The Eskimo

"I had to. The deal was off if I didn't. Anyway – she was horrible."

"So you say," Sally snapped back angrily. "Then when I meet her she turns out to be a blonde Valkyrie in a seal-skin bikini."

"She really was gross. Big and fat – I reckon that she must weight three times as much as you."

"If you screwed her to save the deal then why on earth shouldn't I do the same with him?"

"Because I don't want you to," I said.

"Fuck you, I am going to do it," she told me.

Of course I argued against but I could tell that her mind was set. I gave up for then while still intending to return to the attack later. "OK, I'll ring the MD and tell him that Gunnar can still stay with us," I conceded.

"Go into work and tell him the good news face to face," Sally instructed. "It will give you time to sort your head out and get this thing in perspective."

The MD was ecstatic, pumping my hand he enthused, "Good work, good work. You must have been very persuasive." He also told me to take the rest of the time off work until it was time to collect my guest from the airport."

I returned home still unable to accept the idea. After putting up with my muttering for a while, Sally said, "It's only fair, Johnny. If you fucked his wife then he must be entitled to do the same to me."

"That argument doesn't work," I told her. "He wanted me to do it. Gunnar is very proud of his wife and that was his way of showing her off."

"Aren't you proud of me?"

"You know I am. But I am proud just to have them look at you - a man doesn't need to get his dick inside you, to know what a cracker you are." That was a good sentence but I foolishly tried to embellish it. "You see that is Gunnar's problem. His wife looks so gross that you have to have sex with her to appreciate her merits."

"So that is how she was, all hot and eager and panting," Sally said with a grim smile. "I had decided to only to the minimum, just lie back and think of England - or more probably the bonus. Now I am going to give your Gunnar full value for money - I'm certainly not going to be outdone by some Eskimo tart."

My misery was compounded by the fact that Sally had drawn up a list of tasks to complete, saying that she wanted the house to be immaculate when our guest arrived. She had banked on me being given absence from work for on two of the following days while she was on duty at the nursery. Polishing, cleaning and hoovering, I had to work myself into a frazzle to get the work done but at times it did take my mind off what was to come. However, I could not get over the irony that I was doing all this to impress a man who would finish up fucking my wife.

Using an open cheque provided by my firm, we stocked up on pickled roll-mops and other Scandinavian delicacies. At the airport Gunnar seemed very pleased to see me and mentioned that Gunhilda asked to be remembered. For the sake of the contract, I tried to be pleasant in return, suppressing my newly found antipathy towards him. At home he was very gallant towards Sally and that irritated me. Finding myself alone with her in the kitchen for a moment, I said spitefully, "Now that you have seen what you've let yourself in for, I hope you are having second thoughts."

"No second thoughts – in fact I think that he is rather handsome," she said. What upset me most, I think, was the look of excitement in her eyes.

During the evening, I found it very difficult to make conversation but my wife more than made up for the shortfall. In fact she chatted to him in a very animated fashion, quite leaving me in the shade. Observing when I was not the centre of Gunnar's attention, I noticed that his heavily muscled thighs were so thick that they made his legs looked short. There was no doubt that he radiated physical power. I was seething inside. His eyes just drank her in. Although nothing was officially arranged, just looking at his face told me that he knew she would be sharing his bed.

At a reasonably early hour, Sally retired. I tried to catch her glance but she seemed deliberately to ensure that our eyes did not make contact. I did try the old delaying tactic, plying him with drink and asking questions but Gunnar was having none of it. "I have had rather a long day. If you don't mind, I would like to get my head down," he said politely.

'Get your head down where – you pervert?' I thought, but all the same forced a smile to my face as he left the room. I had planned to say, 'Have a good night,' but the words stuck in my throat.

Left alone, I turned my CD player up to full volume, grabbed a bottle of whisky and started pouring the alcohol down my throat as fast as it would go. It was past two o'clock in the morning before I dare go upstairs to bed and by that time I was verging on the paralytic. Despite myself, I paused outside the guest room door and listened, drawing some small consolation that there were no sounds of activity. Throwing myself under the covers still fully dressed, I fell asleep straight away.

