The Politician's Wife

This is my entry in "The End of the Affair" event.

Thanks always to my Sweet Inspiration blackrandl1958 for her encouragement, support, and of course her editing, Any remaining errors are my own.

I first met Kelly when her husband, Steve Harper, made his first run for Congress. She knocked on my door holding a clipboard, asking for my signature on his nomination papers. I was happy to sign; I believe that everyone deserves to make their case to the voters.

I guess I'm supposed to say that I was immediately captivated by her beauty and charm, but that wouldn't be true. I accepted the campaign literature and went back to watching the ball game.

I tossed the brochure on the coffee table, and was about to toss it out with the rest of the assorted circulars and junk mail, when something made me sit down and read it.

I was immediately taken by his positions on the issues, and went online to make a small donation. That probably would have been the end, except that I received a phone call thanking me for the donation and asking me if I'd be interested in volunteering on the campaign.

"Oh, I don't know. I don't know anything about working on a political campaign," I said.

"Don't worry about that," the caller said, "We have many easy tasks, and we can train you for anything else."

What the heck, I thought, it wasn't like my social calendar was so full.

"Okay," I said, "When and where?"

"Can you start tomorrow?"

There goes my weekend, but in for a penny, in for a pound. "Yeah, sure," I said.

"Great! Our campaign headquarters is at 199 Main St. in Winton. Be there any time after 9:00."

"199 Main St. Got it."

"Thanks again, see you later," and she was on to her next sucker, I mean prospect.

As I disconnected the call I thought, there's another fine mess you've gotten into, Harry, but what the heck, it was a volunteer job, I could always just walk away if it sucked.

I got my usual coffee and a bite to eat at a Dunkies on the way, and walked in at just about nine o'clock. I was immediately met by a tiny dynamo with a mass of curly red hair with a name tag that said, "Suzy Harris, Senior Volunteer." She looked barely old enough to be a senior in high school, but whatever.

"Hi, I'm Suzy," she said, as if I couldn't read her name tag, "and you are?"

"Harry, Harry Klein," I said.

She scanned a list on her clipboard and checked off my name.

"First, we have to get you a name tag," she said, and led me to a table with all sorts of junk, including name tags and pens. She made one for me, slid it into a holder and pinned it to my shirt.

Spotting the woman who came to my door, I asked, "Who's that?"

"Oh, that's Kelly Harper, her husband Steve is the candidate. Isn't she beautiful?"

"Yes, she is," I said, and she was. I hadn't really noticed when she came to my door, she was all covered up and wind-blown, but in the controlled environment, I got a better look at her.

She was casually dressed in tight jeans, running shoes and a long-sleeved campaign T-shirt, with her long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail.

Before I embarrassed myself by staring too long, Suzy asked me what I'd like to do.

"Well, since I know nothing about working on a political campaign, why don't you just stick me somewhere I can't screw things up too badly."

"Why don't we start you off stuffing envelopes," she said laughing, and led me to a table where another volunteer was doing just that.

Before the day was done I had graduated to putting on address labels and stamps. I was putting on my jacket when Suzy asked me if I could come back the next day. I was about to beg off when I saw Kelly and hesitated.

"Hello, Harry, you there?"

"Oh, sure, Suzy, I'll be here. Same time?"

"Yup, have a good night."

"You, too, Suzy."

As I made my way to my car, I wondered what the fuck I was doing. Kelly was married; I never messed with married women. Fuck, why did I even think that she would be interested in me? I was nothing special, she seemed to be happily married and Steve seemed to have a bright future. I just shook my head and went home to nuke my dinner and watch some TV.

After a restless night's sleep, I found myself back at the campaign headquarters.

This time, I was making phone calls.

Fortunately, the script was pretty easy to remember, and I could recite it by rote as my eyes followed Kelly as she flitted around the room.

I had just finished a call when she appeared before me.

She glanced at my nametag. "Harry, right?"

I thought that was pretty obvious, but I just nodded.

"Listen, I need to run some important errands, but Steve has my driver off doing some silly shit. Do you think you could help me?"

Would I like to help her? In more ways than one.

"Of course. What do you need?"

