Travelers Ch. 02

I agreed to meet Martin for lunch the next afternoon because I was still angry and hurt and I wanted to see just how far my husband was willing to take the whole thing when he knew that it was against my wishes.

When we walked into the restaurant Martin was pretty much as Lucinda had described and he was clever and charming and immediately put Jeremy and I at ease. I found myself enjoying the lunch and conversation in spite of myself.

At first we talked about travel in general and our past travel experiences. Then we talked about what we had majored in in college. I had majored in History and Art and Jeremy had majored in Sociology and Political Science. During our conversation Martin asked us what we thought about several different subjects in our areas of study and I could tell he was judging just how knowledgeable we were in our fields and about the world. When I said to him that I felt that once I left university I felt that my real education could begin he asked what I meant and I told him, "Now I have the time to read the books I want to about Art and History and Philosophy that I want to and I don't have to worry about interpreting those books the same way my professors do to keep my grade average up."

He laughed when I said that and responded, "Thank God you managed to graduate from university without those silly academics stealing your intelligence and filling your head with all sorts of politically correct tapioca pudding!"

After the meal we retired to the lounge and over a glass of port (he told us he preferred the LBV's or late bottled vintage ports because he just could not put away a bottle for ten or twenty years at this point in his life) he told us a little bit about himself.

…

Martin told us he first left the United States in 1966 to go to graduate school in Stockholm, Sweden. He took a graduate degree there in International Economics and he also met his wife Ulla there. They returned to the United States in 1968 and Martin could not believe the changes that had taken place in two years. It was now the Age of Aquarius and Flower Power.

Martin took a job with one of the world's preeminent brokerage houses and they bought a place on the avenues in San Francisco as his career took off. Martin was from the Bay Area and Ulla loved San Francisco because it reminded her of Stockholm. In Martin's words Ulla was very beautiful and always turned a lot of heads in her own right. But then a movie called "Beyond the Green Door" came out and its star, Marilyn Chambers, bore a remarkable resemblance to Ulla.

He told us that more than a few times she was asked for her autograph. Usually it was by young guys who would not believe her when she said they were mistaken, but often young women would ask her for her autograph for their boyfriends. After a while it became a secret joke with us and she would give them the autograph signing Marilyn Chambers name.

"One day we were out shopping and two young girls came up and asked her for her autograph. One of the girls asked her to make it to her boy friend Gary and would she write, "Gary you were the best of the bunch, Love Marilyn Chambers." He told us.

The second girl, who just kept staring at who she thought was Marilyn Chambers in awe, finally worked up the nerve to ask in a shaking voice, "What was it like?"

"Ulla answered, "What was what like?"

"Being with all those guys at once," she clarified blushing with embarrassment.

"Ulla smiled at the girl and then said, "Unimaginable."

"That afternoon when we decided we had better see the movie we had no idea what an impact it would make on our lives." Martin told us with a sardonic smile.

Martin then went on to tell us how during the movie Ulla had reached over and put her hand in Martin's lap and upon feeling his erection leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I can tell this movie is turning you on too."

Martin told us that during the drive home Ulla asked him, "What do you think it would be like to be that woman?"

"I told her that as a man I really did not know if I could imagine the woman's perspective. Ulla then asked me then what did I think it would be like to be one of the men. I told her that the answer to that would depend on my relationship to the woman." Martin said shaking his head for emphasis.

What did she say to that Jeremy asked?

"Ulla gave me a look I will never forget and then said, "What if the woman was your wife?" Martin told us.

What did you answer I finally asked after a long silence passed?

"Ulla and I were always totally honest with one another, although I sometimes wish, in retrospect, that I would not have been so honest in my answer to that question. I told her that it would be a gigantic turn-on to bring her that much pleasure and to see her so totally without inhibition, but that I would also feel tremendously insecure. When she asked why I would feel insecure but not jealous I explained that I really believe that jealousy and insecurity are one in the same. I told her that I would not be jealous of other men knowing the pleasures of her body, but I would be jealous of the pleasure those men might be able to give her because I would be afraid, or insecure if you will, that they might pleasure her so much that I would lose her to one or even all of them." Martin told us in a low voice.

Martin took another drink of his port before continuing. "Ulla then said to me that she knew that there was a big difference between sex and love. She told me that she loved me because I was kind, intelligent, funny and thoughtful not because of the sex we had together. She told me that she thought sex for the sake of pleasure alone was possible without affecting our relationship. She told me that she would never be unfaithful to me but that she was curious what it would be like to be with more than one man at once and what it would be like to be with a black man. She reminded me that I had been her first and only lover and wanting to experiment a little was only natural."

When I asked Martin how can a wife experiment with other men a little and not be unfaithful Martin answered, "She told me that as long as I was a part of her pleasure, either as a participant or as the orchestrator of it, then the others would simply be my instruments to give her pleasure and if we loved one another we should want to give each other pleasure in anyway we could."

"And did you buy into that?" I could not help asking.