Next morning I woke with the grandfather of all hangovers and staggered downstairs. Sally was at the stove frying bacon and singing quietly to herself.

"Well?" I asked standing aggressively by her side.

She turned and smiled. "He's built like a bull," she said.

Any further exchange between us was prevented by Gunnar making his appearance, apparently full of the joys of life. He devoured an English breakfast and then topped it of with a quantity of the more northern specialities that we had provided. I did feel some gratitude for the fact that he more or less ignored my wife, addressing all of his remarks to me. With Gunnar actuality sitting in my car waiting to be taken to the firm's premises, I decided that I could not let Sally's earlier comment remain unchallenged so I ran back inside. Grabbing her arm I asked, "What did you mean when you said that he was built like a bull?"

"He was very gentle with me."

"I did not ask you that," I said fiercely. "Built like a bull – you mean he is heavily built."

"You know what I meant. I was talking about his cock." Sally gave a kind of intoxicated laugh and added, "Or should I say 'pizzle'?"

I was so infuriate that I could have shaken her and might have done so had not I seen through the window that Gunnar had got out of the car and was walking back towards the house. Quickly intercepting him, I took him to my place of employment. During the morning, he was conducted by the MD on a tour of the plant and offices with me tagging along but in the afternoon, those two were closeted together. Various experts were called in but for some reason I seemed to be excluded. Through lack of experience at this level, I did not know if this was customary. However, at the end of the day, Gunnar was delivered back into my care to be taken to my home for the night.

Sally had excelled herself cooking and our guest proved to have a prodigious appetite for what she provided – although it was my favourite meal, he ate far more than I. During the evening, Sally showed great interest in his personal history and sat enthralled as he described an Inuit childhood, living in igloos and spending hours sitting fishing through holes in the ice. She also discovered that he had fathered six children to four different women. He had only been married twice, the one to Gunhilda being only for the previous two years. She was twenty-two and had not yet born him a child. Rather mysteriously he said that he planned different negotiations with other organisations and did not plan to impregnate her until they were all completed. My wife also elicited the fact that he was forty – I had been totally unable to estimate his age. I felt that he enthused rather too much about Gunhilda and his remarks discomfited me. "She's a very passionate girl," he said to Sally. "But John will have already have told you that. I do like passionate women."

My wife declared that she was going to bed almost indecently early and of course, Gunnar quickly followed her. I got the whisky, planning to again numb my mind but after one glass, after the previous nights excess, my stomach revolted. Partly lulled by the previous lack of obvious fireworks, I decided on a different strategy. First I crammed my ears with cotton wool and placed my ear-phones on top. Thus protected from unwanted sound, I went to bed with a book. Unbelievably, I was actually getting into the story when a sudden shriek penetrated my audio protection. Thinking that my wife was in pain or being attacked, I ripped off the insulation to realise that she was simply enjoying a god almighty orgasm. Nor was it of fairly short duration, as with me, but seemed to go on and on and on – seemingly for ever. She sounded like a cat. Even when the big one was finally over, sounds of enthusiastic sexual activity went on for ages. I lay trembling all over with bitter bile filling my mouth. Neither prestige of position nor fantastic salary was worth the sacrifice that I had made. Even when silence descended upon the guest room, sleep continued to elude me.

In consequence I overslept, as did everybody else. I banged on the guest room door, shouting that we were late. When Gunnar came into the kitchen, I told him that there was no time for breakfast if he hoped to catch his plane but he might be able to grab something to eat at the airport. Sally appeared just as we were heading for the door looking curiously subdued. Gunnar could do little more than raise his hand to her and then we were off. I did wait until his plane was in the air but then drove back home fast intending to berate my wife for her performance during the night.

She was not at home. First I made myself a coffee, then later a fuller breakfast. It was over two hours before she returned home. "Where the hell have you been," I demanded, the moment that she walked in the door?"

"Walking," she said quietly. "In the woods. I needed to think."

