All Comments on 'It Was Something in Her Voice'

A very good story like all your work. I dont really know what the moral was though. That he should have taken his wife back because she liked the same types of activities he did? That they both liked camping hollidays outweights the fact that the better part of their marriage was a sham?

He was right that they never had the marriage he thought. She was never the person he thought. He was also right to hold on to his principles.

Seemed to me that you were preaching about the joys of forgiveness and saying that nothing is as important as having someone with you. Thats just crap no matter which way you slice it. Why is he going to happier with his ex than without?

If they get back together he will still be alone in every way thats meaningful since she isnt the person he thought. He gets back with her and they spend the rest of their lives running around so much that he never has time to think about the fact that he is esentially alone no matter how much she is physcially with him?

I dont see any difference in that than if he had decided to keep Mary even though they didnt agree on some subjects. Both would be nothing more than live in sex partners and not a true partner like he thought his wife was.

Am I supposed to pity the guy because he was too ridged to let go of his pride and take back the wife? I really dont (pity him) so if that was your intention, you missed the mark with me. I feel bad for the guy because he got shit upon just when he was looking forward to enjoying the fruits of his labours with a woman he really loved (yes he really did love her no matter what anyone says about how quickly he threw her away disproving that). I even feel bad for the wife because I dont enjoy seeing people suffer or wasting away at the bottom of bottle.

Just because I feel bad for both of them doesnt mean they should be togther though. He was right that it can never be turned back now no matter how hard they might try (kinda like a plate :). The fact that his wife was such a whinner who kept blaming others, refused to take responsibility for her own actions, wouldnt try to help herself, expected others to fix her problems just because, and spent their whole marriage livign a lie, should be enough to help him get over her though.

He is doing the only thing possible in the situation that was handed to him. If he went back he would still have all the problems he currently has, plus some additional ones, and less self-respect. Self-respect does count. All he can do is not let this end his life and hope he finds someone that he can connect with. He is doing that so I dont see how I can feel anything but sorry that his wife decided to fuck him over so cheaply (starting 20 years ago when she started believing him a cheater and refused to confront him about it). That she arbitrarily decided to through away their marriage sucks but all he can do is move on. Convincing himself its not that bad wont fix anything.

Sorry for the rant. I guess you expect the readers to feel just like I do since you kept making the wife worse and worse with each revelation. I really dont think you expected us to want them back togther so Im not sure why you had the guy crying in his coffee at the end. Might be realistic but its depressing and, like I mentioned earlier, the way you revealed the wifes weak character and shitty attitude should have helped him get over her instead of kept her pining for a lost love that was never what he thought it was in the first place.

Thanks very much for writing and Im glad to see you back. I really enjoy your stories and all the detail you put into them.

This was a great story until the last paragraph...unless there is a chapter 2, and how much longer can these two beat the problems to death? You build a strong character who in the last 50 words falls into self pity??? Who is now challenging the strength of his character for the last 50 years? If this is a plot gimmick to get them to talk I buy it, if not, it just does not fit.

There was no tension, just one event after the other. The characters were lifeless, and the ending was as dull as Greg's personality. I'd rather see a third chapter to the TGI Chronicles, than stories like this one.

Congratulations. In my opinion, you write extremely well. I found your story quite depressing, primarily because I thought your hero was a pompous cold hearted bastard. His wife had a stupid affair which broke his heart, but he then proceeded to act like a sulky teen-ager, insulting his wife of 25 years and feeling sorry for himself. Sorry, it may be my bias having three sisters and three daughters, but it doesn't seem that he made any effort at all to reconcile with his wife. All his hurt pride. 60 year old George

I thought it was interesting - it kept my attention all the way through.

I felt her thinking he was a life long cheater but never saying anything to him was almost of bad as her actual cheating. If she had cleared the air with him she probably would not have cheated.

Yeah, it was sad and a little depressing ... but real life is like that sometimes. This can stand on it own quite well or would do nicely with a sequel.

Good job!

Regards, Jack

There were bits and pieces of a couple of good stories here but unfortunately, neither came out very well. The dialogue seemed stilted and far too formal. The story line wandered around like a drunken sailor. I reread the story and the line by the wife, “It was just something I wanted ....... No, needed to do…" COULD have been a pivotal line. The opportunity was there for a deep need she was expressing (a cry for help…a need to show some independence…whatever), but it fizzled out in the worn out concept of, “I thought you were cheating and I wanted to get some too.”

GAPB, you have talent but, in my opinion, you aren’t thinking your story all the way through. Oh, and the European notion of an anticlimax for an ending doesn’t play well here across the pond. Good luck in your future endeavors.

in here in the past year or two. it's long enough so that we get to know the main characers well; they are believable, from Mary to Shiner.

Jude and Mel also played their parts well: not too pushy and very heart broken, like Greg and Susan.

what is puzzling is that Susuan kept bitching about Greg this or that, when all she needed to do was listen to Jude and just submit herself, on her knees, to Greg and appeal to his better self, which he still had a lot of,,,,

but here accusing --- overtly now --- of having cheated on her and their marriage many times BUT her wanting to be a "stoic" wife,,,, this, as Greg said, was the ONLY ONE thing that truly kept him from giving her a second chance.

in real life, if a person who has wronged you, by cheating like Susan, keeps accusing you like that, when they really should be doing nothing but solem and quiet apoligizing for their crimes,,,, any person, man or woman, with self respect, would not want to go back to him/her,,, like this Susan,,,

yes, she is suffering and will likely die from conumption complications within a few years, if she kept going at the rate she's going,,,, but her attitude towards Greg, a man she professed to love, simply made it IMPOSSIBLE for Greg to find his way back, much as he TRULY YEARNED to find his way back, to her,,,,

that party was perhaps truly the last straw, which cemented Greg's decision in stone, that this was a woman, much as he had loved and as he still missed these days, that he would never want back in his life: she was untrustworthy, bitter, cheating, disloyal, vindictive,

suffering, too, yes,,,, but as Greg kept saying: SHE brought about her own suffering, not him.

while his suffering was a mere and inevitable consequence of her disloyal nature.

anyway, good reflected story, dear author. torn as I am, I am glad you didn't have him running back to her saying, "Oh, Susan, I've missed you so much! Please, forgive my stupid pride for making us suffer so long! I've forgiven you; now you must forgive yourself, too."