"Even to this day I cannot see the hole in that argument. We loved each other completely. Loving someone means wanting what they want, wanting to please them in anyway that you can, and don't forget this was the time of free love, the pill had just become widely marketed and sexual disease in the 70's seemed to be a thing of the past." He said defensively.

"What happened then?" Jeremy asked.

"I made arrangements for her to fulfill her fantasy. I joined a swinger group and picked out four men who I knew she would find attractive. I even acquired a trapeze seat and I arranged a re-enactment of that famous scene at the end of the movie for her. I found out from other members of the group that Ulla's fantasy was not an uncommon one among the wives at that time and that did make me feel better about what I was doing." Martin admitted.

Jeremy and I were both waiting for Martin to tell us what happened next, but the story was becoming so painfully personal that we both said nothing over what seemed like an eternity of silence before Martin continued, "That night, the night that Ulla fulfilled her fantasy was a moment of realization for both of us. I decided not to be a participant because I did not know if I would be able to perform sharing her with others and because I thought by not being a participant I could remain in control of the situation to a higher degree."

"Ulla was very nervous after I told her I had made the arrangements," Martin continued. I told her on a Thursday that I had made the arrangements for that Saturday afternoon and that Friday night after we made very passionate love Ulla asked me if I wanted to cancel. I told her I was very nervous about what we were about to do, but that the fantasy was now as much mine as hers and that I thought we should go through with it."

"What was it like?" Jeremy asked not even trying to hide the purulent interest in his voice.

"Jeremy, some things are personal, it's none of our business." I said to him in frustration because to be honest I wanted to hear the answer to that question as badly as he did.

"As I said before Ulla had never been with another man until that night and she had never even known a black man as even an acquaintance in Sweden. When things got started she became totally immersed in the pure depravity of what she was doing, of what she was becoming. She could not get enough of those four men. They all came in her or on her at least twice, some three times and she lost track of how many orgasms she had. When they were all totally spent I made love to her and she was totally wet and I was so turned on at what I had witnessed that even though she was a sea of sperm I came inside her almost immediately. She admitted to me later that it was the best sex that she had ever had and knowing that I was watching it happen to her added to the thrill of it all." Martin said in a husky voice.

"Did all this result in a divorce?" I asked trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

"No, not at all," he answered, "it made our marriage and our love stronger. We embarked on a sexual voyage of exploration together and I found that I loved exploring new things for the first time with her. It was like we were both virgins again. I loved giving her pleasure in anyway that I could construct and I loved watching her being little miss greedy pussy as she would call herself."

Martin paused and finished his port and ordered another round for all of us before soberly continuing, "We had an open marriage through the 70's and into the 80's when my wife was one of the first heterosexuals to contract AIDS in the San Francisco Bay area. She died of it within a year as there were few drugs to combat it in those days."

"And you, what about you?" I asked.

"I don't know why, but I never contracted the disease. I was tested and retested and have never tested positive. After her death I did not have sex for over ten years and during that time I was tested every three months and I have remained healthy. When I became sexually active again, or I should say sporadically active, I always made sure that under all circumstances I used latex condoms and I still get tested every four months now and I am still healthy." Martin told us with some degree of guilt in his voice.

"After my wife's death I became a real workaholic until the early 90's, by then I had amassed what many would call a fortune, but I was totally burnt out. I knew I needed a change so I sold my book to two other brokers in the office and took a position in institutional sales in Europe. For the next ten years I traveled extensively throughout all of Western Europe and Scandinavia and made even more money until I finally decided to retire a year ago. After I retired I settled in Seattle because San Francisco just had too many memories for me." Martin's said as his voice trailed off.

"You said you did not have sex for over ten years, do you mind my asking…" and before I could finish the question Martin answered.

"In my work I found that I often needed an escort and I started using an escort service quite regularly and one escort who was well educated and well spoken. Louise and I became friends and after I had used her several times as just an escort without any sexual contact she asked why? Perhaps she thought I was gay or perhaps I was making her insecure because she thought I did not find her attractive. I told her that the truth of the matter was that I only want sex with someone when someone wants sex with me and I had no illusions that all escorts or prostitutes want is my money." He said.

"What did she say to that?" Jeremy asked.

"She told me that I was correct, but that I should not be bothered by that because it was an honest relationship, both parties get what they want. And that was when I realized that, for me, sex was about mutual exploration and that that was the aspect of it that was fundamentally missing with an escort or a prostitute." Martin said with certainty.

"Martin, please excuse me for prying, but when did you start having sex again?" I asked.

"One night I needed an escort at the last minute to accompany me to dinner with a young computer entrepreneur and his wife and Louise could not make it. She asked me if I would mind using a very good friend of hers who she was introducing to the business. When Fiona showed up at my hotel door I was surprised at how beautiful and how nervous she was. I was also dismayed at how young she was. Louise was also younger that me by about 10 years, but Fiona was only in her mid thirties and the age difference was just too great for me to feel comfortable at dinner with a potential client and his wife."

After taking a drink of his port Martin continued.