"Let's go to your car. I'm running behind; I'll tell you where to go."

With that, we were off so that she could do some radio and TV interviews.

We were heading back and she looked at her watch.

"Shit, look at the time. I hope your wife won't be too angry with you getting home so late."

"Don't have one of those," I said, wiggling my left hand at her.

"Girlfriend, then?"

"Nope, broke up a couple of weeks ago."

"In that case, why don't you let me buy you dinner? If I know single guys you're probably just going to throw something into the microwave."

"Got it in one, but won't your husband be expecting you?"

There was a long pause.

"I doubt it. Since he started this campaign, if I wasn't working on it I don't think I'd ever see him. Come on, pull over here, there's a good cafe on the corner."

I wasn't entirely sure where this was going, probably nowhere, but I wasn't going to turn down dinner with a beautiful woman and parked in the first space that I saw.

The staff apparently knew her, as the waitress placed a glass of white wine in front of her, and I ordered a Boston Lager.

After we ate I drove her home. She leaned over and gave me a peck on the cheek, flashed a big smile and ran to her door.

What was that all about? I thought. I tried not to make too much of it; that way led to trouble or heartbreak, maybe both.

I tried staying away from the campaign for a couple of days, but the memory of that kiss drew me back.

"Hey, the prodigal returns," said Suzy as I walked in the door.

"Sorry, I've been kind of busy."

"No problem, it's not like we're gonna dock your pay," she said with a big grin as she pointed to where she wanted me to work that day.

It seemed that whenever Kelly needed help with anything, or a driver, I was chosen, sometimes she even requested me to come in on a day or time I wasn't planning on being there.

She always seemed to find excuses to touch me, maybe just a hand on my shoulder as she bent to look at whatever I was working on, or brushing some stray hair off my forehead, and her touch often lingered longer than it needed to.

I knew we were getting into dangerous territory when hello kisses were added to her good-bye kisses, then they inched closer and closer to my lips, and were more than just little pecks.

One Friday, Steve was at an out-of-town fund-raiser, and I was dropping Kelly off.

"Have you had a chance to eat, Harry?"

"No, I figured I'd just hit the drive-thru at BK."

"Don't be silly. Come on in, I'll make you a proper dinner."

"I don't know if that'd be proper."

"What's the matter, are you afraid that I'll throw you down and ravage you?"

Actually I was worried about the opposite, but maybe I should have listened to her.

She wouldn't take no for an answer, so I turned the car off and followed her into the house. I had been in her house before, dropping things off or picking things up, but somehow being there as a guest felt different; and why was I thinking of it as her house, not their house?

We tossed our coats over the back of the sofa and I followed her into the kitchen. I sat at the table and she poured a couple of glasses of wine. This was beginning to feel a little too intimate, but I couldn't seem to make myself get up and leave.

Kelly started pulling things together, and I started to get up and help.

"No," she said, "you're my guest, just sit and relax."

In remarkably short order, she had prepared a tasty meal, and sat down.

"This is really good," I said.

"Thanks, I was working in a diner when I met Steve, and picked up a few tricks."

We made idle chit-chat while we ate, then I insisted on taking care of the dirty dishes, rinsing them in the sink before putting them in the dishwasher.

"Well, thank you for a wonderful dinner, but I really should be going," I said.

"Why, do you have a hot date or something?"

"Not really, but you're a married woman, and sort of my boss. What would people think?"

"I think that people should mind their own fucking business," she said grabbing her glass and heading to the living room. "Bring the bottle and your glass," she said, looking over her shoulder.

I had never heard her curse before, even when there was a major screw-up, and I knew I should leave, but my attraction to her was too strong. I grabbed my glass and the bottle and followed her like an obedient puppy.

She was sitting on one end of the sofa. I put the wine and my glass on the coffee table, and sat on the other end, but she simply slid over next to me.

She refilled the glasses and handed mine to me.

She clinked glasses and said, "A toast!"

"What are we toasting?"

"Who knows, who cares, let's just drink our wine and see what comes up," she said, leaning into me.

I was feeling warm, and not just from the wine. She clicked a remote, and romantic music filled the room.

She put her glass in her left hand, and wrapped my right arm around her, as we just sipped our wine.

