Wishes Do Come True

The entire weekend was not devoted to sex. They cuddled in Jamie's huge recliner and talked. Jamie told her about when he had finally had enough of his sham of a marriage. He tried to wait until Susanne was 18 and in college, but finally divorced Lyn when Doug graduated and paid child support for three years until Susie finished high school. He helped Doug with college expenses and would help Susie, too. He had put aside money for their college even before the divorce.

After Jenny moved away with Brian 12 years ago, Jamie returned to college and finished his last year; the one that he didn't get to finish when Lyn told him she was pregnant and they had to get married. Two months after they married, she told him she had a miscarriage. Three months later, she really was pregnant. Two years later, Lyn's sister told Jamie that Lyn had never been pregnant that first time, but Lyn thought she was losing Jamie and she had lied to him. Lyn was right. Jamie found that the separation with him in school and her at home did not make the heart grow fonder. It made him realize he didn't love her. He had probably never loved her. Her devious actions and pulling him into bed at every opportunity during high school had kept them together. He had been ready to call it quits. Jenny knew this from their friendship 12 years ago and that the marriage had never been happy. Jamie never got over Lyn lying to him and not finishing his last year at college. Although he had decided to try and make it work, it didn't. Lyn used guilt to keep him from leaving. But it wasn't just the lousy sex; Jamie and Lyn didn't get along in any way. Jamie could never understand why Lyn even wanted the marriage to last. Each time he tried to leave, it was hell. It took nearly twenty years to do it.

After he finished his last year of school—it took a few years of working while attending classes part-time—he found a job at the local bank and gained a lot of experience. He moved to Indianapolis after the divorce. Indianapolis was far enough away from Lyn to make it highly unlikely of running into her at every turn, but close enough to see his kids often. Then Doug decided to go to school in Indy and Susie often came to visit. Lyn threatened suicide, but Jamie just didn't care anymore. She didn't kill herself, but occasionally made life hell for Jamie, Doug and Susie. Even the kids were tired of her antics. Jamie was convinced Lyn was a mental case.

"One day, I realized that I was dead inside. I would get up and go to work, come home, go to bed, and the next day I would start all over again. There was no joy. I decided that day to see if there was anything, any life, left inside of me. I told Lyn I was leaving. She screamed and cried, but I told her I just didn't care anymore. So I left." Jamie's eyes took on a far-away look, then he sighed. "I should have done it years earlier. I was hollow, nothing inside. After I left, I found something inside me and started to live again."

"I'm sorry, Jamie. I never realized you were so sad."

"I think that when you were still close by, I didn't realize it either. I got to talk and see you. You were the bright spot in my day, you and Doug and Susie. But when you left, the emptiness in me just got bigger and bigger. I don't think I realized, until now, that a lot of the emptiness was because you were gone."

"But you became whole again and finished school. You have a wonderful job you really like and a new life. I'm proud of you."

"I'm whole because you're part of my life again."

"Jamie, please don't."

Jamie kissed her head and changed the subject. He would not scare her or try to change her mind about divorcing Brian—not yet. He had to take it slow.

"Tell me about your children, Jenny."

She told him about Beth and Garrett. Both had graduated with honors, Beth with a teaching degree and Garrett with a management and marketing degree. She talked about the hard times when they first moved to Florida and struggle to get themselves financially on even ground again. She talked about her job at the publishing house. She talked about the grandbabies and how wonderful they were, which was unnecessary since Jamie could see how she glowed just talking about them. She told him about moving to Texas and how she hated it, then Brian getting this consulting job in Millersville. She didn't really want to move back to Indiana, but it couldn't be as bad as Texas. She didn't get to see the kids as often since they were still in Florida and she was in Indiana, but it was better than when she was in Texas.

Chapter 4 - A Weekend Surprise

"Jamie, Brian's going out of town again this weekend. He's leaving Thursday night this time and he won't be back until Monday. Are—"

Jamie cut her off before she could finish. "Oh, Jenny, that's wonderful. I can't believe it. You're off on Fridays, aren't you? Brian couldn't have picked a better time even if I'd called him myself and asked him to go out of town. I've been trying to figure how we could be together this weekend. I'll pick you up about noon on Friday. We're going to Louisville. We'll be back Sunday night. Pack casual with maybe one dressy casual. When I pick you up, I'll tell you about it. Jesus, I can't believe this. See you Friday."