I think that's too stupid. It is better to have Greg face very heart-breaking moments and yet rise above defeat every thing. It is perfectly better to be alone and lonely than to be with a person who has no trust in you, no love in you, and who cheats but says her cheating was a mere little thing, when she was thinking you've been cheating all long, for years, but who never sadi any thing.

that's a very destructive, selfish, and untrustworthy person to spend one's life with.

so this is a heart-felt, torn story: all suffered but the one who caused the chain of events that resulted in that suffering was not a strong or reliable enough a person to cause a healing; instead, every opportunity she got, she put more salt on everyone's wounds, including HER VERY OWN, which was likely deeper than most, ironically, knowing that Shiner and his wife might have survived the fucking but her's and Greg's didn't,,,,, and she's also right: she did spend 27 years with Greg,,,

unfortunately, it's a 27 year time span that she din't completely trust Greg,,, what a mess!

but again, all Susuan had to do, was to go down on her knees and solemnly plea with Greg about her lack of trust, say, due to stupidity and not vindictiveness of any kind and that all she ever wanted was for him to return to her, to help her HEAL HERSELF so she could try to heal the whole family,,, all she had to do was DO THAT, and yet, she failed time and again,,,

why, author?, why you chose to write about Susan like that?

Hold on a minute! You spent the first 20% of this story going on about the ins and outs of politics at Greg’s company. I muddled through the fact that your paragraphs seemed woefully too long and were almost exhausting to read, but then you finally arrange a scene where Greg comes home to greet his wife.

In that one scene you have Greg discover through hesitation or voice inflection, or whatever, that Susan has a boyfriend. Then he immediately starts gathering his clothes to leave. You spent a total of 608 words on this revelation after having spent over 4,400 words detailing Greg’s business experiences.

I had to read the revelation 3 times. I thought I was missing some pages. This was the FASTEST transition I have EVER encountered in a story of this type.

However, it worked! The psychological make-up of Greg was set. The man is rigid in his attitude and beliefs. I was amazed that he even allowed Susan an opportunity to state her case. Nevertheless, the outcome was never in doubt; he never considered any form of reconciliation. After 27 years, he simply gave up.

She deserved more from him.

I am not one to consider a story should always end with reconciliation at all costs. Sometimes the facts as presented justify the dissolution of the marriage. Sometimes it is obvious that an attempt at reconciliation would be fruitless and yet in other cases after intervention by a third party the marriage still should be terminated.

Unlike the husband in this story, I did not give the same weight of 27 years of a loving nurturing partnership (25 of those in marriage) as equivalent to the adultery. I thought those years entitled her to more consideration, at least through to the conclusion of counseling.

This story stand in stark contrast to jake_straw’s “She Did Me a Favor”. In that tale the infidelity is also in a 20+ year relationship, but the relationship was never that good to begin with, so the divorce action by the husband without any intervening discussion of reconciliation seemed more than justified.

In any event, I applaud you Gary for a damn good story (irrespective of some of my concerns about initial paragraph length).

Superb writing that is unfortunately marred by a few grammatical blunders that a diligent editor would've caught. Still, GaryAPB's style is compact and his use of the language is quite good.

The characters are richly drawn and the author carefully and completely tells us about them then, even better, shows us about them. We get to know them, feel their pain, share their sorrow and weep empathic tears as their lives tumble into ruins. They are credible, believable people who do their best with the emotional equipment they have. Their best isn't good enough in the end and we feel sadness at the morass of unhappiness at the conclusion.

The plot is modest but acceptable in a cheating wife story and the author focuses the central conflict in the story with aplomb and skill. The conflict is resolved crisply with painful contortions suffered by husband, wife, friends and family. The author is careful to show us the rocky path of righteous anger, walk us down that path through the weeds of hate, anger and pride into the garden of loneliness, fertilized by hubris, nurtured by stubbornness and watered by anxiety. I particularly appreciated Greg's post-divorce situation: at a time when he believed he'd have the world as his oyster, he had nothing but emptiness inside. No fairy godmother to kiss it and make it all better. No fairy princess he could sweep off her feet, only bitter regrets.

It's a hard lesson that the author teaches but one every proponent of the "Kick the Cheating Slut to the Curb Club" should give their attention. There is no kindness, no joy and no forgiveness in Greg's pyrrhic victory, only the bitter aftertaste of hollow rightness.

Excellent fiction this is. This 100's for you, GaryAPB, for a story told well. I thank you.

...I agree that you've written the story very well. I liked it up until the end. I think you short-changed us there. By that I mean, Gary, that you portrayed an adventurous, strong leader-type man throughout the story who was decisive, sure of himself, able to function on his own, and right in his decisions. At the end of the story he had become a lonely nobody with no friends. A man that powerful and situated for so many years at the top of his game has to have tons of friends and sympathizers who would know how to help this friend in time of need. I believe that you could have gone a different route ... but that was your choice and we all have to live with it.

I know some people are going to moan and groan about the ending, but I thought it was very understandable based on the personality of the character you created.

Our "hero" isn't exactly open to dicussing things immediately and while he can compromise in negotiations, its clear he likes to negotiate from a position of power, as we see in how he handles the C&G issue on late payment.

The reality is that while I feel some pity for the hero because he does end up in a situation where he's looking for a woman to share the rest of his life with, Susan deserves absolutely no pity or mercy.

She choose to cheat

She choose to believe her husband had cheated years ago

She failed to talk to her husband about her issues

When given an opportunity to beg forgiveness she refused and instead attacked

Once she was divorced she gave up and let herself go, becoming dependent on alcohol, knowing that her ex would never accept that of her.

In all, this is a well written cautionary tale.

This had no certain ending, just a sense of sadness and regret from both parties. I think that it's interesting that the wife was more forgiving than the husband, even though there was nothing to forgive. To me, it illustrates that they simply had different views of how to handle infidelity. They never resolved that, hence more problems. They were not as compatible as they thought. She went twenty-plus years, wrongly thinking that hubby screwed around on her. He found out about her affair with the other guy and decked him. I give it a 5 for drama and realism. Much more story and not a lot of sex.

I also find interesting that the writer has neither the double standard of the "wife can punish, but hubby can't" crowd, nor the other double standard, that goes in the exact opposite direction. Instead, one finds that he accepts that different people have different attitudes. People aren't condemned for getting even or for staying with someone.