She moved out from under my arm, and I thought I would get out before things got any further as she put our glasses onto the coffee table.

She stood up and grabbed my hand.

"Come on, I feel like dancing," she said.

"What if your husband comes home? Maybe I should leave."

"He won't be home until tomorrow afternoon. He has a breakfast to go to. He'll call me if his plans change."

Unable to find any more excuses, I took her into my arms and her body melted into mine. She laid her head on my shoulder as we swayed to the music.

I don't know how long we stood there, pretending to dance, when she separated herself and took my hand.

"Come on, it's time for bed."

I pulled my hand away as if I had touched a live wire.

"N . . . No, we can't. It's not right," I said.

"Come on, you know you want to. I've seen how you look at me, from the very first day you showed up to volunteer."

"Well, yes, you're beautiful, but think what this would do to your husband's career if this came out."

She laughed her delightful laugh.

"Just what do you think he's doing as soon as his fund-raiser is over? He'll be back in his hotel room banging the shit out of little Suzy . . ."

She laughed at my shocked expression.

"Come on, surely you don't think these self-important men are so chaste as to do without when they're away from home, do you? Suzy isn't his first, and she won't be his last."

"So, why do you stay with him if you know he's cheating on you?"

"I told you what I was doing when we met. Do you think I want to go back to working in that diner, give up all of this?" she said, waving her arm around the room.

"But, he's cheating on you!"

"I'm afraid the pre-nup he insisted on was rather one-sided. Oh, I won't be destitute if I leave him, but my life-style would definitely take a hit. So I turn a blind eye to his "indiscretions," and have my own discreet fun."

I was picturing a long line of lovers preceding me, and was getting ready to bolt, but she must have been reading my mind, or at least my face.

"Don't worry, Harry, I'm not really a slut. You'd only be my third lover, and it's been a year since my last. I'm quite selective, and if you hadn't shown up, I might have gone another year or more. Now do you want to fuck me or not?"

I have to admit that I didn't even consider saying no, and followed her towards the bedrooms. The only point of honor I had, if I can call it that, was when she led me to what was obviously the master bedroom.

"No," I said, "I won't cuckold a man in his own bed."

"You're cute," Kelly said, laughing, and led me to the next bedroom.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me full on the lips, her tongue eagerly seeking mine. My hands started on her hips, but were soon each grabbing an ass cheek, pulling her in tight. My erection was growing, and I knew she could feel it.

We quickly removed each other's clothes, and she knelt down and took my cock deep into her mouth. I knew I wouldn't last long, but I figured I'd get the first one out of the way so that I could last longer. I tried to warn her when I was about to come, but she just grabbed my ass and held on until I shot into her mouth, then she swallowed my cum with a big smile.

"My turn!" she said, and sat on the edge of the bed with her legs spread. She was totally shaved, not my personal preference, but I was in no position to complain.

Her lips were already glistening with her arousal, and it didn't take long for me to take her over the top.

After a short rest we fucked. I'd like to say we made love, but that would come later.

We fell asleep in each other's arms, and I awoke to the sweet sensation of Kelly sucking on my cock. As pleasant as that was, I had other, more pressing needs.

"Um, Kelly, if you don't stop that I'm afraid it might not be too pleasant."

She looked puzzled for a moment until realization hit her and she pulled off abruptly.

"Eww," she said, pushing me away, and I went to the bathroom to drain a kidney. I climbed into the shower, and soon heard her taking care of business.

She joined me in the shower, but we kept it clean, so to speak.

I didn't stay for breakfast, the better to get out before any nosy neighbors awoke.

That was how it began. No passionate declarations of love, just two people finding comfort in each other's arms, among other body parts.

We didn't get together often, usually only when Steve was out of town and she stayed home.

Steve did win the election, and they moved to Washington, but they kept their house and came home on breaks.

I did have the occasional girlfriend, some fairly serious, but it's hard to maintain a relationship when your head is elsewhere.

A turning point came when Steve was running for reelection. They were in the District more, so we had more opportunities to get together. Steve won reelection, and all too soon it was time for them to return to Washington, and it was our last night together.

