The Road to Love

"Geez, Lilly, I'm not sure I can do that. I don't want to risk my marriage. If Bill ever found out, I'd be toast," I explained.

"I had the same problem, Julie. Like I said before, Richard is not very demanding and he tends to be extra careful. Perry never suspected anything. To this day, he thinks of Richard as a friend. He's even said that he hates to hear that Richard is leaving. Home free, Julie. I'm in management now and I'm making twice what I made before I started working for Richard. He takes care of his special friends, Julie.

"It's an excellent return on investment. All you have to do is let me know if you're willing to go that extra step. If I recommend you, the job will be yours. I know what to say. If you agree to those terms, when you meet him just say, 'Hi, Richard. Lilly told me all about you.' That's a code phrase that he will understand."

Julie was watching Bill's face as she confessed. She saw his expression darken, but she didn't see any evidence of sorrow or anger. He was listening, so she continued.

"Richard arrived in June. As you will remember, the status of your job was still up in the air at that time. I had thought long and hard about the situation before I called Lilly. I gave her my decision. I thought it was the best decision at the time. I don't think so now. When I met Richard and shook his hand, I said, 'Lilly has told me all about you.' He said that she spoke very highly of me, as he gave me a quick wink. Later that week, I was in my new job as his assistant. I went sailing around some very qualified women."

She went on to say that Richard was a good boss and that she enjoyed working for him. The first time that she had to give him a "benefit" was when he held an Independence Day celebration at his new house. His wife, Sherry, had sold their house in Chicago and had joined him that very week.

"Bill, I'm sure that you remember Richard asking you to watch the little boys' table during the fireworks. I wondered at the time if you were suspicious. He had Sherry watch the little girls. He and I eased away, separately of course, and met at a prearranged location in their walk-in basement. It was over in a few minutes. It was just like Lilly told me. He was happy with oral. I was prepared. I had a small bottle of mouthwash in my purse. I used it afterward. We went back to the celebration and no one noticed anything. It was apparent that you didn't know or even suspect that we'd been naughty."

Julie went on to tell him the rest of the story. She mentioned that she had lucked out when the annual conference came up in September. It was always held at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas. Richard had told her they would have adjoining rooms. She knew that the rubber would meet the road that week. Just two days before the conference, Sherry's mom passed away. Richard had to miss the conference and that meant no rendezvous with adultery!

Next, she mentioned the company Thanksgiving party that was held at a restaurant downtown. As prearranged, she and Richard were sitting at tables on opposite sides of the room. No one noticed when they simultaneously excused themselves to use the restroom. They met in a room just past the restrooms. It had doors leading to both hallways. They entered from different hallways and left in the same manner. Once again, it was just oral and it was over quickly. Like before, no one noticed. No one suspected.

Bill had not reacted, so she told him that the next encounter was at the Christmas party. She reminded him that the party always featured a little nativity play by the children. "This time, Richard used the play to provide cover for us. He assigned Sherry the task of helping the girls in their dressing rooms. He had you working as a member of the stage crew. The encounter occurred in an unused dressing room. It was a carbon copy of Independence Day and Thanksgiving," she stated.

She had gone for six months without providing any more benefits. She admitted that Lilly was right on target when she told said that Richard was not very demanding. She was thankful for the long break, but it ended when Independence Day rolled around again. She stated that it was like the previous Independence Day in every respect. "You and Sherry were given the same assignments as before. I met Richard at the same location in the basement and performed the same act. Once again, no one suspected. I began to think the whole thing was a piece of cake," she sighed.

She was happy to say that there were no more encounters until this year's conference in Vegas. This time she almost dodged the bullet again. She reminded Bill that she had been called as a witness for the prosecution in a court case. It was the result of her witnessing a shooting in a restaurant. She was there having lunch with some coworkers when a man came in and started shooting at a couple sitting at a nearby table. She had an excellent view of all three participants. It turned out that the woman was the wife of the shooter. Her male companion was her lover. The wife had been severely wounded and her lover had been killed.

When the police found out that Julie had witnessed the whole incident, they called her in and presented her with a book containing a hundred pictures. Of those pictures, six were of the participants in the shooting. She was able to recognize and pinpoint all six pictures. Three were of the wife, two were of the lover and one was of the shooter. After that performance by Julie, she was designated as a witness for the prosecution.

The trial coincided with the conference, so the company excused her from making the Vegas trip.

She gave her testimony on Tuesday, but the defense scheduled her cross-examination on Wednesday. The trial ended before noon on Thursday. She was given the rest of the day off. She reported for work on Friday fully expecting to miss the conference since it was nearly over. That probably would have been the case, except that since the company plane was flying out that morning to bring the conference attendees home on Saturday, Richard requested that they bring Julie out to Vegas. He said it was so she could participate in the after-conference party that night. He said it would compensate for her not being able to attend the conference. He thought she had earned the right to attend the party. So, Julie found herself winging her way to Vegas. She hadn't dodged the bullet after all!