Greg has the money - he needs to hire a good match maker (or use one of the reputable on-line services like eHarmony) and get him a new mate who shares his interests.

Well written story about a couple of flawed humans - glad to have another one of your stories - although this one was very sad. Screwed up two families completely - I doubt David & his wife will ever recover, especially considering their precarious financial situation.

I was so afraid Greg would "WIMP-OUT" and re-negotiate a new contract, sort of turning adversity to opportunity, as he had done at the beginning of the story. I'm surprised you chose to end the story before Gregg was able to find a new relationship, or even realize the search for new relationships is half the fun. Gregg handled her infidelity perfectly, and with admirable graciousness. The story was a powerful drama that I tremendously enjoyed reading, and would have scored it a 100, if only it had contained some SEX!

He was a successful, decisive man who dealt with the end of his marriage in the only way he knew how. The set up in the story on how he dealt with business lead into this very well. He even allowed an opening for a new marriage contract. In no way could he have allowed that to happen when he found out how his wife truly regarded him. That especially would have determined his course. He also could not compromise his principles on helping others who were not willing to help themselves just to please. I don't believe for an instant that he would end up lonely. There are a great number of fantastic, adventurous women who would be attracted to this man.

so very well told. It was enveloping and marched the path of 2 foible real people reacting as much like life in a very likely and possible manner.

The are no perfect people but some are worse and some are temporarily at loose ends for justifiable reasons.

You painted an emotional picture that felt real right down to the morose ending which he was entitled - he is human and has the right to feel without a rudder or a person to share his future.

Given his past strengths and positive attitude he will be ok after a grieving and purging period.

Author - this was a very impressive display of your talent and feel for life in this snapshot.

Marital consequence is such an emotional and intriguing theme which you have proven very well here. More at interval is hoped for.

With Very High Regard

While your writing does not give one a dull headache like JustPlainBob, it was too much a reminder of the boring futility of plodding page after page when all of this could have been handled in a single page. Yes you receive good feedback from people who like tortured writing for them to feed off a situation, but in reality it is listless and limits what seems to be a very sound writing style you have.

You remind me of the guy who experienced war and just said, "We went there and came home". This story was about betrayal and you never hit the readers in the gut with the raw feelings people feel. You can do better than enabling readers who get off on suffering.

Awesome story, his final decision was the correct one and understanding that the sorry slut was miseable was icing on the cake [stupid bitch]. It is refreshing to see this level of detail and proper consequences [compared to the vast of amount of bullshit divel coming from JPB]. Nevertheless, a "worthwhile tale" of great story-telling. Thanks for your efforts.

Glad to read another of your stories. I guess hard-heartedness and lack of communication killed this marriage. I hope I never have to be right all the time. So what does our hero have to show after all is and done: nothing.

Boyd

Not bad but still not ended. Needs another chapter for both of them to realize exactly what they are missing. It is a lot like life - it sucks then you die.

Harry is so right on the point. I am hoping that if GaryAPB has a sequel to this story that he addresses the key-point of the wife erroneously/stupidly believing that her husband was a “common cheater” for most of the 20+ years of marriage. I think in many ways her telling the husband that she thought that he was a “common cheater” did more to end the marriage than her “actual cheating” did.

As for how the husband ended up at the end of the story; he will eventually pull himself together and go on with his life and most likely find a wonderful woman to share his life with.

To GaryAPB good story. Thanks

I made no moral judgments in my commentary either way, Harry. I called the outcome a pyrrhic victory in which there are no "winners". Greg achieved his goal: he kept his pride and divorced that cheating slut only then he didn't want to pay the piper for the dance. See the final paragraph of the story for Greg's thoughts on the way things turned out.

I don't do kneejerk reactions, Harry, unlike some. I don't automatically side with the cheater or the cheated upon though some do. I do admit to being a registered Republican right up until the beginning of this century but I am no longer. I'll won't elaborate as this isn't a political forum.

Insofar as reconcilation goes, I found no evidence that Greg was willing to consider it. When he makes statements like "Divorce was only a matter of legal recognition of what already applied. The marriage was over, kaput.", I can only believe that Greg thought reconcilation was impossible. He certainly wasn't interested in marital counseling and, without it, I can't see the couple getting back together. In the final play-out of the story, there's no hint of a reconcilation so why would you think Greg was willing to reconcile? He wasn't and he didn't.

I understand what Salamis meant in his comments: both partners had years invested in the relationship and it was a shame that Greg was unwilling to seek professional counseling. He simply wrote off the marriage as unworkable, preferring divorce instead of the pain and effort to confront and resolve the problems in their marriage. Kudos goes to the author for keeping Greg in character even though it resulted in an emotional trainwreck.

I guess you're pleased with the outcome of the story. I know zed is. What I see is an unhappy old man who drinks more than he probably should and can't seem to find happiness after two unsuccessful post-divorce relationships. His final thoughts don't seem too hopeful for future. I doubt that GaryAPB will do a sequel since one isn't needed.

But, unfortunately as with so many stories, it died due to a poorly constructed ending.

The beginning was drawn out with the company politics, but was bearable.

Greg's reaction to the cheating and then to her weak excuse that she believed he had cheated several times back to 20 years ago were perfectly believable. Given his reaction as soon as she cheated, his disgust at her for staying 20+ years thinking him a cheater was predictable.

Maybe your miserable ending had a message for us, but I didn't get it, whatever it was.

You played a strong character into a miserable aging man and it didn't fit the rest of the story.

It could have been an enjoyable read, but instead with such a wretched ending it was a real disappointment.

Would have been better with a good ending, though. Greg really has a broomstick up his ass, doesn't he? He's not gonna bend one bit. Even his handling of the charity to help people who needed help in their lives was with the rod stuck all the way up. His non-bending was even an affront to Paul.

I though that with Susan belief that he wandered that she was reasonably unselfish. If only she hadn't strayed she would have been a near saint. But knowing her state of mind and that she obviously loves him, he is being a prudish prick. 27 years and two great kids are NOTHING. He is right so I guess he's happy now. Being unhappy must be what he wants.