By this time I had developed real feelings for Kelly, and thought that she felt the same.

"Kelly, please don't go. Leave Steve and stay with me. I . . . I love you." There, I said it, there was no turning back now.

"Oh, Harry," she said, stroking my cheek, "I'm very fond of you also, but I told you at the beginning that I'm not willing to give up my life-style. If I left Steve, even if he didn't find out about us, I'd be figuratively out on the streets."

Well, that pretty much laid it all out there for me, and I turned to leave.

"Harry, please don't go, we still have tonight."

If I had any balls I would have kept walking, but fuck it, it wasn't like I had anything better to do that night. We did have sex, but it was just fucking, not love-making,

and I was out of there before she woke up.

My phone was ringing before I even left her street, but I hit ignore then turned my phone off.

When I turned the phone back on there were several voicemails and texts that I deleted.

There was one more call around the time I expected them to be leaving, and I picked up.

"Oh, Harry, I wasn't expecting you to pick up."

I just sat there saying nothing.

"I really wish we didn't part on such a bad note," she said.

"I don't see how it could have been otherwise. We obviously had entirely different ideas of what our relationship was all about."

"That's not fair, Harry. I was entirely open with you from the start."

"That's true, I suppose, but I wasn't expecting to fall in love with you. Maybe you can find another volunteer."

I wouldn't have thought that you could slam down a cell phone, but Kelly somehow managed.

I dated some, but just couldn't get her out of my mind. I read about her comings and goings, but never reached out to her, nor her to me.

The senior Senator from our state was retiring, and I read that Steve would be running for his seat.

I soon got a call from Suzy.

"Hi, Harry, how's my favorite volunteer?"

"Been better, been worse, and you?"

"Busier than a one-armed paper hanger with an itch," she said, laughing. "If you thought running for Rep was bad, it was a walk in the park compared to a Senate race."

"I can imagine, covering the whole state, not just a district."

"That's why I was calling. I was hoping I could count on you again."

"I don't think so, Suzy, I'm really stretched thin here."

"Damn, that sucks. Well, if things change, you have my number."

"Yeah, sure thing, Suzy, will do."

"Okay, bye, Harry."

"Good-bye, Suzy."

I had no sooner hung up when there was a knock on the door. I opened it without looking and just barely avoided a slap across the face from Kelly.

"You are such an ass," she said.

"So I've been told. What did I do or not do this time?"

"As if you didn't know! You haven't contacted me in over a year."

"I could say the same to you. After our last conversation I didn't see the point."

She seemed chastened.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I'm afraid I handled things poorly. The truth is, I DO love you, but it's just not possible."

"Why? If you leave Steve you won't be "on the streets," as you say. I've got a good job; I can support us until you can find work."

"You don't understand. Steve won't just let me go, he'll destroy us."

"How? If he tries anything you can just expose him and Suzy. I assume you have proof?"

"Yes, but I'm still afraid to take the risk. Please, why can't we just go back to the way we were?"

I sighed. "It's not that simple, Kelly. Before it was just fun, no strings, but now I'm in love with you, I can't just turn things on and off. I have my own life to live, and need someone who can share it with me."

Kelly looked defeated.

"Please tell me that you'll at least think about it."

"All right, all right, I'll think about it."

Her smile would have lit up the night as she launched herself into my arms. "It'll work out, you'll see," she said as she ran back to her car.

Think about it. Who did I think I was kidding? I knew I'd do it; there was no way I could stay away any longer, though I did wait a week before calling Suzy.

When I got to the campaign headquarters, it was the same, but different. It was a much larger operation, much more high-tech. I didn't get to see Kelly as much. She had much less free time, and had her own trips all over the state.

All that did was make our rendezvous that much sweeter and more passionate.

Kelly was much freer about expressing her love for me, but that never translated into her being any more willing to leave Steve.

Steve won the election and they returned to Washington, and our times together became shorter and less frequent. I know I was a fool, but I resigned myself to being a part-time lover. I had the occasional FWB relationships that soon fell apart when the women realized that there was no future with me.

Steve ran for reelection and won. It was now ten years into our relationship, with six more to go, yet I still couldn't cut the cord.