The Chinatown Affair Ch. 03

"Happens all the time," the receptionist smiled politely. "Have a nice day."

The fact of the matter was that Mei couldn't expect Tamera to do something with her child that she wasn't prepared to do with her own, no matter what the circumstances of Tamera's pregnancy.

"Mei, let's hold up a minute," the brunette finally said once they'd reached the outside again. "You know just as well as I do that Mark doesn't want anything to do with this baby. I grew up without a dad and I just don't know if I can put my own child through that. It was awful. My mother was always in a bad mood raising me by herself. And sometimes I felt like she hated me for complicating her life."

"Well, maybe that's 'cause she raised you out of obligation instead of love. You actually love your baby. And Besides, I can help you. You see...I'm pregnant too. I'm not sure if I ever will be again and I know that you feel the same way, don't you?" Tamera nodded in agreement. "Now I know that we're not gonna be some big happy family all of a sudden, but let's face it...this may be a once in a life time deal for both of us. I can't deny you this gift. I can't allow you to have this abortion when I know that you really don't want to. You didn't make this baby by yourself. My husband won't be there for you, but I will."

Whether it was the hormones talking or her own goodwill, Mei wasn't sure, but she intended to keep her promise. Mark looked as if he might have stroke once he heard the news. His face was red, his chest was heaving, and his fists had balled up in a way that made his wife feel afraid at first. He had two children on the way and one that he could care less about. It was all supposed to have been taken care of, but Mei had stuck her nose into his business and now she was ruining everything.

Roughly six months later, Tamera went into labor and Mei drove her to the hospital. The young woman was excited to finally greet her new baby into the world, but complications ensued.

"What's going on?" she asked, noticing a change in the demeanor of her doctor and the nurses. Something wasn't right, wasn't normal. Mei was asked to leave the delivery room. Two hours later, Tamera gave birth to a stillborn baby girl; beautiful and healthy in every way except for the fact that her umbilical cord had accidentally wrapped around the infant's neck, choking her to death. "It's not fair..." the grieving mother spoke once the nurses handed her the lifeless child. "She died on her birthday. It's not fair."

Mei sat with Tamera in silence as she cradled her child. Ten minutes, then twenty, then an hour passed by and it was time to let the little body go. The ordeal had been scarier than words could allow Mei to express. Carrying a daughter of her own at the moment, she couldn't help but feel afraid that this could happen to her too.

At home, Mark was of no comfort. He had no soothing words, no loving arms to reassure his wife that everything would be okay. No, he resented her too much. Boy, if looks could kill...All he could see in Mei was that she was his meddling wife who had put him through hell over some girl he'd accidentally knocked up. Didn't she understand it was nothing personal, just an accident? As his wife, she was supposed to be on his side alone, not anybody else's.

Mark felt wronged and his wife had been paying for it ever since...

Mei still held a hand to her chest as the feelings evoked by all of those memories began to subside. Looking at the clock, she realized that ten minutes had passed, just remembering everything. But, her heart was beating a little slower now, returning to normal. And although she really needed the rest, she wouldn't allow herself to get back to sleep, avoiding more bad dreams.

It was 6:30 in the morning and Rachel would need to be ready for school soon. The girl's mother prepared her plush unicorn lunchbox with a snack and tucked a few extra graham crackers in the side-pocket. She really liked those.

Having Rachel had been the deciding factor to stay with Mark after his relationship with Tamera. Back then, Mei had been so afraid of being a single mother, afraid of the stigma, the judgment. She had grown up in a world where women just didn't make decisions like that and divorced women were considered undesirable, especially ones with small children.

It wasn't until Jonathon came along that Mei seriously began to wonder if all of the social "rules" she had learned as a girl were actually breakable. He sure seemed to be doing a fine job of it. Maybe other people were breaking them. Maybe she could too.

Soon enough, Mark was awake and wandering into the kitchen for breakfast.

"We have to talk," the man's wife began while turning on the stove top.

"About?"

"Jonathon and I. Something's going on between us."

"Oh, please," Mark scoffed. "I hope you don't actually think that guy really likes you."

"Yes, I do think he likes me," Mei said with a confident glare in her husband's direction.