Very well told story. I agree with Harry (a 1st for me) that her belief that her husband had cheated was the deal breaker. This is similar to the Nighttime Confessions: Daytime and Daylight continuations. In those two stories the husband couldn't accept a wife who (constantly?) thought of herself as a martyr. Gary has created a husband who deals in right/wrong and doesn't know how to deal with shades of gray.

is not a human being,he is a cold,calculating autmaton.A friends business is having problems,what does he do?answer is to put up his prices.A wife needs listening too,so he walks out.His son and daughter try to help,he's not interested.He should die a bitter,lonely,unloved 'man'

Severusmax: I don’t think she was more forgiving. She asked herself: 1) what do I want. To maintain the family and the relationship. 2) What am I willing to pay for that? Putting up with the bastard’s cheating. Why did she cheat? I think she felt entitled and resentful because of what she paid for the relationship (based on her erroneous conclusions).

I don’t agree with Nightowl’s characterization of the charity giving help to those who need it. It enabled those who relied on it to avoid taking action on their own to improve their situation. It is only the appearance of help you are giving. If it’s someone close it may be painful not to extend that kind of helping hand, but in the long run it is far more beneficial not to help them avoid the issue.

Was Susan basically unselfish? Not on the evidence presented. The relationship met enough of her needs that she decided, on balance, it was better to put up with his (imagined) distasteful behavior than to seek a relationship that might meet them more fully. That analysis doesn’t even include the simmering resentment that allowed her to meet her selfish desires, no needs, without remorse until caught.

Greg has made a number of whopping mistakes himself which, perhaps, are coming toward the surface leading to his melancholy at the end.

He had to end it because a casual affair was worth more than a 25-year marriage. But when he discovers she believed him unfaithful all those times for all those years that reasoning flies out the window. So it’s not that reason AND her lack of respect for herself, it is INSTEAD. If she had not cheated, just raised the issue of his imagined infidelity before the scheduled trip, would he have said we need a divorce and I can’t even consider counseling with someone with so little self respect? According to Greg, no. She would not have violated their marriage contract so he would have no grounds to declare it void. So if it’s not enough to end the marriage, is it enough to reject counseling which could bring enough light to both of their situations to allow for better-informed decisions?

Our subconscious protects our egos by coming up with rationalizations that allow us not to look like assholes to ourselves. We might really be assholes, but it’s hard to function if that’s how you see yourself for very long. Even when say we do, we usually know at a deep down conscious level it isn’t really true. How long could Saddam have gone on killing people for his own ends if his subconscious hadn’t supplied him with reasons to justify his behavior?

Why did Susan cheat? She doesn’t know. "Yes, Greg. I did know what I was doing. I never thought you would find out. It was just something I wanted ....... No, needed to do." After all that had gone on she didn’t know whether she wanted it or needed it because she didn’t know why she did it. Her subconscious supplied rationalizations, not the real reason.

Why did Greg react the way he did? Because he has principles he follows. Sorry. He doesn’t know why any more than Susan did. He knows she cheated because of something in her voice, yet for 25 years he never heard anything in her voice, saw anything in her face, her demeanor or her behavior that she considered their relationship less than perfect? She’s misread him all those years; she should know him. That’s one of his reasons they could never get back together. But he’s misread her all these years; he should have known her. So it’s not that.

Okay, it must be his understanding of her lack of self-respect. Without exploring it, how can he know that’s what is going on? Maybe she valued him so highly, loved him so much that in the totality of the relationship it was just slightly more important to her than the fact that he snored. Maybe her view of human nature and biology is that men stray and, in that context, he has been far more faithful than the mean. Maybe she has a self esteem issue that he hasn’t recognized for 27 years. Was he so unobservant, so uninvolved with their relationship that he couldn’t see it? He can hardly hold that against her without holding it against himself even more.

So he’s just following principles? He gave C&G notice of the breach and the opportunity to fix it. With her he just terminated. Just as with a contract, you’re not required to terminate because there is a breach, you’re just empowered to do so. C&G failed so they negotiated a new contract. She breached but he will allow no negotiation. The C&G negotiation didn’t guarantee they would enter into a new contract; it explored it. Counseling with her would have been an exploration, not a guarantee. Salamis was saying that after 27 years of a relationship, most of which had nothing to do with her incorrect belief in his infidelity, shouldn’t the time, effort and emotion invested by both of them be validated and perhaps extended by a non-binding exploration? He would seem to have at least as much to gain as Susan.

The lesson of WW2 was that you must intervene against a tyrant on the other side of the world. The lesson of Vietnam is that you shouldn’t intervene against a tyrant on the other side of the world. Both lessons are pretty pointless without additional details and understanding of the differences between the circumstances.

Susan doesn’t know why she did what she did. Greg doesn’t know why he’s doing what he’s doing. Before applying his experience to the situation, he needs to have a better understanding and counseling could provide that benefit to him.

Finally, as to the ending, imagine yourself needing to lose 50 pounds. You go to the gym 6 days a week, change your eating patterns, give up many things you love and crave and 4 months down the road you look in the mirror, having lost 20 pounds, and you see that you’re still fat. You have a moment of self pity. Then you realize that the weight didn’t get there by someone stapling it to your body. If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, at some point down the road, the 50 pounds will be gone. You’ll gain the esthetic and health benefits you anticipated. Even if you don’t make it all the way, you’ll still have gained benefits from the process. It doesn’t mean you should have stayed the way you were.

So he’s feeling a little sorry for himself because he wouldn’t attempt a reconciliation, yet his efforts to replace her have, thus far, gone for naught. Boo hoo. He knows what he needs to do, he’s been doing it. Is his history that he always obtains maximum success on the first try? We’ve seen nothing in this guy’s personality to even remotely suggest he’s done trying. He’s just recognized it can be even more difficult than he anticipated. Now he’ll go out and keep working until he finds someone that meets his desires or changes his goals to meet future realities. At his age, health and wealth, there is no reason he shouldn’t succeed.

It’s a great ending. He’s ambivalent. He should be. Even if he turns out to have done exactly the right thing, for every choice you make there is a cost. It may simply be that you didn’t get to explore the other choice(s) you rejected. At 80, will he look back at this and wonder what would have happened if he had tried counseling? He’s looking forward to looking back. Maybe he will look back and think boy did I nail that. Before you get where you are heading, it is normal to consider whether that’s really where you want to go; if the journey is worth the price. It’s normal to wonder when you get there. Did you ever get what you sought and think is this all there is?

