The Malicious Prank

Her words melted me, I truly love Jenny with all my heart. "You are a beautiful woman Jenny, and I do love you. I am so into you and you make me feel like the man I want to be." We continued to hold each other, relaxing until we both fell asleep.

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That is how our relationship started out, and I believe it is the reason why we were so happy together. We rarely had arguments. If we had anything in our lives that could cause each of us, or the other, any problems, we always seemed to work things out in a loving and pleasant manner. There was genuine harmony between us. If there was anything negative at all, which at that early point in our relationship seemed minor, it was that Jenny's older brother was very protective of his younger sister. Mike was by no means a problem, or mean, but he always made sure I knew that Jenny was his little sister and that I had better be good to her. Over the six years of our marriage, he never let me forget that. Again, it was not a mean thing, just a protective brother thing. In many ways, it made me feel good to know she always had a place of refuge or protection, if the occasion should ever arise. It wouldn't be until we had been married for the six years that we had, that I would learn more about why Mike was so protective of Jenny.

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All of this is just a bit of background into our 6 years of marriage. I got along great with Jenny's family. They seemed to love me like another son, treating me every bit as important as one of their own. Mike and I got along really well. He is just a year older than me, three years older than Jenny. While he was always very protective of Jenny, he genuinely loved and cared for her. Even though we got along so well, Mike was still very serious with me about how I treated his baby sister. I know he knew of my love and devotion to Jenny, but the protective brother that he was, made him always drive that point home.

Jenny and I grew closer all the time. We showed our love and passion to one another often. Our love making sessions were always great, each of us giving, wanting the other to feel the best possible. We generally made love 3 to 4 times a week. Occasionally, we would go a few weeks, here and there, where we only made love 2 times a week, but those were still special times as well, just experiencing busy life.

Jenny and I had learned about each other and we had taken time to grow comfortable with each other's needs. It was not long after we had been a serious couple that Jenny gave everything she had in learning how to please me orally. She was amazing at it and her efforts were always 100%. I loved her so dearly that even if she had not liked giving head, it would have been fine. Jenny always thought about it as both of us doing all we could to sexually please the other. I so admired her dedication and love, she meant the world to me for it.

We never neglected each other, whether sexually, emotionally, or in any other way. I always felt so blessed to have such a loving and beautiful wife. It made me always want to be a better man, to never let her down. I believe Jenny felt the same. I also believe that we really bonded as a couple, sharing in all we had, one with another, and maybe part of it was that we had waited the six years to think about having children.

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Now, six years later, we were still close and very sexually active, right up until just a few weeks ago. It is a bit of a shock, therefore, and very confusing to me, thinking about how our lives are currently, this present day. The last few weeks has been different, not at all like how most all of our six-year marriage had been. Over these last few weeks, Jenny had become quiet, sometimes a bit moody, even a bit testy and short with me. I tried to think of what may be the problem, what may have happened to upset her. When I asked her about it, she was quick to snap at me.

The honest part of me wondered if she was pregnant, maybe having some morning sickness, or hormone problems. If she was pregnant, she did not tell me. The communication that we always had, that had always been so special, seemed to be gone. I wondered if I had somehow hurt her or done something stupid. I honestly had nothing to go on, as to why she was suddenly distant, quiet, and cool toward me. During those few weeks, I had tried to cuddle her, to initiate sex, and see if I could help her feel better. She coldly cut me off, sometimes with tears in her eyes, and then she'd just quietly roll over and face away, going to sleep.

These past few weeks were now the longest period of time in our marriage that we had not made love. I was concerned but had grown used to the idea that I had better shut up and quit badgering her. As I lay there next to Jenny, I knew she was not asleep. Over the years, I grew to know how she would breathe and tonight, she was facing away from me, yet again, as I just stared up at the ceiling. My own tears began to creep out and down my cheeks. For the life of me, I could not figure out what was wrong.

Suddenly, like a moment of true clarity, my stomach tightened, and I felt like throwing up. One of those times when a truly fearful possibility may exist, that could turn a life upside down. I wondered if Jenny was having an affair. How could I even think that of her? What we had could never have been cut up by such a thing. I loved her with everything I had and I believed she felt the same about me. Still, laying there in the dark, unable to answer all of the questions in my mind, I had to wonder if there was someone else. I wondered if I was being replaced, and if Jenny just could not find the way to tell me. I knew what I needed to do, if nothing else, to try to get my answers. I would begin tomorrow morning, with earnest, trying to get to the bottom of all of this.

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I went into the den and sat at my computer. I use the den all the time, as does Jenny. We both have our own laptop computers. Many times, we would actually be using them at the same time, we had plenty of room with a long table that served as a desk. As I booted up my laptop, I was anxious to see if our security cameras still worked OK. I knew that the system was currently turned off, at least the indoor cameras. We still used the external security cameras and emergency lighting that I had installed around the house.

