machine and she walked about 5 minutes before becoming fatigued.

We worked on her endurance daily. At night, in our bed, I massaged her sore leg and back muscles. I rubbed them through her nightgown. She sighed as I worked on her calves and thighs. If she was a cat, I'd swear she would be purring.

Every night when I finished, I'd place a small kiss on the back of her neck. That was her signal I was done.

One night I heard, "When I start exercising my upper body will you massage that too?"

"If you'd like, Mary."

"I'd like."

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Mary started working the Cybex equipment in my gym. It was hard for her at first but she had the determination to stick with it and started showing some improvement. She was soon exercising an hour with me. While she didn't use anywhere the amount of weight I did. She was proud to keep up with me.

One night in bed she asked me to add an upper body massage to her normal leg rub down. That night I massaged her over her nightgown both front and back. I stayed away from her breasts and bottom. When I finished with her front, I realized that she had fallen asleep.

I pulled the sheet over us and went to sleep. The next morning when I woke, she was back curled up on my shoulder. I tried to get up without waking her, but when I heard, "Good morning husband." I knew I'd failed. I made my bathroom call and returned to bed with her.

"When did you remember we were once married?" I asked.

"I didn't remember. It just seems right when I'm in your arms," she offered.

She started showing improvement much faster from then on. One day Jackie found her crying, "I just remembered that your husband died, "Mary sobbed. She and Jackie had a good cry together that day.

One night as she was getting ready for bed, she took her nightgown off and climbed in next to me naked. "I remembered today that we used to sleep together nude. Can we do it again?" I looked at her naked body and realized that her workouts in the gym were showing effect, I nodded my approval.

I got up and removed the PJ bottoms I'd been wearing for months, and climbed back in bed. She had watched me strip. "I like that thing between your legs, "she commented "Can I hold it?"

I never had a chance to answer before she had grabbed it in both hands. As it engorged a smile crossed her face, "I used to love it when it got this big. Show me what we used to do with it."

We made love for about half the night. Her memories of how to make love returned and she tried to make up for all those lost years in one night. When I couldn't perform any more we curled up in each other's arms. As I started to drop off, I heard, "Jack, I still love you. Thank you for waiting for me to remember."

The next morning I woke to her lips around my cock. She sucked me to completion. As I was recovering she said, "Guess what I remembered how to do?"

And she put it back in her mouth.

I showed her 69 again. It was as if she had never experienced oral sex before. She had liked it when we were first married. But now she loved it. After finally begging me to stop, she climbed on my erection and played cowgirl. We missed breakfast that day and a few other days after for the same reason.

One night nearly a month later, Mary woke me out of a sound sleep. She was crying, "Please forgive me for driving you away. I'll never drink again." She had finally recovered her memory of why we divorced. We had a good cry, together. We promised to love and treasure each other for ever.

I had the love of my life back, and she most of her memories. We were complete. The pain cause by all her years of drinking was gone. The hurt and hatred in me had slowly dissolved.

As Mary came back to me, my need for revenge against her greedy non-caring eldest daughter and her husband surfaced. I called my childhood friends. The older daughter and her jerk husband were killed in an automobile accident about six months later. Seems their brakes failed.

I didn't tell Mary or Jackie about their deaths.

It was almost three years later when I noticed that Mary was in some sort of pain. She would hold her stomach more and more frequently. The doctor's at the hospital confirmed it. Her liver was failing. The years of alcohol abuse had finally caught up with her. I pulled every string I could think of to get her on a transplant list. The doctor explained that she wouldn't live long enough to reach the top of the list. She would be dead in less than a year.

Mary's brain never completely recovered. She had killed too many brain cells with her drinking. When someone asked her a question, there was a noticeable time lag before she answered. There were times when Mary would look at me and say, "There's something I feel I should remember, but I can't." Then she'd cry or maybe just get mad at herself.

Either way, I just tried to hold her and make the pain go away. There were times I tried to resume making love with her. She never refused me, but also never really participated. I tried to make her enjoy sex, but it was as if that portion of her anatomy was dead now. I could elicit no response.

After I finished, she would get up and clean herself. If we made love two times before going to sleep, she'd douche both times. One night I asked her why so many times.

She answered, "Because that's what I was told to do." Her mind was slipping back.

Most nights I just held her and tried to remember our early and recent good years, not the in between ones. But I usually struggled getting to sleep.

One night as we cuddled together in bed I heard her soft voice.

She was praying, "Thank you God for letting me have Jack back. When I die, can I wait for him to join me?"

She died quietly in her sleep a few weeks later.

*

Epilog:

As it always does time has passed and Jack is 93. The time to join his Mary has come. All his family is in the hospital room watching him fade away.

Suddenly he sat up and says in a clear concise voice, "Hi Mary, my love, I'm coming."

As he fell back the monitors stopped beeping.