The Renovator

With that, Bryce picked up her purse and headed for the door.

"Wait," Zane exclaimed. Aren't you staying for dinner. I've set places for two people at the table."

"No, Sweetheart," Bryce replied. "I desperately wanted to see you again but I don't want to interfere with your new life. If you don't mind, I would like to return next Friday and make dinner for you again."

"That would be nice," Zane replied. "But I would like you to stay next time so we can have dinner together, and... enjoy a glass of wine on the patio."

"I would like that, Zane, but I would have to see how guilty and ashamed I still felt."

With that, Bryce was out the door and soon driving away from Zane's house.

Although Zane had adjusted to living alone, he was also adjusted to not feeling lonely. Now, with the sudden departure of his wife, he was feeling lonely.

Zane's feeling toward his wife were ambiguous. He was still hurt and a little angry that Bryce would even consider stepping out on a date with a man other than himself. On the other hand, he missed the companionship of his old wife. It seemed to him that Bryce was trying to be that old wife again.

The following Friday evening, Bryce showed up at this door again. This time, she had steaks that she wanted him to barbeque while she fixed that salad, potatoes and vegetables. Zane, was ready for her this time with a bottle of wine which they both started on while fixing dinner. They ate in the trellis-covered patio at an outdoor table just big enough for two people.

The conversation was light—for the most part. Bryce asked Zane about his work and the status of the homes on which he was working. And Zane inquired about Bryce's daily activities. Bryce admitted she had a lot of time to herself these days after she returned from work and had started doing a lot of reading and even joined a book club. Zane asked about work and was immediately sorry he did. Bryce admitted that she was still embarrassed to be seen in the office. Nobody has ever said anything to her about the incident with the sales rep but they all knew the story.

After their pleasant evening, Bryce again dismissed herself saying that she still didn't want to interfere with Zane's new lifestyle. She did add that she did look forward to seeing him one a week and making dinner for him. Zane agreed that it was a new routine that he also wanted to continue.

One Thursday of the fourth week since Bryce had started coming to his house, Zane e-mailed her to say that the residents of his cul-de-sac were having a potluck block party on Saturday and that she didn't need to fix dinner on Friday nor bring anything with her. She replied that she would, at least, bring a bowl of potato salad for the party.

When Zane answered the door, he was pleasantly surprised at how good Bryce looked. She wore a nice summer dress, displaying a moderate amount of cleavage. They relaxed until it was time to go to the party that started about 3PM in the afternoon. Bryce explained that she wanted to look good for the neighbors but it was obvious to Zane that she wanted to look good for him.

The block party organizers were in the process of setting up the tables and the neighbors were carrying out their lawn chairs to sit on. One of the neighbors was an ardent barbeque enthusiast and was starting the gas in his BBQ while, at the same time, organizing several hundred dollars-worth of steak, chicken and sausage. Almost all of the neighbors contributed beer, wine, soft drinks and some hard liquor to the party. Zane contributed several bottles of his favorite dark red wine.

As each neighbor showed up, Zane would introduce them to Bryce. They were all surprised by her presents and, inadvertently, told her that they didn't know whether or not Zane was actually married. Then, of course, they had to muse on the question of why Zane and Bryce were not living together in the same house.

Throughout the afternoon and evening, Zane received compliments on how beautiful his wife was and how charming she was. Simultaneously, Bryce was treated to numerous stories of how much Zane had done for the neighborhood. Several of the neighbors showed Bryce the improvements Zane had made to their homes. Although all of the neighbors were blue-collar, working men and women; Bryce was told that they all had taken much more pride in the appearance of their homes since Zane had moved in.

Gradually, as everyone settled into eating and drinking; the men seemed to gravitate together and talk about sports. They women all seemed to want to know more about Bryce and gathered around her. They were all dying to know more about the relationship between Zane and Bryce. Meanwhile, the kids played together in the street and made chalk drawings in the asphalt.

It was well into the evening before the party started to break up. Parents needed to get their kids into bed. Most of the people helped to wrap up the leftover food. As Zane was carrying the lawn chairs back to his house, he realized that he had had a lot of wine to drink. It was obvious, too, that Bryce was feeling a little tipsy as well.