"I called my client and gave him my apologies and asked if we could re-schedule. Fiona was visibly shaken that I had to do that and I told her not to worry that I would pay her the regular fee and take her to dinner. During dinner I learned that I was her first ‘date'. Fiona had just gotten divorced and with no job prospects she was looking for a way to support herself and trying to decide if she could be an escort. She was told that I never wanted sex, only an escort for business, and for that reason she had agreed to take the ‘date'. When she asked why I explained my feelings to her."

"What did she say to that?" I asked.

"She asked me to spend the night with her and teach her how a man wants an escort to behave and I did. It had been more than ten years since I had had a partner and it had been more than almost a year for her and the sex was explosive. I started calling Fiona whenever I needed an escort for business and even when I didn't. And that is how my celibacy ended." He said and finished his drink.

"Now that I have explained to you a little bit about myself let's talk about my proposal." And in a very business like manner Martin told us, "I am offering free first class air travel and first class ground travel of the best of Europe to whomever I select as my traveling companion or, in your case if I were to select you, companions. All expenses will be paid by me and the itinerary will be mine, however, I will consider any suggestions my companion or companions might make. In return for what I am offering I would expect to be allowed to witness all sexual liaisons and adventures that I chose to."

"Martin what exactly do you mean by liaisons and adventures?" I asked.

Martin smiled and said, "I have been waiting for that question all night, you're both too shy. By liaisons I mean I would want to watch when you two had sex with one another or with any lovers that either of you might take along the way."

"We don't take lovers Martin; we are married and faithful to one another." I interjected.

"That may be true now, but it may not be true in the future, life is a journey that often leads us down paths we had not previously thought we would explore and I think my life is a good case in point." He said.

"What do you mean by adventures?" Jeremy asked.

"If you should ever get GPS I would want to be there to witness it." Martin said with a smile on his face.

"GPS? You mean if we got a Global Positioning System you would want to watch us use it?" Jeremy questioned him.

Martin burst out laughing and then looked into my eyes and said, "Greedy Pussy Syndrome."

"You mean like your wife." Jeremy stupidly said.

"Nothing in the world is more exciting to watch than a woman who totally loses all inhibition." He said looking into my eyes with such honest and open desire that I had to look away.

"Martin," I said quietly but with great intent, "I will never have sex with you or anyone but my husband ever again."

"Interesting the way you worded that disclaimer, but don't worry, I don't expect any sexual favors other than being able to watch. And now that we have gotten that out of the way I would like you two to go home, talk it over, make a list of questions that you may have for me if you are interested and contact me at my email address and we will arrange for a second meeting." Martin said as he reached for his wallet to pay the bill.

When we left the restaurant and went our separate ways we had not gone four feet before Jeremy said, "I think we should do it."

"You mean make a list of questions and have a second meeting?" I asked.

"No I mean let's go to Europe with the old guy. I don't care if he watches us get it on, hell it might add some spice to our marriage!" Jeremy exclaimed.

After about two hours of persuasion Jeremy finally got me to agree to a list of questions and a second meeting. The only reason I agreed to even do that was that Jeremy kept reminding me that we could split on the old guy anytime things got weird and the worst thing would be that we would be back to seeing Europe on the cheap.

Jeremy's argument that we could split anytime if things got weird and Martin's answers to my questions at our second meeting were the reasons that I was, for the first time in my life, sitting in the first class section of a jet crossing the Atlantic. If we decided to go our own way in Europe I knew that I would feel bad that we did not honor our agreement with him, but knowing that that alternative was their gave me the courage to accept the offer and I had to admit that first class air travel was something that I would like to get use to.

When we met at the airport Martin asked to see our passports to make sure that the tickets were properly issued and he handed in our tickets as we boarded the plane keeping the return portion with his travel documents. We arrived in Schipol at 6:00 AM and our plane was the first to be allowed to land. After we cleared customs we got a cab to the Hotel Krasnapolsky on the Dam Square. Martin told us that there were better hotels in Amsterdam, but he felt that this one had the best location. We felt like the place was a palace compared to where we usually stayed in Amsterdam. The Mercedes would not be delivered for five days Martin told us that we would not want a car while in Amsterdam anyway and that we could get over our jet lag while visiting "the sacred and the profane."

We spent our first two days touring the museums and walking through some interior courtyards that were actually open to the public if the public knew which doors to enter. Martin was incredibly knowledgeable about the city and its museums and knew a lot of spots and interesting and fun curiosities that few people other than Amsterdammers would know about.

By the third day I was totally at ease. Martin had made no demands on us and he was always charming and fun so when he suggested we make a tour of the red light district that morning I was delighted. I had wanted to see it the last time Jeremy and I were in Amsterdam, but Jeremy had wanted to take a look on his own first while I did our laundry and afterwards he told me it was too dangerous. I could not believe that he was talking about the same place though as we walked through the tree lined canals and small alleys that sunny afternoon. When I said so Jeremy reminded me that it is a different place in the evening, but I remembered that he was here in the late afternoon and decided to not say anything.

Jeremy and I were flabbergasted when Martin suggested that we go to a ‘brown café' and get stoned. "You do smoke, don't you?" He asked us.

I laughed and said, "I thought that that was a job disqualification?"