Before Jenny could even respond, Jamie hung up. She was going to Louisville. Jenny laughed to herself...better do some laundry tonight.

~*~*~

"Jeez, Jen, you look good enough to eat. Maybe we should just think about this for an hour or two before we leave."

"No, you don't. I'm ready for this mysterious trip. I'm not taking another bath—not here, at least." Jenny laughed.

"Ah, Jen." Jamie took her in his arms and kissed her. He wanted to tell her how much these five months had meant and how much he wanted her full time, but knew it would just upset her. He could wait, but it was getting harder. They had been getting together about every three weeks since Brian had told Jen that he would be going out of town more often. The last two times, it had been only two weeks in between. Maybe Brian was up to something. Jamie had thought about this before and now he was determined to do some checking when he got back to Indy. On Monday, he would call the agency they used at the bank for investigative work they needed to do for, hmm, special circumstances. Maybe tomorrow or Sunday, he could broach the subject and cautiously tell Jenny how much she meant to him.

"Well, then, I guess we should leave and I'll tell you why we're going to Louisville."

Before they left, Jenny replaced her wedding rings with a black-gold scroll ring, which could pass as a wedding band but not necessarily be one. Jamie noticed. He didn't say anything, but he was pleased to see her do it. It was the first time she had removed her rings when she was with him. To Jamie, it was a good sign, a very good sign. Because of what would be happening this weekend, he had wondered how he was going to ask her not to wear them the next two days.

During the drive to Louisville, Jamie told Jenny more about the project he had been working on at the bank, about Scott Roberts and some of the team members, and that they were getting ready to wrap up the merger.

"So tomorrow night, we're having a formal, fancy, black-tie dinner and dance at the Louisville Marriott to celebrate the successful merger with both sides winning. I'm your escort," he smiled. "You're my date."

Jenny's mouth dropped open. "I didn't bring anything to wear to a formal dinner. I don't even think I have anything that would be appropriate for something like that. I'll just stay in the hotel room until you're done."

"No, you won't. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to wear something that you had worn for Brian. We're going shopping. My treat. Then whatever you get, I'll take back to my place so Brian will never see it." Jamie smiled at Jenny as she tried to say she couldn't let him do that. "Sure you can. I've been down here several times since this project started. Just a couple of weeks ago, I saw a place that I bet will have the perfect dress for a perfect lady. While we are at the mall, we'll get any accessories that you need. If we don't find something this afternoon, we can go after my morning meeting and look somewhere else. We'll find something."

Jenny couldn't believe the way this conversation was going. Brian had never cared what she wore and certainly never gone with her to pick out a 'perfect' dress. Come to think of it, Jenny had seldom gone to any important dinners or any thing else, at least not in many, many years, with Brian yet he was a consultant who had dinner or evening meetings all the time. She was very glad, again, that she had been walking regularly and getting back into shape. Not that she would ever look twenty-five again, but when she looked in the mirror, even she knew she looked better than she had for years, maybe even better than twelve years ago. She certainly looked happier. She was getting to the point where she couldn't bear for the weekends to end and couldn't wait for the next to begin. What was she going to do? She had said she didn't want a divorce. She couldn't stop the sigh.

"What's wrong, honey?"

"Oh. Nothing. Well, I guess I was just thinking what if we don't find that 'perfect dress'?"

"We will and you'll make it even more beautiful."

Jenny laughed. "Don't you mean it'll make me beautiful?"

"No. You're already beautiful."

Jenny gets a new dress

Jamie and Jenny got settled into the hotel. It was still early afternoon and Jamie thought maybe they should just take it easy for an hour or so, you know, just to relax, a little, er, nap...or something.

"Oh, no! Not until I get a dress in that closet. That's all I'll be able to think about. I won't be able to stop worrying until we've found something. That is, unless you've come to your senses and I can just stay in this room and have room service or something until it's over."

"Not a chance. Come on, let's go over to the shop now and see what they have."

Thirty minutes later, they walked into a specialty dress shop just down the street from the Marriott.

"Hi. My name is Kathleen. May I help you find something?"