Once at the house, Bryce started to gather up her belonging in preparation for her drive home.

"I don't think you should drive home tonight," Zane said. "You are a little too drunk."

"What am I to do," replied Bryce, feeling like she shouldn't stay because she didn't want to crowd Zane into an emotional corner.

"You can stay in the spare bedroom," he said. "I have a T-shirt you can wear to sleep in."

"Thank you, Zane," Bryce said. "But I don't want to be any trouble for you."

Zane disappeared into his bedroom and returned with a white T-shirt. Bryce took the shirt and walked to the spare bedroom and shut the door.

Zane was shutting off lights and turning down the temperature when he heard Bryce call his name. Turning, he saw his wife standing at the hallway entrance. She had taken off her dress and put on the T-shirt. Zane had always preferred tight-fitting T-shirts and, on Bryce, it was stretched around her curves very nicely. Her breasts were prominently outlined as was her narrow waist around which was a bath towel.

"Zane, please, if you would... could you give me a good night hug before I go to bed?"

Zane was mesmerized by the sexy form in front of him. It had been months since he had been aroused by anything other than this right hand in the shower. He remembered how easily Bryce had always excited him when she wore anything that emphasized her figure or showed any hint of leg or cleavage.

For a minute, Zane forgot why he was angry with her, and stepped forward to put his arms around her waist. Bryce, in turn, put her arms around his neck and her head on his shoulder. They held each other close for just a few seconds before Bryce broke the embrace and, without saying anything, hurried back to the spare bedroom and shut the door.

Zane was almost grateful that the embrace had been so short. He had felt himself reacting the Bryce's body. If the hug had lasted only a few seconds longer, she would have felt how much he wanted her.

When Zane awakened on Sunday morning, he had a slight headache, a hangover from the night before. He stumbled into his bathroom to take a shower. Before he did, he took two Excedrin tablets. He could tell by the sound of the shower in the family bathroom that Bryce had awakened before him.

When he was dressed, Zane wandered into the kitchen where he found Bryce in her sundress, making a standard breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, juice and coffee.

Bryce cheerfully said to him, "Your neighbors might bring you food for dinner but I don't think you normally have a good breakfast. All I found in the freezer were frozen breakfast sandwiches."

"You're right," replied Zane, "I normally have either a breakfast sandwich or a protein drink before I'm out the door."

Glancing outside, Zane noted that it was a nice sunny morning. "Why don't we eat on the patio," he suggested. "I'll set the table."

After Bryce brought the food to the table, Zane held her chair until she sat down. "It's a beautiful morning, Zane. Thank you for last night and thank you for this morning. This is the most contentment I've felt in a long time."

"I feel the same," Zane replied.

Bryce took the opportunity to get a feeling for how Zane was feeling about their relationship, but she didn't want to push it too hard or too fast.

"Do you have any idea when you might want to come home," she asked trying to make it a casual question.

After think about it for a few moments, Zane replied, "I don't know that I want to go back home again."

Bryce took that to mean that he didn't want to get back with her again and she was sad, but she tried not to show it.

"Well, if you do, I'll be waiting. And until you do, I'd like to continue to come over here on Fridays and fix you dinner. Would that be alright?"

"Yes, I'd like that. I always thought you were the best cook in the world."

Bryce was hurt that Zane would want her just for her cooking but she had the feeling that he wanted to her for more than that, but she was not going to rush him.

Bryce returned the following Friday late afternoon. She looked good. She was wearing a pink pleated skirt and a cashmere sweater. The skirt was short enough to show off her shapely legs and the sweater was tight enough to show off her proud, C+ breasts.

"What are you going to fix this time?" Zane asked.

"I brought two, well-marbled ribeye steaks with me that can't wait to be barbequed. If you'll do the cooking, I'll make a lettuce, tomato, avocado and bacon salad."

Then she added, "I also brought two bottles of robust red wine. I was hoping to get so tipsy tonight that you'd asked me to stay the over again."

Zane was not oblivious to how his relationship with Bryce was unfolding. He could see that they were restarting their marriage. But he also knew that he still had some anger issues to deal with. This night might be a good time to get them out in the open. But he wasn't certain how to start to conversation and he didn't want an acrimonious discussion of the past.