"Think about it. What would an attractive twenty-something want with the married mother of a 6 year old? Let's see, he's renting your parent's Chinatown apartment, which means he's broke and he lives in another state, which means he doesn't have to be around you all the time. Face it. He's probably hoping to score some free rent and some no-strings-attached pussy. Perfect for saving money to take pretty girls out on dates when you're not around."

"That's right Mark, take all the cheap shots you can. Cause sooner than later, I'm not gonna be around for you to beat up on anymore."

"Oh, sure. So I guess this is the part where you threaten to file for divorce then, spend the night at my sister's house to teach me a lesson," the woman's husband said snickered.

"Nope. This is my house too and I'm stayin' put," Mei responded. "At least until the divorce," she smiled while cracking an egg over the hot skillet. The sizzling sound seemed to add a little sting to her declaration. "You want bacon with this?"

Mark looked at his wife with contempt.

"I'm not hungry."

****

After dinner and clean up, Mei used the guest bathroom for a nice hot soak. No one ever used that room, so it felt much more pristine and exclusive. In fact, she had decided to relocate herself to the guestroom completely. Exercising her newfound privacy, Mei decided to call Jonathon for another one of their late night conversations. Oddly, the phone rang more times than usual and when he finally picked she could faintly hear another voice in the background. The woman's pulse raced a little and she struggled not to think about what Mark had told her earlier about Jonathon seeing other girls while she was away.

"Hey baby," a masculine voice said into the receiver.

"Hi. Did I call at a bad time?"

"Kinda. Uhm, can I call you right back?"

"Sure," Mei swallowed hard. She could hear Jonathon talking to someone else and laughing just as he hung up the phone. But what more was she to expect from a good looking, faraway, twenty something, who probably just saw her as a potential sugar mama and nothing else? Mark might have been wrong about a lot of things, but he was definitely right about others.

Just not this thing!

Ten minutes later, Jonathon called back.

"Sorry about that," he apologized. "Damn, this house repair stuff isn't going very smoothly."

"Oh. Well, if something has gone wrong, just tell me and I'll take care of it. What else is wrong in the apartment?"

"No, my house. Not the apartment. I have a home that's being renovated. That's how I was able to find contractors for your parent's building so easily. They were already working on my property." Mei felt pleasantly surprised to hear the younger man prove one of her husband's theories wrong. Jonathon was not using her for financial reasons. "Anyway, I've been really lax with the workers for being so flexible about the extra work load and now they think its party time or something."

"Oh, is that who you were talking to when I called?" Mei asked with a little relief.

"Yeah, they finished rewiring upstairs today, but then they started raiding the refrigerator. It took forever to get them out of here. None of them have returned to work on my house yet and I'm on a deadline. I hope they don't come back looking for more free stuff."

"Do you have a lot of food in the apartment?"

"No, not anymore."

"Then trust me, they won't come back," the older assured her lover and they both laughed a little.

"So, what are you wearing?" Jonathon changed the subject. He heard a stifled giggle across the phone line.

"Well," the woman began. "It's a silk nightie with white lace and I've opted not to wear any panties again," Mei explained while getting comfortable on her bed. "What are you wearing?"

"Nothing but a smile."

"Oh, my gosh!" the woman laughed.

"It's true. I'm just getting into bed now while listening to you. Too bad you're not here. I'd like to wear you."

It felt so good to hear Jonathon's voice gain. He really encouraged Mei to feel sexy.

"I'm touching myself," the woman admitted.

"Can you come for me on the phone?" Jonathon asked huskily. The sound of his heavy breathing let Mei know that he was very aroused and probably stroking himself too. She could just imagine his length erect and stiff, yearning for release. She wanted to lick his cockhead and smear his pre-come across her lips; to tease him and taunt him; to drive him wild with lust for her warm body.

"Oh Jon, I'm so horny," Mei replied. Two fingers gently moved in and out of her hole while manipulating her clit by rubbing it against her palm. The woman moaned and cooed into the phone as she listened to Jonathon do the same. Her hand was becoming slick with natural lubricant. The more aroused she became, the more it poured out of her and soon it was making a mess between her thighs. She closed her eyes and remembered the last time Jonathon's face was between those thighs.