She attended the last few hours of the conference and the party that evening. That was the good part. The bad part was, she ended up having to spend Friday night with Richard. At least it would just be for one night. They would all fly back on the company jet Saturday morning.

She admitted to being in bed with Richard during Bill's interrupting phone call Friday night. She cried as she described that night with Richard. She apologized profusely for her behavior. She explained what happened between her and Richard. She did so without offering much in the way of details. She stressed that she was especially sorry for hanging up so abruptly and for failing to return his call as promised.

She had to make him see one thing if nothing else: "Sweetheart, there was sex, but there was no love. None at all. Don't think for a minute that I had even one grain of love for him in my heart. All of my love belongs to you. I messed up. I know that. I just hope you can forgive me. I guarantee that there was no love. Besides, the sex was very unsatisfactory. He pleased himself, but not me. I had absolutely no reaction to his efforts. In actuality, it was just prostitution. There was no tenderness. It meant absolutely nothing to me."

Then she told him about her flight home and her talk with Joyce. She stressed that Richard Lowry would no longer be working for the company. She would no longer be under any type of sexual pressure. Working for Evan would be a whole new ballgame.

"Honey, I don't know how much of this you already knew when you walked in the door. I don't know what you've been doing these last sixteen days. I just hope and pray that you haven't taken any action to dissolve our marriage. It would kill me to lose you. Can you forgive me? Please forgive me."

"Well, Julie, is the floor mine now?" he asked.

"Yes, sweetheart. I'm listening, but I'm also dreading what you will say."

"Well, I intended to impress you with what I've been doing, but now anything I say will be anticlimactic.

"I had a feeling that you didn't understand what I was trying to tell you in that aborted phone conversation. It also seemed like you didn't want to talk to me. It was perplexing at the time, but now, after finding out what you were doing at the time, it makes some sort of sense.

"Anyway, let's start with my reference to my grandpa. Do you remember me telling you on several occasions that he was a cook on a tuna boat? If so, you probably remember that when they encountered a big school of tuna, especially if they were albacore, everyone fished, including the cook. There's a parallel in my work. When we are executing a big and important operation, everyone participates. Everyone, of course, includes me, the encryption specialist. I was hoping you would pick up on that from the story of my grandpa and the tuna boat.

"I was assigned an undercover role in the operation. That's the reason for my changed hair color and my beard. Not being an agent, there was a very small chance that I would be recognized, but they were taking no chances. The operation started the day after I called you and ended yesterday. I can't say much more about it than that, except that it ended successfully.

"My references to the swallows, butterflies, and bats were supposed to remind you that although they all flew away, they always returned. It was meant to reassure you. I'm sure that you understand I was not able to give you the real story in plain English. I just hoped you would remember those things I told you to remember about my job. That's why I reminded you about the conversation we had just before I proposed. Guess you never took the time to put it all together. Now I know why. You had more important thoughts occupying your mind and more satisfying tasks to complete. My call was nothing more than an unwelcome interruption.

"Now, to answer your question about how much I knew about your affair, that's simple; I knew absolutely nothing. You can rest assured that your concealment was entirely successful. I was absolutely clueless, until today.

"I made plans for when I got home. I made reservations at the Central Steak Place for tonight. I made reservations for a weekend at the beach. It was to be one big 'coming home' party with as much sex as we could handle. That was then, this is now.

"Now, I plan to cancel the reservations at the restaurant and the beach. I plan to move my stuff into the guest bedroom right now. Your reasons might justify your behavior in your mind, but not in mine.

"I might be able to accept that you don't love him. I do not, however, believe that you got no pleasure out of the sex. If that were the case, you wouldn't have hurried the call and hung up prematurely. You would have used it as an excuse to get away from one-sided sex for as long as possible.

"The primary question that haunts me at this point is simple. What will keep you from finding justification for additional infidelities in the future? I can't trust you anymore. For me, trust is everything in a marriage.

"As much as I was looking forward to being with you when I got home, I'll just settle for the amount of sex I've had for the last sixteen days---none. This is like a bad dream. Actually, it's worse. You wake up from a dream."

Julie was devastated. Bill had known nothing. He didn't even suspect anything. Everything was fine until she confessed. There was some guilt in her heart, that's for sure, but at least she had a marriage. If she had kept her mouth shut, they would probably be in the master bedroom making love right now. Instead, she sat there wondering if her marriage would survive.

It did survive, but it was on life support. Nothing was as before. She realized that Bill was just holding things together for Mandy and Becky. When those two left home, she fully expected him to leave too.

She made one last attempt to restore things to normal. She talked Bill into returning to Branson, Missouri to retrace the steps they took on their honeymoon. They would attend the crafts show at Silver Dollar City and visit the music shows that lined highway 76/Country Blvd. The shows might be different now, but that wouldn't matter. They would even visit Marvel Cave again. It should bring back such happy memories. It just might work.

Becky and Mandy helped them prepare for the trip and prayed that it would work. They stayed in touch by phone, calling from Missouri every night. By all indications, things were looking up. They had just two days left before they had to head home. That was the first night they failed to call.