Even when you succeed, as he did by punishing her lover, is your satisfaction dampened by the costs you imposed? The guy had repented and decided to dedicate himself to his marriage. Is Greg the kind of man who will be bothered in the future by the costs he imposed on the innocent wife and the innocent children by his choice of revenge? Perhaps the financial burden imposed on the wife after the marriage breaks up loses the opportunity for college for the children and the resentment against their father leads them on a downward spiral. Greg isn’t responsible for them, but he could have avoided the (possible) damage choosing a different response that might have been as satisfying to him without the collateral damage. Or maybe Greg wears blinders and none of it affects him. But I suspect from his approach to 43 (the charity) that he will be affected when one or two of the children show up there.

It isn’t just the damage you cause to others that can detract from the enjoyment of your success. It can be looking at what you’ve done and thinking: Am I really a person who can do that? That’s what Alvaron was talking about when he invited the kick-her-to-the-curb crowd to consider the byproducts of that type of action. He’s not saying it’s wrong; just that it has costs.

Harry, when you first appeared you came out swinging, lopping heads and tossing epithets. Today you come out with the same passion, but also with “check page 3, paragraph 25” evidence. And all over comments are breaking out with, “I’m surprising myself, but I agree with Harry.” If you were a character in one of my stories, I’d be delighted with the character growth and would have no doubt that kind of character would connect with the readers.

While the debate rages a thought or two for more fodder. First acknowledge the author talent and insights into some of life's real possibilities.

Where no one wins but one can lose less if they choose properly their attitude towards the future. Respect can't be purchased at the deli or shopped for online because it is a result of a process caused by the recipient but can only be given by those affected.

Conversely parallel if you will, self respect resides inside and is the result of doing the honorably right thing over the long haul building confidence and exuding strength in decision making as the basis for choice is based in strong self character from the prior successes that resulted from considered options and firm fairness.

This the Author built strength upon strength by the examples in his company and it's business practices.

However, the Author also gave our hero the human characteristics of second guessing oneself plus selfishness.

He also gave our hero an earlier example upon which to base his future decision making when he had him decide not to help fund those who weren't committed to changing themselves for the better. This won't escape him for long due to his pride and self respect that will kick in after a slight entitled depression. Didn't we wonder why that was there besides so obviously for her.

Clever and talented work Author for which you are very much appreciated and especially so in this pulsing emotional cauldron of Marital Consequences where life extracts fairness in every case sooner or later.

With Very High Regard

whatever they want into a story. Maybe the author intended that and if so, he did a fine job.

I didnt read it as near as gray as some of you did though. Im a black and white type of guy though. Lots of people tell me that irl and Im probably even worse when im anonymous on the internet.

I still think the author didnt intend the husband to be in the wrong. He (author) wouldnt have added the bit about the wife believing him to be a cheater for most of their marriage if he wanted it to be about the guy being too rigid for his own good. Without that deal breaker, the story could have been what many of you seem to think it is - a shot at the hardliners who refuse to look at anything in context and accept only one possible outcome to cheating. With the wife's behaviour after the split, it becomes a story about a guy carrying on the only way left open to him but still paying a high price even though 'he did everything right'.

If the author had meant the story to be about this guys refusal to bend even if it meant making himself miserable, he wouldnt have made the wife appear worse and worse as the story went on. As Harry pointed out (I have often agreed with Harry right from the start but I do think he is a bit aggressive in stating his opinions), the husband was considering reconciliaition and it was the wife who kept sinking that boat before it ever sailed. He was considering it when she started blaming him for cheating on her and ended up putting another nail in her own coffin by admitting that their marriage was a sham and she didnt believe him even after he told her he hadnt cheated on her all those years ago. He was considering it again after breaking up with Mary and his kids told him she was going to fight for him but she again shot herself in the foot by acting like a helpless child who just wanted people to feel sorry for her until she got her way.

The least of the things the wife did in this story was cheat. The reasons she cheated and how she behaved afterwards are what really damn her and some of you insist on ignoring that. At first the story seemed to be about this guy and how uncompromising he was in his views and it could very well have been a poke at the hardliners (me included). By the end of the story, it seemed like the author was telling us that the husband didnt really have anything to fight for. He wasnt throwing away a good marriage to a lovign wife because his pride got in the way. He didnt have a marriage or a wife that was worth compromising over so his unforgiving stance couldnt have been meant as a lesson on how to live your life and whats really important. Maybe the author was saying that the husband was wrapped up in work and never really worked at his marriage, was a crappy husband, and liked the idea of the perfect wife/children but didnt want to be bothered with the actuality, but he (author) wasnt saying the husband was too inflexible for his own good and was cutting off his own nose to spite his face.

Anyway, I agree with rpsuch - this is a very good story and its full of depth, detail and meaning. Even if Im not reading it the way the author intended (means he wrote it wrong, not that im reading it wrong or that im biased :), it was still a good story.

Which story did you read? You say:

'He gave C&G notice of the breach and the opportunity to fix it. With her he just terminated. Just as with a contract, you’re not required to terminate because there is a breach, you’re just empowered to do so. C&G failed so they negotiated a new contract. She breached but he will allow no negotiation."

Many posters have detailed the places where he allowed for the opportunity to derail the divorce if reconciliation were possible.

Did you read these parts??

"Well, once the divorce action is well underway, maybe we can meet and talk about what happened and what we each want in the future. If we both want to be married, and we can get over it, then we can call the divorce off, but at the moment, I feel you've imposed it,

I don't have a say in it. You broke the marriage, and divorce is the inevitable result. That's where we are today. It may change in the future, but not until we've both done a lot of clear headed thinking."

By the end of it she was weeping, and through her tears, asked Greg if he knew what he was going to do. "Yes, start divorce proceedings. Then think about what I want after that. That may include reconciliation."

Starting divorce proceedings was his way of emphasising his disgust. Even at the end of the story the woman never 'got it' - Yes, she was distressed by the divorce and losing him, but she never once showed any insight into why Greg acted as he did. And she never once made any real effort to get him back - and Greg noticed that fact too. Every time she spoke with Greg after the separation all she ever spoke about was herself, her problems and how she felt. Not once did she ask Gerg how he was.