That was three years ago. At the time that we decided to install the system, there had been several break-ins in the area. Jenny was sometimes home alone if I had business trips. I did not have to travel very often, maybe 3 or 4 trips a year. In fact, my most recent trip was three weeks ago. I had to attend business meetings for 4 days in Seattle. Before that, I had not traveled out of town for nearly 6 months. Now that I thought about that Seattle trip, it dawned on me that our relationship was just fine before I left on that trip. It was just a day or two after I got back from Seattle that I noticed the changes in Jenny, in our relationship. I would need to think about that as to being part of the answer.

When these security problems were going on in the area, we decided to install cameras and lights on the outside of the house, in strategic locations. Since we were spending the money and making the changes, we talked it over, and we decided to also install security cameras inside the house. If that sounds a bit creepy, keep in mind that our relationship was rock solid, filled with trust, and good communication. We felt OK and had no qualms about putting a few cameras inside the house. It would be a situation where we could use them or turn them off. The idea was that if we felt the need, whatsoever, we could have all of it turned on, in case there would ever be an emergency or the need for legal evidence. At no time did either of us think anything negative about this and we would never have a need to check up on each other. It was for our safety.

So, that was three years ago. We had all of it installed. We tried it out, and found all of the equipment to work fine. We had one in the living room, one in the kitchen, one in the hall, and one in each bedroom. We did not have any in the bathrooms. After a few weeks the novelty had worn off, we turned off all of the inside cameras, using only the exterior security. We knew that we could reactivate all of it if needed.

Even now, I knew the inside cameras were off, there would be nothing available to help me know what was wrong between us. My hope was to turn those back on and see if anything might be recorded in the coming days or weeks that might help me resolve what was going on in our marriage. I felt a bit sleazy, even though I was worrying about Jenny possibly having an affair. Still, I needed to know, I needed to find out what was wrong since Jenny would not openly talk.

My computer was fully awake and I had accessed the security program. I reached under the table and switched on the base module that ran the cameras mounted inside the house. I brought up the program and began to run a few tests to make sure I could remember how all of it worked. The cameras were active now. We had not really messed with the original settings when we turned all of it off.

Things seemed to be working and as a part of my test, I switched the computer view to our bedroom. I could very clearly see Jenny lying in bed, still asleep. The sound was even clear, picking up her deep breathing. Satisfied that it worked properly, I also checked the view for the living room, the kitchen, the hall, and the other bedrooms. If anything was captured, it would be stored on the hard drive, and it was plenty of disc space to hold as much as 80 hours. If I needed what was stored, I had to offload it or store it permanently on a different drive, or on the cloud. If I did nothing, it still held 80 hours, but would roll off and delete the oldest entries.

The system even had the ability to create video segments, based on date and time, as well as be set up to be motion activated. I had it set so that it would start recording video as soon as there was any movement. It would continue to record as long as there was movement. If movement stopped for a period of 5 minutes, it would stop recording. It would then immediately start a new video segment that would record for 2 minutes, regardless of movement or not. Then it would once again go into standby and not record until there was movement. Of course, anything could be watched and monitored live, if someone was using the computer in real time. Everything seemed to be working fine, and I placed it all in operational standby.

I really hoped Jenny would have a good day and that she would somehow be able to talk to me later. For now, I had to go to work. I would need to check for anything that could help me out, but that would be after work when I got back home.

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My day went uneventful yet slow. With all that was going wrong between Jenny and me, I felt helpless in doing anything to fix it while at work. Luckily for me, I have a good job that allows me some freedom in how I conduct my hourly day. As long as I meet our AOP and keep on track with the demands of the customer, and as long as I can keep the ship sailing smoothly, my boss really let me run my own show. I work in Portland, and that is also where we live. My boss lives in Seattle, overseeing a different branch location for our company. That is one of the reasons I had to travel to Seattle just recently.

One of the office administrators is Heather. We don't usually interface very much. She is there doing her thing and she answers to other people. We do share space, but also along with several other employees. Heather had noticed that I was not with it, so to speak. She approached me and asked if I was OK and if I wanted to share anything. That is one of the things I liked about her, she was attentive and genuinely seemed to care about things. If there is a problem, it usually does not get past her. Heather is 45 years old and has been at the company longer than most of us in the Portland office. She is pretty much the go-to person to get something done. "OK Dan, what's going on? I can tell you are carrying something heavy and it is weighing on your mind."

I have to hand it to her, she is perceptive when it comes to sensing things. "I wish I knew what was wrong, Heather. You already know that Jenny and I have been married for 6 years now. We have had the world by the tail for the most part, but for the last few weeks, Jenny has been different, distant, and somewhat cold toward me. I can't for the life of me figure out what is going on and she won't tell me, or seems unable to talk to me about whatever is bothering her."

"I'm sorry to hear that, is there anything I can do to help?" As she spoke, I could sense compassion and care for what I was going through.

"I don't know what could be done, I have tried talking to Jenny, but she acts like I have done something wrong, but won't say what it is. She also acts strangely enough, that I am starting to wonder if she may be seeing someone else, which I really can't imagine. We have been so close for all the time we have been together."

Heather stared at me, not really saying much for several seconds, and then she shook her head and finally spoke. "I can't imagine Jenny cheating on you. For the several times that I have met her or been around her, that does not seem to be something she would do. I have truly sensed that she is so in love with you, that for me, it is impossible to believe she is having an affair."