The phone rang much later than usual. Becky woke up and forced her eyes open. She answered sleepily saying, "Wow, your show got over really late tonight!"

There was a pause, then a male voice said, "May I speak to Becky or Mandy Roberts please?"

"This is Becky," she replied with a catch in her trembling voice.

What she heard turned the world upside down. It had happened on a winding Ozark road. A truck driver had fallen asleep and hit their car head-on. They died together just a few miles from the church where they had recited the vows that had bound them together for so many years. Becky and Mandy would never know if their parents had healed the wound that had festered and putrefied their marriage. Had they finally rekindled the love that used to shine as bright as the noonday sun?

Both girls chose to believe that the trip had been successful. That Julie and Bill had spent their last hours together as a loving couple with renewed vows and rejuvenated happiness. They could only hope that they had spent their last minutes, clinging to each other till the end.

She ended her story with tears on her face, but at least she was able to finish. After hearing her story, I understood her question about a genetic proclivity toward infidelity. I told her how sorry I was about what happened to her parents, and that I doubted very much that there was a special infidelity gene that could be passed to one's offspring. I told her that all of us enter this world pre-programmed to populate our species and spread our genes widely. I said, "Monogamy is a rather new concept in the history of mankind. Each of us has to resist that pre-programming many times during our life. We also are programmed to protect our family. I think your mom activated that part of her program when the RIF threatened her family. It was more in the category of family protection than infidelity. That's the way that I see it.

"If there is a genetic proclivity for infidelity, then I'm the one that should be worried. Having heard your story and knowing mine, I think the fear of genetic consequences applies to me more than to you."

At that juncture, I decided to go ahead and tell my family's story. It was similar to hers, but in my mind, it was much worse. While she was devastated by her mom's actions, she was not a participant in any way. My sister and I, unfortunately, played an active part in my story. I think everyone will agree that while my role was limited, my sister's performance was nothing short of heroic. While I didn't understand all of the nuances of the situation, she certainly did.

I decided to tell my story like she told hers. As for the characters in my story; first, there's my mom and dad (Kate and Jeff Roberts). The villain is Dr. Mark Abbot. My sister (Ellen) and I (Roy) were last-minute additions to the cast. At first, we were enthusiastic about our roles, but our enthusiasm soon turned to horror.

Roy's Parents:

On a fateful, sunshine-adorned Monday morning, everything began as normally as apple pie for the Roberts family. Ellen and Roy were off to school. Kate and Jeff kissed goodbye before heading to work. They were a husband and wife as deeply in love as any two people can be. They were the solid core of the family, bound together by love, respect, and the vows of marriage.

They welcomed Ellen into their family fifteen years ago. Roy came along four years later. Life has been very good to them. Not one serious problem has ever threatened their happy existence.

This would be an especially important week for the Roberts family. Tonight, Kate will be attending the annual welcoming party for the newly-graduated nurse trainees at the hospital where she works. Tri-City hospital holds this welcoming party every year.

Usually, Jeff attends the event with her, but this year, he needs to prepare for tomorrow's appearance before the corporate board of directors. He has been tasked to present the case for keeping the company headquarters in their town. Some members of the board are pushing a plan to relocate. Jeff has worked with city hall and the planning commission to present an attractive counter offer.

The current plan is for Kate to make the required appearance at the nurse orientation alone while Jeff makes his final preparations for what could be his most important presentation ever! Kate will get away as soon as possible so Jeff can get a good night's sleep before his extremely important event.

Everything depends on Jeff's presentation tomorrow. There's no doubt about that. Jeff's job is on the line, but so are the jobs of everyone that works with him. Everyone is depending on him to make the case to the new management group for retaining the company's headquarters in its present location. They are facing fierce competition from other cities that are offering big tax breaks, free property, and probably some well-concealed bribes.

The family is together for the evening meal, trying to ignore the tension in the air. Maybe they would have appreciated it more if they had known then how many times in the future their thoughts would turn to this meal. It would prove to be the last one of its kind.

When Kate arrived at the orientation, she glanced around the nurse's table to find her assigned seat. Not finding her name tag, she walked around the tables for a closer look. She was about to say something when her supervisor, Lynn, pointed to the management table. Sure enough, Kate found her name tag there.

She turned to Lynn saying, "The management table? That has to be a mistake!"

"Kate, I only learned of this a few minutes ago. You have been selected to welcome the new nurse trainees and introduce Dr. Abbot tonight.

"What? I had no idea, Lynn. I haven't prepared anything. You'll have to do it. I'm not up for that kind of surprise, especially tonight."

"Kate, I'm in charge of closing the hospitality suite tonight. I'm on my way there now. You've heard these intros made dozens of times. Just wing it."

"But why me?"

"It's simple. Dr. Abbot asked for you, that's why."

Just a few minutes later, the house lights dimmed. Suddenly, a bright spotlight was nearly blinding Kate as it illuminated her for all to see. She heard her name being announced and the room breaking out in applause. For a fleeting moment, she considered running away. Knowing that would be a big mistake, with hesitation she left the management table and walked up the steps to the podium.