"What was there to think about?"

Sally reached out and took my hand, looking at me with unsure eyes. "Johnny, I never dreamed that it was possible to be made to feel like that."

My wife had warned me that she intended to give Gunnar 'value for money' and I had intended to remonstrate with her for doing it far too enthusiastically but now that went out of my mind because suddenly I was very afraid. "I don't understand," I said.

"I don't understand either – or at least I didn't but I have done a lot of thinking while I was in the woods. His penis is very big and he is a very unusual person also there was all the build up and you were in the house. I think all those factors combined to make me react in an unusual way. It could probably never happen just like that again."

"So why didn't you react like that the first night?"

"As I said, he was very gentle then, I think he was afraid of hurting me. I liked it. It was different and seemed very naughty even though you had already done it to his wife. I thought then that it was just a game but it's not, is it?"

"And last night?" I prompted.

"He was much rougher, much rougher than you ever are or at least it felt like that. Probably that was another factor in my reaction."

"Where does this leave me?"

"It leaves you exactly where you were Johnny, nothing has changed," she said softly. "Something has happened to me but it's over. I'll tell you what I have worked out during my walk. People do different things in their lives. They sky dive or bungee jump and enjoy the experience, they probably won't ever forget doing it but have no real desire to ever do it again. That's just how this is with me."

Her explanation left me feeling much easier in my mind and we spent a relaxed, if pointless, evening just watching the television. In bed I wanted sex. This was not a wish to make love or desire generated by lust, rather it was a dog-like need to remark my territory. Perhaps Sally sensed this because she knocked me back for the first time ever. "I just don't want to Johnny," she said. "I'll make it up to you tomorrow, I promise." However, when tomorrow night came, while acting in a very flirtatious manner, she continually plied me with liquor, until by bedtime, I was drunk and incapable.

It was not immediate but gradually we got back together until, three weeks later, thoughts of the arctic lothario had faded and we were back to normal – possibly in some ways better than normal. I certainly had no intimation of what lay ahead.

Returning from lunch, the message that I found on my desk said only that the MD wanted to see me. I went to the top floor, knocked on his door and on being bidden to enter, pushed it open. He beamed expansively at me and said, "Come in John and make yourself comfortable. We're on the last lap."

After I was seated and had lit a cigarette taken from the proffered box he went on, "I have just received a cable from Norway. Gunnar is coming down next week to sort out a few minor details and then he will sign the contract. So you will be having your house guest back for a couple more days."

"I'd rather not," I said.

"There's no 'rather not' about it John," the MD retorted with a hint of steel in his voice. "Your hospitality is not exactly stipulated but it is heavily inferred. I honestly believe that the whole contract depends upon it."

"No," I replied, shaking my head for emphasis.

"Why ever not?"

How the hell could I tell him that Gunnar made my wife feel too good in bed? "It's just no," I said lamely.

"I am not going to take 'no' for an answer. This is a direct order – you will do what is necessary for the good of the firm."

"I'll resign first," I told him through tight lips. "My answer is still no."

He stood up, going very red in the face. "Then let me give fair warning that you will never get another job that pays as well as this one. I will see to that personally."

"Do what the fuck you like," I shouted back before storming out of the office, slamming the door behind me.

I sat in my office seething. Although it was a designated 'no smoking' area, I was on my third cigarette when the door opened and the managing director came in. He smiled apologetically at me and said, "Look John. I'm afraid that I was rather hasty back there – this whole Lapland business has got me on edge. I know that you have principles and I respect them so, if ever you do leave the firm under whatever circumstances, you can depend upon getting a top class personal recommendation from me."

"My resignation still stands."

"There is no need," he said happily. "I have spoken to your wife and she said 'yes' straight away."

"You had no right," I shouted, jumping to my feet.

"I had every right. I had more than a right. It is my duty to safeguard this firm and the interests of the shareholders. You have no idea how critical getting this contract is to the firm."

"I didn't know.