"What are you thinking about, baby?" the younger man asked. "You thinking about how I tongue-fucked you at the bar? We almost got caught," he breathed with a smile.

"Yeah, I loved that. I miss you licking me," the older woman hissed while paying closer attention to her sensitive clit. "Ahh..." she whimpered into the phone a little.

"Baby, I can't wait to see you again. I wish you still lived out here. I wanna make like you like that all the time."

Mei's skin was hot, excited, elated.

"Oh, shit! I think it's about to happen..." She could feel her vaginal muscles tightening around her fingers. Her body was obviously going to its "happy place" and she was amazed at how involuntary the experience seemed, as if she was being controlled by her own sexuality.

"Fuck!" the younger man groaned as he listened, concentrating on the soft sound of Mei's hand slamming against her wet opening. He could remember her delicate taste, her scent, the softness of her feminine pubic hair and the fleshy, pink frills of her seductive labia. "I want you!"

"Oh, Ohhhh..." the woman moaned, signaling her climax. She squeezed her thighs together as her body shook with satisfaction.

"Yes!" Jonathon hissed, his own orgasm becoming apparent. "Ohhh! Oh shit, babe, that was great," he moaned exhaustedly. "I gotta clean up."

"Me too," Mei panted. "Talk again soon?"

"You know it," Jonathon replied and they each hung up.

****

It was a Saturday morning and Mark had been waking up alone for the past three weeks while his wife took refuge in the guestroom. But today was the day he took back control over the household. Mei had set up an appointment for the two of them to meet with their respective lawyers and if she thought he was just going to cooperate with this divorce fairly, well she had another thing coming. Both of their vehicles were already in his name, so he was definitely taking possession of them and he had already come up with a scheme to make the house his too; that might make her think twice!

The sound of laughter and shuffling in the living room made Mark want to investigate. He found Mei and his sister setting up moving boxes. To say that it was surprising would be an understatement. His soon to be ex-wife was packing everything that she had personally brought into the marriage; her books, some linen, a few appliances. Apparently, she didn't even want the damn house that he was sure would make her re-evaluate a divorce. The two women quieted down once they saw him watching.

"Oh. Hi, Mark," Linda greeted her brother unenthusiastically.

"What's all this?" the man asked. This was definitely not the usual suitcase trick his wife used to pull on him.

"I'm just getting my stuff together before it's time for me to move out. I don't to waste time."

"This is your fault!" Mark suddenly exploded while pointing to his sister. "You've always made her think that she needed to hide from me by telling her to come over whenever we argue. But it was really just an opportunity for you to fill her head with a bunch of dumb ideas about leaving me."

"No, Mark," the man's wife chimed in as she finished taping up a box. She stopped for a moment and looked at him very seriously. "This is my fault. For years you've treated me like crap, like I was disgusting, and unattractive, but only because I let you. I let you get away with it time and time again and now you're used to it. I should've nipped this in the bud all those years ago when you got that other girl pregnant, but I just didn't believe in myself. I didn't give myself enough credit. Now I'm finally ready to leave you. And if that means starting all over and being a single mother and worrying about whether any other man will ever want me again, I'm finally ready to deal with that."

"Well, you're making a big mistake. And are you really gonna stand there bringing shit up from almost 10 years ago as your excuse for ending our marriage?! You act like such a victim. My dad had other women at times, but do you think my mother bitched about it like you? No! She always forgave him, always knew that he had chosen her to be the wife and not any of those other tramps."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You just stop right there, honey," Linda held up a finger. At this point Mark was indirectly talking about her mother. "Mark, I really loved your mama, so don't take offense to this, but she was a wimp!"

"No, my mother didn't sweat the small stuff!"

"Do you really think she ate all the time because she was hungry? No, Ellen was depressed because Dad was killing her inside. She didn't know how to just stand up for herself, so she ate all the damn time. That's how come she got so damn fat."

"She didn't get that way until after you were born," Mark said resentfully. "She got depressed because you and your mother tried to force your way into our family, but it didn't even work cause Dad may have treated my mom poorly sometimes, but he would never leave her."