Someone else, I think it was DJ, pointed out that in the end Greg had nothing worth fighting for in Sue or his marriage to her.

The actual cheating was merely the catalyst for him to find out too many things he didn't want to know about his wife and her opinion of him.

Gary hit the nail right on the head when he wrote Greg saying:

"At the time, I really did wonder if I should forgive her that stupid affair. But then she told me that she thought that I'd been an adulterer, having I don't know how many affairs, for the whole of our married life. I found that insulting, very insulting, it seemed to make our whole marriage a sham. But it also showed that she had no self-respect if she thought she was putting up with that for years. How could I love and respect someone who doesn't respect themselves?"

Put in fewer words, he is telling us he had no wish to remain married to a woman who thought him an arsehole. Sounds emminently reasonable to me. In another part of the story Greg points out that Sue really didn't know him at all if she thought him a serial adulterer, and he found out he didn't know her either.

I agree with RP in much of what he said except the bit about immediate cancellation of the 'contract'.

Gary had a story here I could have given a rare 100 (for me), but he just had to add that last paragraph. Without it the story was great. Oh well...

Is that the message in the ending? Sadly you made the story very realistic.

Greg was a proud and successful businessman who was destroyed by his cheating wife. At first I thought her excuse would be his job and the long hours. No! It turns out that she thought that she lived with a cheating bastard. So she invites some guy into their home to fuck and to make himself at home.

What I do not get is why he could not find someone other than Susan? Given his business contacts don't they know of eligible women? Is this the 19th century? Or did Greg become the same type of people he had disdain for when he talked about the people using Help 43?

For Susan to talk about counseling and trying to get back together when she believed that he cheated on her for years but did nothing was pathetic.

Is there a part 2 to this story? Is Greg going to take his own advice and try to solve his crisis either moving on or getting back with Susan? If he can not live without her he should just swallow his pride and take her back. If he takes her back then he certainly is not the same person in this story! I really do not see why he should take her back but people do strange things when they are desperate.

An sad but realistic story about two people who really did not know each other. I know that Greg seems harsh but Susan allowed David to come between them over months not weeks and she knew what she was doing. So she was going to fuck David twice a week until Greg entered retirement?

Thanks for an excellent story!

SleeplessinMD

Is perhaps an optional title here. A well written and empathetic character driven tale, that could well be happening in the house next door to you...or closer!

The story demonstrates the reality that couples can go for considerable years living under mis-conception for what they think of the other. In other circumstances, Susans' mis-guided beliefs of Greg as a philanderer could have continued to lie somewhat dormant, due to dis-belief, uncertainty, and fear of confrontation, etc, etc. This is, as strange as it is to most, how some live who don't, can't, or won't communicate effectively with their partner. That's the moral of this tale the author has so well revealed, for the rights and wrongs of his characters traits. Greg literally had to dig these innermost feelings, fears, and attitudes from a wife he thought he knew so well. That he didn't know her as well as he should have is where his fault lies, regardless, marriage is not a solo activity so far as effort and synergy are concerned.

I do agree with the posters who suggest that Greg's character didn't see his ethic of confront, take decisive action, and sieze the opportunity, carry from his business life into his private life.

I too, disagree that the last paragraph is a flaw in the work, for the first time this outside-the-square thinking Greg went back inside of it, and found his own frailty, sensibility and regret.

What awaits now is sensitive second chapter by Gary or other writer to explore what could be.

Thanks Gary, your work is well done and appreciated.

The story was well written but the storyline has too many flaws.

It is hard to conceive that Susan, a church going wife and volunteer to many worthwhile causes could ever for so many years despise her husband for his supposed infidelities that she wanted revenge. A revenge that only she would know about is not revenge in itself but a zealous attempt to have something personal over her husband. Doesn’t sound like a church going wife to me. And she was going to continue the affair if she wasn’t caught…yikes..Furthermore, how was she able to get close to David Shiner…at church…at a volunteer function…I don’t think so…since according to David, he had too many issues at home and was financially strap….so how did they spent all this supposed time together over four months…the last two weeks fucking…Now if David was a spy for his company in order to further advance within his company by getting the goods on Greg’s company through seducing his wife …I may understand…..but for heavens sake …they both said the sex was not all that great ..yet they fucked three more times….just how much personal revenge did Susan want…… So the storyline fails me all on levels. Susan’s attitude shows more a life long ability to deceive…so she must have deceived her church, her volunteerism and her marriage…by fucking a married man…and Susan pretended to have such home values NOT…. David is a red herring…thrown in…he should at least have been single and a good fuck if Susan was going to throw everything away. Greg was Greg…no deception noted with him…in fact Susan knew he would hear her out…even though Greg thought it unnecessary….Nope the storyline shows Greg and Susan did not communicate in their marriage yet we are to assume 27 years of wedded bliss…hodge podge..

I haven’t read the comments but I’m sure they will be all over the place but I like seeing someone take a plausible scenario and show that there are real choices and most people only find one to hang their hat on.

It takes time for all of us to change and we have to work at it. If we just succumb to what we feel is best we are giving up on any hope of a change. We are humans and we need to have a challenge to grow.

This is a story of people giving more lip service to life then real commitment to a real life.

Sad commentary of two people lost in their own minds and locked to a single idea not starting something new just wallowing in possibilities untried. Just reason with no compassion to move anything along.

So very well done and great entertainment of a different bent.

Thank you

PT

I firmly believe Greg had no intention of reconciling with Susan after her affair. He was merely paying lip service to the idea so as to project the image that he wanted to project to his friends, his children and his co-workers. The fact of the matter is he wanted a divorce and he got it. The finality of divorce will make any reconciliation difficult. I'm not saying Greg was wrong to divorce her, I'm saying that, if he was serious about reconciliation, he wouldn't have pushed for a divorce as hard as he did.

Greg wanted to get away so he took a holiday. That's understandable, given the situation, but it's certainly not helpful if he wishes to reconcile with Susan. It tells me he wasn't interested in trying to fix what was broken in their relationship. That's not necessarily wrong--some relationships can't be repaired--but it speaks volumes about what he really wants. He wants out of the marriage and he gets his wish.