With that, we were both quiet for a bit, not knowing what to say. I thought I had tried everything, up to and including pissing Jenny off by trying to get her to talk to me. "I guess I'll just head home and give it another shot, maybe I can get her to talk to me tonight."

Heather seemed concerned and gave me a gentle quick hug and patted me on the back. "Why don't you try something with a little more determination? When you get home, pick the right moment, and then approach her closely. Make eye contact, place your hands on her shoulders, somewhat firmly. Keep eye contact and then tell her how much you lover her. Then before she can resist or pull away, while still looking right into her eyes, acknowledge that you know she is upset at something, but that for the life of you, you can't figure out what it is. Ask her sincerely, firmly, to please tell you what it is that is bothering her. Tell her that you truly want to know what has happened and that you want to help make things right, if you've done something wrong."

I liked the idea, although I had actually tried that several days ago. "I'll give it a shot, but I am not holding out any hope. Still, I am desperate and I need to find out what is going on."

I cleaned up my desk for the day and took a look around before heading out to my car. The drive home seemed to take forever and I couldn't help but think I would get to the bottom of things, even if it was just getting a clue or two from the video cameras. I felt like I'd be a sneaky sleaze ball but I had to know what was going on.

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When I arrived home and went inside, Jenny was not there. There was something in the oven cooking and it smelled good, like a roast or something. Other than that, everything else was on the quiet side. I figured that maybe she was running an errand or something because it was not like her to leave for very long if something was cooking in the oven. I set my briefcase down in the den and went to the bedroom the change out of my dress clothes. I put on a pair of sweat pants and a tee shirt, feeling comfortable.

Since Jenny was not home, I decided to check the security system for any videos and sound that may lead me to know anything more than I did. I checked out the video index that was listed for the day. There were video clips from the bedroom, the hall, the kitchen, and the living room. I began with the videos that were in the bedroom, taking note of the time stamp associated with each. I felt intrusive as I watched Jenny move about in the bedroom. She would leave and then reappear, and from what she was doing, it was plain that she was just having a normal day. She went into the master bathroom and of course, there are no cameras there. When she returned, she had obviously showered but I really saw nothing wrong. She dressed and left the bedroom.

I spent time checking quickly, using fast-forward, through the other videos. There was nothing on any of them that would indicate anything wrong, until I watched the video of the kitchen. Jenny had made coffee and was sitting at the table. The time on the video was 9:05am. She wasn't doing anything wrong, but what caught my eye is that she was crying. She sat, holding her coffee cup and even on the video, I could tell she was trembling. She sat her cup down and put her hands up to her eyes, covering her face. She started quivering and I could hear her sobbing.

At that moment, I felt a real desire to hold her, to tell her how much I loved her. I hated to see her in pain and anguish, even not knowing what was on her mind. The video went on for a few more minutes, the whole time showing me that Jenny was in tears. At one point, talking to herself out loud, Jenny spoke. "Why, why, why...why did you have to do it?" Then, she merely began crying again, no more audible words spoken.

With the few words that she did speak, it was not clear if she was asking why I had done something, or why she had done something. It was not clear as to who it was that had done something. What was clear to me, was that she was very distraught. I resolved then that I would try harder to get her to talk to me.

I watched the remaining video clips and footage. There was nothing that would help me to find out what was going on. I noted the time to be 6:30pm and started to wonder when Jenny would come home. I went back into the kitchen to wait, but also to keep an eye on the oven, just in case I needed to do something, anything, who knows.

I felt like I had been walking on egg shells lately. I wanted so much for my wife to come home so I could see her, hopefully hug her, and maybe get her to talk. I also worried that the encounter would be the same as it had been for a few weeks now, cold, snippy, and with some anger.

Startling me out of my daydreaming mind, I heard the Chevy Suburban pull into the driveway. I hurried to the side window to peak out, and sure enough, it was Jenny. She had been shopping, carrying a couple of bags. I moved away from the window by the time she came into the house, not wanting to be caught somehow doing the wrong thing. I guess I was nervous and jumpy, worrying how this evening would go.

When Jenny came into the house, I was waiting in the kitchen. Our eyes met briefly. I decided to speak quickly, not wanting her to find time to get mad at something. "Hi sweetheart, it's good to see you. I knew when the oven was on that you probably had a quick errand to run, so I thought I'd just wait here. I knew you'd be home pretty soon."

She stared at me for a few moments, not really letting me know what she was thinking. She did not smile, but she also did not seem angry, or at least at the moment. She was carrying a shopping bag from Victoria's Secret, and another bag from somewhere else, but I could not see the logo on it. "I needed to pick up a few things for tonight, I'll show them to you later."

As she said that, there was no evident emotion in her eyes, just speaking matter of fact like. She walked past me into the hall and went to the bedroom, closing the door. She had been wearing her favorite, a pair of jeans, a blue button-up blouse, and sandals. She looked hot, but I always thought my wife looked hot. God I loved her, even with her being mad at me for some reason, I loved her. When she came out of the bedroom, she was dressed in a tee shirt and loose running shorts. She was barefoot and seemed quite relaxed, at least as far as dress comfort.