Before Jenny could answer, Jamie responded in a honey voice, "My wife and I are looking for something special for a black-tie dinner and dance tomorrow. I know this is a little late to be looking for something special, but we've had some problems with logistics the past few weeks and, when I saw this shop, I just knew you'd be able to come to our rescue."

Kathleen melted, as Jenny knew she would, when she heard the tone of Jamie's voice. He just smiled. Jamie could have any woman he wanted, she thought.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll be able to find something just right. Follow me. Please have a seat. Is there a certain color you're looking for?"

"I'd like to see her in something that would complement her beautiful eyes." Jamie intervened again before Jenny had a chance to say anything and she just barely swallowed a snicker this time.

Kathleen turned to look at Jenny's eyes and noticed they were very green. She smiled. "I think I have something that will be perfect. What size are you? An eight maybe?"

"Well, I don't know. These hips are pretty wide. Maybe a ten?"

After saying she would be right back, Kathleen moved away. Jenny turned to Jamie and said, "Jamie, you can't buy me something here. Did you see the prices of some of the dresses hanging over there?"

"Shh. If it will make you happy, it'll be an early Christmas present. I promise I won't buy you anything else." Yeah, right. "Let's see what she brings you first before we decide if I can afford it." Jamie knew he could afford it. He had been very frugal the last few years, saving every extra dime. He just felt he would need it someday and now that he had a very good job, saving had been easier.

Kathleen returned with five dresses and held each of them up. The last dress was a dark shimmering black-green cocktail dress. The neck was cut high in front with a cut-out below the throat band, but cut low in the back. It had diaphanous sleeves in the same dark green, but in soft flowing chiffon. It would show skin, but in all the right places for a forty-six year old woman. Small dark green emeralds hung in the throat cut-out and the center stone would lie right above the cleavage. The skirt was straight with a slight slit up the back.

Jamie knew which one he wanted and could see from Jenny's look that they were on the same page. "Jen, do you want to try this last one on? I think it may be the perfect dress for the perfect lady we talked about earlier."

"We don't normally carry a lot of shoes, but some dresses are hard to match. We have shoes that would go perfectly with this dress. They're black with just a tiny bit of emerald trim. The heels aren't very high, only about 2 or 3 inches. I'd say you probably wear about a 7 medium?" Kathleen said.

"Eight would be better." Jenny finally managed to say as Kathleen led her to the changing room. Jenny had taken off her clothes and had started to put the dress over her head when Kathleen came in and helped with the hidden zipper and ties in back, then handed her the size 7 ½ heels. Kathleen chatted like a magpie as Jenny finished dressing.

"I can't find a size 8, but these usually run big. Try them on, but if they're too tight, I'll see if I can find an 8. This is the only dress we have like this. It just came in yesterday. You won't have to worry about another one like it at this party. We're supposed to get a couple more in two weeks. You're lucky you came in when you did because this dress is perfect for you. Depending on the way the light hits it, it looks emerald green or black-green. And your husband is sooo good-looking and I think he likes this dress best. You're a very lucky lady. Very few men come with their wives and they're never so attentive. I hope someday I'll have a man look at me the way he looks at you. Ah." Kathleen sighed in hopeful expectation. "Black hose will be what you need to wear with this dress. The dress comes with earrings that match the trim. Don't you want to go show your husband?"

"How much is this dress?" Jenny asked as Kathleen pushed her out to Jamie.

Jamie stood up as Jenny came out of the dressing room. "I told you we would find the perfect dress, Jen, and this one certainly is it. You are beautiful. We'll take it."

"Jamie—"

"Shh." Jamie leaned down and brushed his lips across Jenny's. He looked like the cat that just ate the canary.

Jenny pulled Jamie aside. "Jamie, I'm sure this dress is too expensive. It's too perfect to be a decent price. I can't let you pay for this."

"Kathleen and I have already talked about the price and you're worth every penny. Why don't you change and we'll take it back to our room, then go out for some supper?" Dress, shoes, earrings, and the panties Jamie had discreetly inquired about when Jenny went to change were all in the dress bag Jamie carried back to the car.

Forty minutes later, Jenny was hanging up the 'perfect dress' with very shaky hands. Jamie came up behind her, circling her waist with his hands.