"We'll see how the evening goes," Zane replied without making a commitment.

After starting the gas barbeque and closing the lid to let the interior heat up, Zane went into the kitchen where Bryce was busy constructing a salad. He opened one of the bottles of wine and poured two glasses. He left one with Bryce and took the other back out to the patio along with the bottle which he placed on the small table.

A short time later, Bryce came out with the salad. Zane took that as a signal to start the steaks and threw them on the hot grill. "These will take about ten minutes," he said.

Bryce handed Zane his glass of wine and held hers up as if to make a toast.

"What are we toasting?" Zane asked, but immediately regretted what he had said.

"I don't know what you might want to toast, but my toast is to my ardent hope that you will eventually let me back into your life."

That toast made Zane a little uncomfortable. "We will talk later," he said as he went back to watch over the sizzling steaks.

An uncomfortable few minutes passed, until Zain announced that the steaks were done and placed each one on a plate that he set on the table. Both Zane and Bryce helped themselves to a large portion of the salad.

Zane was about to start eating when he stopped and looked up at Bryce. "I'm sorry you were raped," was all he said.

Zain's statement was so abrupt that it caught Bryce by surprise. For a moment, it looked like she was going to cry. She reached across the table and held Zane's hand. "Thank you," she said. "I was so afraid that you thought I had willingly had sex with what's-his-name and that you would never forgive me."

Zane went on, "I sometimes felt that if I hadn't thrown you out of the house, it never would have happened."

Still squeezing Zane's hand, Bryce said, "None of this was your fault. It was all me. I was a silly, old woman who allowed herself to be charmed by a silver-tongued salesman. I will never forgive myself for hurting you the way I did and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it... if you let me."

"Well... the salad goes a long way in that regard," Zane said as a way to lighten the mood.

After dinner and after the dishes were washing and put away, Zane asked Bryce if she would like to watch a movie. When she said yes, he asked her if she had any chick-flick that she would like to see. Bryce, told him that she would like him to put on a movie that he wanted to see.

"You know I like action movies that are R-rated for violence, nudity, sex and foul language."

"That's fine," she replied. I want to see whatever you want to see. I'll watch chick-flicks with my daughters and girlfriends."

Zane reviewed a few selections on Netflix and choose something he thought he'd like that met his criteria. "The movie is starting," he announced.

Bryce came out of the bathroom where she had freshened up. She was wearing his favorite perfume that smelled like roses.

Without asking she curled up so close to him that he had to put his arm over her shoulders. When he did that, Bryce put her head on his chest and they proceeded to watch the movie. It didn't escape Zain's attention that Bryce's skirt was hiked up to above mid-thigh and the top buttons of her sweater were undone revealing a fair amount of cleavage. Zane had always thought that Bryce was a hot-looking piece of ass. However, it was the events that unfolded regarding her "date" that had turned him off to her completely—regardless of how physically beautiful and sexy she was.

The movie was less than half over before Zane realized the Bryce was asleep and breathing lightly. He continued to let her sleep until the movie was over at which time, he gently woke her up.

"You're going to let me stay the night, aren't you?" she asked as she stood up. "Because," she continued," I don't think I should drive home this late. Besides," she added, "I brought my own pajamas."

"Yes, you can stay," Zane agreed as Bryce disappeared into the guest bedroom.

Zane was turning off the TV and the lights when Bryce reappeared—wearing the sexiest black baby doll negligée Zane had ever seen. It staggered him for a moment.

"How do you like my new pajamas?" Bryce asked as she posed for Zane and spoke in a seductive voice.

"I like them," Zane said while staring intently at his wife. "I had forgotten how sexy you could be when you wanted to impress me."

Bryce, feeling emboldened, walked up to Zane and put her arms around his neck while molding her body to his.

"I don't want either of us to sleep alone tonight," she whispered into his ear.

Bryce could feel her husband responding to her near-naked body. "I know you haven't completely forgiven me for what I did, but please don't let that stop you from fucking my brains out tonight. You can do anything you want to me... anything."