"Of course he wouldn't leave. Who the hell else was gonna let him walk all over them? It's the same damn thing with you and Mei. For all the lies, the insults, the way you treat her as if she's unworthy of your love, why not just divorce her already?! The truth is that you stay with her for a reason, just like Dad stayed with Ellen. You want someone you can control."

After listening long enough, Mei left the room abruptly and stood on the back porch for some air. It hurt to face the fact that Mark's main reason for staying married to her was likely because she was just like Ellen, a wimp. Now it seemed so fitting that she had worn her mother-in-law's dress to the retirement party. That night, she actually was Ellen; a miserable wife, loyally standing by for the stake of tradition and low self-esteem. If she had harbored any doubts beforehand about leaving Mark, they had all disappeared during that moment.

In the living room, Mark just stood there for a moment with a strange look on his face. His sister wondered if he was about to lose his temper and do something crazy, but no, she could see now that a light bulb was starting to go off in Mark's head. Like many men, he had modeled his marriage after that of his parents. In his eyes, his father had always been a ladies man who just happened to be married and his mother was the all-forgiving wife who was too wise to hold a grudge. Maybe deep down he knew otherwise, but he was too in love with the idea of having power over his wife to ever actually be in love with his wife. What a shame.

****

The divorce was miserable and at times painful for both sides, but it was a long time coming. Mei moved herself and her daughter out to San Francisco. The bad news was that everything in the city was even more expensive than she remembered. The good news was that her job was transferable and she was finally free from a bad marriage!

At first, Mei's mother was not at all accepting of her divorce, she especially hated the idea of her daughter dating a younger man. But the noticeable change in Mei's attitude and love of life made her see differently. Mei was a whole new woman. Jonathon had been trying to give her some space while she settled into her new life, but after nearly a month, he just couldn't stay away any longer. So one night he reserved a table for two at a restaurant of her choice and they had their first real date. An after dinner stroll through Jonathon's neighborhood led the couple straight to his front door. He had chauffeured Mei past it once in the car, but this was her first time going inside the beautifully restored Victorian home; an ordinary sight in San Francisco that always felt extraordinary at the same time.

"Well, here we are," Jonathon announced while locking up the front door. "I know it still smells a little musty in here 'cause the building's so old, but I'm trying to get rid of tha—." Mei quickly silenced his lips with a passionate kiss. "Wow..." he exhaled when she finally broke away. "You know, another thing about this house is that I've never made love in it before. Maybe you could help me change that."

Mei was already circling the tip of Jonathon's erection through the material of his pants when she agreed to his offer.

"I'd love that."

A narrow hallway led the couple to Jonathon's room. The sight of a large bed gave Mei butterflies as the moment began to feel more and more real. A soft sound made her turn in Jonathon's direction. She saw him lighting a few candles.

"Cut out the lights," the younger man insisted. Afterward, the dim glimmer of the candles provided a more romantic sort of ambiance than the artificial lights. Jonathon lifted his shirt up over his head, tossing it to a nearby chair. The soft lighting gave shadow to his tight muscles. Steadily, he began walking toward his target. Mei felt her heart float its way up into her throat with anxiousness.

"Touch me," the younger man said, putting his woman's hands to his chest. She gave him a gentle squeeze before concentrating on his nipples, running her fingers over them a couple of times then, her tongue. His skin tasted clean and felt silky against her mouth. With her lips still tied to his pecs, Mei deftly unbuckled the man's belt and stripped him completely nude. She stood back for a moment looking at him and feeling pleasantly intimidated. Her eyes fell to his arousal as she stared at the glistening eye, weeping tears of sexual joy. She let a drop of his pre-ejaculate dribble onto her finger before putting the digit to her mouth. It was a little salty, a little tangy, and apparently, a little something of an aphrodisiac as she felt herself becoming rapidly wet.

Gently and teasingly slow, Jonathon began to unbutton the older woman's blouse. He threw it to the chair with his shirt just before working on her bra. For the first time, her breasts were completely exposed to him. Mei took a deep breath as the younger man fondled them experimentally. They seemed to fill his hands so perfectly. He smiled at their soft, but firmness and brought her close, wanting to feel her bare skin against his. In a sensual embrace, their bodies moved against one another, just breathing and touching one another.