"You will be the most beautiful lady there. I'll have to beat the men off. You know, it's a little early for supper. Maybe we should try some other activity, you know, just to kill time."

With his hands still on Jenny's waist, Jamie turned her to face him and bent to kiss her. The kiss was slow and gentle at first, but changed to a fiery passion within seconds. One hand moved to her back, pulling her closer. When he could feel her becoming weak and could tell her legs were turning to jelly, he picked her up and moved to the bed. He was sure he knew Jenny's body better than Brian ever had. If he didn't know that Brian never touched Jenny, he would have been extremely jealous of him. For the hundredth time in the last few months, he wondered how Brian could not want this woman.

After that, no coherent thought entered his mind. All he wanted was Jenny. He loved to feel her fall apart in his arms. He slowly undressed her as his mouth brushed against each bit of exposed skin. Her body was now tutored to expect pleasure and her responses were beautiful. She arched her back as he bared her breasts. When his mouth covered her nipple, he felt he had to devour her. He had to put his mark on her.

"Jamie, Jamie," she moaned. "Please."

"I aim toplease, my sweet."

When he had her completely undressed, Jenny reared up to help him undress. Jamie laughed and caught her hands, holding them still as he continued to tease her. He soon knew he couldn't wait much longer and let her help him get undressed. She attacked his zipper and he sucked in a breath. His hand closed over hers.

"I'll get it," he said in a ragged voice.

"Now. Now. Now."

Jamie laughed again, then a strangled groan escaped his clenched teeth. He had to slow this down or it would be over before it even started. He got back on the bed and stopped her from pushing him to his back. Jamie straddled her left leg as he lifted her right leg over his left arm. He reached down with his right hand and positioned his erection to caress her slit. His knuckles rubbed her clit.

"Ohmigod! Jamie, please. I can't stand it." Jenny's hands were clenching the bedspread underneath her.

He continued to tease her clit until the moisture leaking from her coated them both. With one hard thrust, he entered her to the hilt. In this position, he went in straight and deep. Jenny muffled a strangled shriek with the pillow. Jamie emitted a low, smoky chuckle and leaned forward to pull the pillow away from her face. The slight change of position pressed her leg higher, opening her more to his thrusts. He was so deep she thought he would come out her throat. A moment later, she cried out and climaxed hard. A few thrusts later and Jamie followed her over the peak.

Breathing hard, he slowly withdrew and carefully pulled her into the curve of his body. She was asleep in minutes. Jamie smiled, pulled the blankets over them, and allowed himself a nap, too.

Oh no! Will the weekend be ruined?

Jenny started to stir about six that evening. Jamie asked if she was getting hungry and they were on their way to the Sports Bar by 7:30. There were several members of the team there and they ate with them. Jenny seemed to fit in effortlessly. Jamie was disappointed that he hadn't been able to introduce her to Scott, but told her that she would meet him tomorrow.

"You'll like Claire, his wife. In a way, the two of you are a lot like. I think you'll have a lot in common," Jamie said on the way back to the hotel.

Jenny had one slight pang of guilt and almost said 'what, she's having an affair, too', but shook off the guilt and smiled up at Jamie, pulling him down for a kiss. She was beginning to think she would have to choose. Her feelings for Jamie were more than just sex. Maybe they always had been.

As they were entering their room, Jamie lifted his hand and waved to a man coming out of the room down the hall from theirs.

"Hi, Greg."

Jenny tensed. Even though it had been thirty years, she was sure she knew this man. Jamie immediately noticed her change in posture.

"Hey, I'll get back with you later. I've got to get my lady to the little girl's room."

"What was that all about?" Jamie asked as soon as he had Jenny in the room. He pulled her into his arms as the door closed.

"Who was that man?" Jenny was amazed that Jamie had noticed her apprehension. She thought that Brian would never have noticed, or cared about her feelings if he did.

"Greg Lawson. I work with him. He's on the team, too." Jamie replied, looking down into her gorgeous green eyes. Jenny visibly shuddered in his arms.

"I know him. I went to school with him. I don't know if he knows I married Brian or not, but he'll probably remember me, too. I went to a dance with him. He'll know my maiden name and he'll probably know Brian's name, even though Brian was a senior when we were freshmen. I shouldn't have come."