"John, John," he said, switching into conciliatory father figure mode. "I suspected that Mr Erickson might have made himself objectionable to your wife in some way and if that had been the case, I would of course have made other arrangements, even at a risk to the contract. That's why I had to speak to your wife directly. As nothing like that seems to be involved, I don't really know what is bothering you."

The MD paused to allow me to explain but I still found it impossible to elucidate. "Right John, he said standing up. "As your wife is quite happy about it, everything can go ahead as arranged and we will say no more about this bit of unpleasantness." With that he left my office.

I still was not resigned to this but my position had become untenable. I could do nothing until I had opportunity to have it out with Sally so, although it was still early afternoon, I went out to my car and drove home. She was surprised at my unexpected early return but the happy expression on her face was in place before she saw me. "What the hell have you been telling my boss?" I asked harshly before she could speak.

"Just that we would be happy to accommodate Gunnar again."

"Did he mention that I threatened to resign rather than let that happen?"

Sally shook her head. "Why would you do that?" she asked with genuine puzzlement on her face.

"You know damn well.

"You're just jealous," she said with a little laugh.

"Of course I'm fucking jealous."

"More than jealous – you are being very selfish," she said, starting to get angry herself.

"And how do you make that out?" I asked, matching her heat with my coldness.

"By wanting to stop me doing something that I very much want to do."

"If you mean getting shagged silly by a fucking Eskimo, I think that I have every right to stop you."

"And jeopardising a contract on which your firm depends. You realise that means the livelihood of dozens of people," she said, ignoring my interruption.

That stopped me. "The contact is not that important."

"It is you know. When I told your boss that Gunnar could stay with us, he said that everybody in the firm owed me a big debt of gratitude because without this contract it would go out of business."

Now I understood why the MD had become so irate and my mind whirred madly, trying to work out how the firm came to be in such a parlous state. "Let's have a cup of tea and talk about it calmly," Sally said gently and I was happy to agree.

When we were sitting with warm drinks before us and I had a cigarette on the go, Sally took hold of my hand and said," Johnny, it's sex, not love. I love you, I always will and this will not affect that. I didn't sleep with Gunnar from choice, it was more or less forced on me but when I did I enjoyed it. It was an incredible experience but one that I was resigned never to have again so can you blame me for grabbing another chance. I would like to have sex with him again but apart from that I have to, it's a kind of duty - even if I loathed the man, I would feel honour bound to do it. Can you understand what I am saying?"

"I think so but I can't get over the fact that you are my wife and he is another man."

"You had it off with his wife so what's the difference?" Sally gave a grin and added, "It was a bit for revenge that I did it with him the first time but that is not a consideration any more."

"Yes it is," I protested. "I had it with Gunhilda once but he has already screwed you twice and now hopes to shaft you another two times. That's not tit-for-tat."

"That is the point though. He has already had me on two occasions so what the hell does another two, or four, or six times matter if it's going to save your job and that of a lot of other people."

Outmanoeuvred on logic, I reverted to emotion. "You enjoy it too much," I said.

"So if I hated it you wouldn't object? Then you would sacrifice me for the good of the firm but because I will get pleasure humping him you get jealous."

"It's not like that," I muttered weakly but deep down I had to admit that it was – it was exactly like that."

"There is no point talking it about it any more," Sally said with an air of finality. "I'm going to do it because I have said that I will, I only hope that you are not going to make this into a big issue between us."

For the rest of the day we skirted round each other just making general conversation. I could not help being morose but I think my wife made efforts to tone down a buoyant cheerfulness.

In bed I lay on my back with hands behind my head gazing at the ceiling and Sally laid facing away at her side of the bed. Although we were nominally both trying to go to sleep, I was aware of a silence between us. Suddenly she rolled over and gave me a big kiss. "Look at it this way," she said. "You have got me every night of your life. Surely you can spare just two – especially if I make our nights like this." As she spoke, Sally started edging herself down the bed towards my groin.

Later, much later, drifting into a satiated sleep, I thought, 'How the hell could some primitive from the arctic effect us if we could still fuck like that?'.