Given the personalities of Greg and Susan as GaryAPB painted them, I can't see how they could reconcile without marital counseling. They don't communicate with each other worth spit and they needed help long before she took her lover. As I re-read the story, I realized that neither partner had it in them to suggest counseling before her infidelty. Greg thinks things are peachy and Susan is too wrapped up in herself to see the cracks in their relationship.

I don't understand why you're offended at the idea that they needed a trained professional to help them understand each other better. Why is that, Harry? It only takes one person to break a marriage but it takes two to put one back together again. Given what these two people believe about themselves and about each other, I'm not sure counseling would've done any good but I'll stand by what I said earlier: each of them invested years in the relationship and it was sad that Greg refused his wife's request for professional counseling. As someone else noted, he punted on the marriage and I thought that was unfortunate. The real telling point about why a reconciliation is unlikely is found in Susan. Not once does she ask for forgiveness. She repeatedly expresses her remorse for what she did but never asks Greg to forgive her. I can't say that I'm surprised by this because I don't think Greg had it in him to forgive. I leave up to you to decide whether he should or shouldn't but I promise you this: without forgiveness, there can be no meaningful reconciliation. If Greg doesn't have it in him to forgive, then him talking about reconciliation is self-serving prattle, another rationalization so he can feel good about the resolution that he wants.

Now, Harry, when you label me a man-basher, that's demeaning and I don't deserve that. I have no problem with Greg seeking divorce as his remedy for her infidelty. As the old song says, "she done him wrong" and he's justified in seeking a divorce. Not once did I say otherwise, I merely noted that he had other options available to him. He did what his pride demanded and his choices ended up with him and his wife estranged, bitter and unhappy at the way things turned out. My point, and I think the author's point too, was that Greg made poor choices. No one held a gun to his head and made him cold, hard-hearted and unforgiving. He did that all on his own without any help from anyone. I found rpsuch's commentary very illuminating: he's right. Susan doesn't know why she cheated because she doesn't understand herself. I'm not surprised that she can't speak rationally about why she did it. She doesn't really know. Greg doesn't know why he feels the way he does and acts the way he does because he doesn't understand himself either. Both of them are painfully flawed and it's sad to watch as their world falls apart. Her infidelty triggered the split but make no mistake, this marriage was doomed.

Harry's unhappy because he thinks I'm unsympathetic to Greg's pain. What happened to Greg is something I'd wish on no man. Nobody should have to endure the anger, humiliation and loss of respect that he did. The way I see it is that Greg is the wronged party. It's up to him to decide how things will play out and that's precisely what happened in the story. Things didn't turn out so good so I'm forced to conclude that maybe, just maybe, Greg should've done some things differently. And for this, you call me a man-basher? Pah.

I think Harry wants me to play the blame game but I won't because it's pointless. It accomplishes nothing. Vilifying Susan for cheating doesn't make things right, it only creates more pain and misery. I reckon there are some folks who feel smugly satisfied with their own moral superiority when they beat their chests and proudly proclaim, "Slut! Bitch! Whore! The cunt got what she deserved!" I'm not wired that way, Harry. I don't get off on other people's misery and I don't cheer when I see emotional trainwrecks like what happened in this story. I suppose the real life experience of my sister's divorce has colored my thinking. She was cheated on and I got to understand very well the rage, anger, frustration, humiliation, loss and longing that results from a painful break up. My sister couldn't forgive her ex for his infidelty either and I came to understand how the choices we make because of what we feel are not always the best ones. Should my sister have attempted to reconcile with her first husband? No, I don't think so. In many ways, they were incompatible because they wanted different things out of life and, as I look back on what happened subsequently, I think them moving on was for the best. Her ex has struck out three times now and I doubt that he'll step up to the plate again. Like Greg, he's bitter and unhappy at the way his life turned out and I'm sad that he never found what he was looking for. He did my sister wrong but I don't damn him for it. I figure the Almighty will take care of any damnation that's due.

Thank you, Harry, for giving me another opportunity to speak. We don't always agree but I do respect your right to say what you think. And my thanks go out to GaryAPB again for producing such a thought-provoking story. I like my smut literate and this tale is surely that.

...over being happy This was one of the major themes of a talk I heard once. I think this story does a good job of portraying this idea.

you put in to your stories. It was a great read and I enjoyed it and, I hope, learned from it too.

I'm thinking that some of my future stories will be better because I've learned from yours.

First - A splendid tale emulating real life with real responses to real marital problems really experienced by some. Real-like! Get It! A very talented effort not often seen here or elsewhere and without consequencial flaw.

Now to the reconciliation issue being left and wrong bombed. Counseling is usually advocated because it offers several benefits to both parties. However if either is close minded about any benefit or feels that it will just shift blame and pain or cause additional useless grinding of ones senses for no real purpose seen then why placate the inevitable?

It's not easy to be God or is it? He must allow people to do what they feel is best at that time but no one can erase what has already happened. Even with the edges understood there is no pill to go back before the pain of this ultimate disrespect.

No one who hasn't been there can offer a position based on a real life experience upon which to base fault or make judgement so shut up already. Even those of us who have can't make that judgement because the people, circumstance and settings aren't ours.

Recommend yes - judge no. Observe yes - condemn no.

Enough!

Author - it is too long between your efforts and successes to entertain us. Consider a closer interval if that is possible for our sake.

With Very High Regard & Respect

Like your previous stories, this is beautifully written and complex--many have noted that the black-and-white issues are replaced by shades of gray. Clearly both Susan and Greg are flawed people (and beautifully drawn); and your final message that even when you do the "right thing", you may end up feeling miserable (at least some of the time) is a very powerful one.

I know that readers love happy endings, but this one worked very well for me.

Thanks for your talent and your hard work--Best, ohio

I can't belive this couldn't be reduced to no more than 2 pages. Besides, I didn't find any of the characters likeable

Gary, you have a solid writing style, which is easy to read. This is one of the better stories posted here. In general, I enjoy reading your stories.

And… this story rose above many of the other such stories listed, in that the ending did come close to real life. (IMHO)

What I am having a hard time with, in your writing style and others, is this continual Louis L'Amour/ Zane Gray style of characterizations. The lead men are all super heroes, the women soft and weak, and the villains evil and cruel.

I enjoyed seeing that you did step away a little from the John Wayne black hat/ white hat philosophy in your characterization of the wife’s lover. That was a high plus point in your story that I though did not see followed through enough in the interaction and reasoning of the actual act of adultery. Real people are neither totally good, nor totally bad. Good people just do bad things some times.