Any resistance Zane had to Bryce's charms melted in a heartbeat. Her mouth was waiting for his when he kissed her passionately, lustfully. Their long molten kiss was followed by Zane pulling Bryce's hair back, causing her head to tilt back as well. Zane kissed his wife's throat and then her neck. Bryce moaned gutterly and softly said, "Yes, yes, yes..."

Zane's hands started to roam around Bryce's body. One hand came up between he and Bryce and cupped her breast while the other hand slide down to her ass and pulled her harder against him.

"Take me to your bedroom, Baby," Bryce cooed.

Zane picked his wife up in his arms, carried her to his bedroom and dropped her roughly onto the bed. Bryce pulled her baby doll negligee down to her waist while she watched Zane undress like a madman. Bryce held her arms open to Zane as he rolled onto the bed.

"How could I have ever thought that being entertained by that slick sales asshole could be any better than this," Bryce thought to herself as she arched her back, forcing her breasts into Zane's face where he eagerly started to kiss, lick and suck each nipple.

"Please, Zane, fuck me now. I need you more than you can imagine."

Zane didn't disappoint her. He had a lot of sexual energy built up over the last few months. And Bryce was looking a lot more enticing than she ever had for the last few years. Zane thought to himself, "Maybe taking a break from every day, married sex is a key to occasional great sex."

Zane and Bryce fucked each other several times that night before going to sleep in each other's arms.

The next morning, at breakfast on the patio, Bryce asked in a pleading voice, "Zane, I think you know how badly I feel for how I treated you. You should also know that I'll never do anything like that ever again. I know what will happen to me if I do. But we've been separated now for almost six months. Don't you think it's about time you come back home where you belong and resume our lives together as they were."

Zane stopped eating and wiped his mouth with his napkin while thinking of his response.

"Bryce, I've considered doing that, but I've decided against it. For one thing, that house is too big for me now. It was perfect when we had three growing children to fill it up but now it is just beyond what I need. Besides, I've never really fit in with our neighbors. They are all college grads and professional people whereas I barely have my high school diploma. I've never had a lot in common with them"

"But you make at least as much money as they do with the houses you renovate. And our house is fixed up a lot better than most of the other in the neighborhood thanks to your contractor friends and landscapers."

"What I'm trying to say, Bryce, is that this is my home now. This is where I want to live. These are the neighbors I want to have. When it is totally fixed up, this house will be perfect in size and function for my needs.

"No, Bryce, I'm will not be returning to my old house. However, it is paid for and I consider it to be a great investment. You are completely free to live there as long as you like."

Bryce's face suddenly looked sad. "Oh, Zane, this is not what I wanted."

Bryce quickly stood up from the table. "I have to go," she announced putting on a brave face.

In only a few minutes, Bryce had picked up all her stuff and was out the door. Zane felt bad. He didn't intend to hurt her that way. Nevertheless, he was certain he wanted to live in his new house and make it his new home.

He didn't hear anything from Bryce for two weeks. Then, on a late Friday afternoon, there was a knock on his door. When he opened it, there stood Bryce with three suitcases.

"I have two more in the car," she said.

"What's going on?" Zane asked as he stood aside, let Bryce pass and picked up her third suitcase.

Bryce put down her two suitcases, turned and put her arms around Zane's neck, and kissed him passionately. "If this house is where you want to live, then it is my home, too."

"I don't think you will like this house, Bryce. It doesn't have nearly the space you need for all your things... especially your clothes. In the other house, you have clothes in every bedroom closet. Even in the guest room there is only half a closet available for guests to hang their clothes."

"I've given almost all of my clothes away. Most of what I have left are in these suitcases and the trunk of the car. Still," she said boldly, "you are going to have to come up with a little more closet space than what you have."

Zane already knew there was very little closet space in the master bedroom and had tentative plans to open the wall into the adjoining bedroom he used as an office.

"What about work?" Zane asked. This place is a forty-five-minute drive to your office, even longer in morning and afternoon traffic."

"I don't have a job anymore," Bryce stated. "I put in my resignation. It wasn't any fun working all day and then coming home to an empty house. Based on the stories that went around about me and that salesman, there was still some office talk about me that has continued to make my associates uncomfortable. There have even been some sales personnel that have made indirect hits on me based on the stories that have been around.