Though “the husband”, his actions & emotions were well defined (but trite), the wife remained a shadow figure, unacceptable as a true person. Unfortunately, I have yet to read a story here on the site that truly does show anything close to the actual reality of truthful interactions between a man and his wife in such a trauma. The actual psychology of the cheating female remains an untouched, or totally misinterpreted topic in all the stories I have read here so far.

I feel that, the interactions between the three major characters (husband, wife & lover) lacked substantial value because:

A. The over personification of the husband as a super hero.

B. The lack of substance to the characters & personalities of the wife & lover.

Your main character was therefore shadow boxing and your storyline than lost some of its logic, magic and follow through.

most men don't want a stupid and old cow as a wife.

Can we relearn the classic lessons from all faiths that:

- Good relationships go beyond contracts

- They're easy to break but difficult to build,

- Defending rights can compromise happiness

- It is best to forgive and then forget

but especially for guys who have already accumulated good amounts of wealth, they can be in the 40's, 50's, and 60's and start again, with much younger women.

women/females, in nature, look for males who could provide. many women from their 20's to late 30's have little or no problem with guys anywhere a few years to as much as 30 years their seniors, so long as the guys could support them.

in order for the older guys to want to anchor down, the women must be able to have a child or two, as a way of solidifying the relationship. and they are willing to do that.

james webb, senator-elected from Virginia, is in his 60's and his oldest children are his wife's age; wife is an Asian woman/lawyer, from the country Webbb was fighting in the 1960s, and they are starting a family, with a child!

while guys in their 60's COULD also marry women in their 60's, almost NONE of them do it; they rather settle down with women in the 20's, 30's, or 40's again with the possibility of starting a family again,,,,,,,,

women can not do that, even if they have wealth, so they have to be MORE careful in the mates they choose; because if they are not, in their 40's and older, the guys can leave and restart another family, but they the wives can't, wether with younger or older men, who do not go after older women their age in the first place!

so, the argument that his reasonably successful man is going to lead a boring, lonely, sad life ----- it is possible only if he chooses to. many younger women would love to have him and start a family with him, knowing that he has the means, finacially, and they could do it, biologically,,,,,,,,

wimpy ass man moaning all the fucking time.she the wife got what she ask for affair and payback.there're woman waiting for a shot,so writer if you want to stop bullshitting us and grow up get him a woman.

is reflected in this story. In other words, stay with a lying, cheating spouse is better than trying to find someone who will really love you. This great myth but real fear forces many to "reconcil" with the cheater. Perhaps the cheater will be "scared straight" and not take the chance to stray again or more likely be more careful when he or she cheat again.

In this story, Susan took up with a younger lover to get back at her husband for his imagined dalliances. Perhaps if Greg had taken her back she would have taken her marriage seriously, but she really did not believed that she had done a serious wrong. She had overlooked his "affairs" so she assumed that he would overlook her affair.

Bottom Line: The ending sent a contrary message about Greg doing the right thing. Susan should move on to find someone fresh and so should Greg. By leaving them to languish in misery readers are torn to blame either Greg for sticking to his principles too rigidly or Susan failing to communicate with her husband.

It is almost worth an epilogue.

SleeplessinMD

Interesting and well-written story, but I didn’t like your own personal author’s conclusions. They were far too weak, sloppy and limited in their examination of your Greg’s behavior. Events and people’s behavior, caused by his behavior in your story, were simply too inconsequential.

If my father had behaved in any manner even closely resembling his, I would never speak to him again, no not even on his deathbed. I would insure that my two brothers would act in the same manner.

Your Greg character, was not only extremely male chauvinistical, he was self-centered, egotistical and arrogant. He left his wife of over 25 years, his wife that had subjugated her whole life for him; giving up almost all her own interests for his appeasement, bore him three children. He left her not for reasons of adultery, but rather because she acted for once in her life not complete submissive to his and solely his dictates and norms.

Not only that, he arrogantly went out and vengefully hurt not only her lovers life badly, but also innocents, some of them children.

Your Greg character was an evil cruel man and (your described) behavior of those surrounding him, associated with him, inconsequential and illogical.

My sympathy is with Susan. Although she clearly did wrong, she's clearly suffering for it. Greg's hard-nosed attitude to life is made clear in the "C&G" incident at the beginning of the story. Unfortunately although business is like that, life certainly is not. Susan's attitude to his imagined philandering is not a weakness on her part, more a sign of her love for her husband that she's prepared to stay with him in spite of it. To my mind there are only two requirements for someone to qualify to be forgiven(1)genuine remorse, (2)an undertaking not to do it again. Susan clearly meets both of these requirements. Greg really is a total bastard.

A sequel would be good - maybe Greg can be redeemed

A man has to have his principles, but they don't keep his bed warm at night. Since I'm from South America, I perhaps know more men like this than most people in the 'Sates.

This really was a brilliant story. Because you presented the man as one who makes choices based on priciple rather than emotions it would appear that he had a choice in being happy by forgiving his wife or lonely doing what he did.

In fact he had no choice. If he'd taken her back he would know that she wasn't the person he had thought she was. He used business terms, but what he was really saying was that the she broke his heart and in doing that changed who he was. He might have wished he was a different person but the pain of her actions were impossible for him to bear.

I would think of it as a wonderful jewel that you'd bought at great price and treasured. Then at a crucial point the jewel is found to have a major flaw. The stone is the same, it looks the same, but the value has changed. Once you could have sold it for a fortune but now you can't. What is more because of the flaw you know that given the right circumstance, a blow at just the right place and with the right force the jewel will shatter.

The wife was not the person he had thought she was, and he knew that he couldn't be happy with the person she was. The really sad thing was that she created the flaw it was her choice. Like all of us who make major mistakes. She wouldn't have done it if she'd known the cost, but that's like having a partner who won't steal from your partnership because he might get caught and go to jail. What you really want is an honest partner...

Oh well, it's late at night and I should be working on my own cheating story right now. I'll justify it by using some of that jewel thing in the story.

I just had to comment on this one. After all, that's what you do when you find a jewel!

and would still be fucking him if not got caught.susan became a whore and she said she enjoyed her lover.in marriage vows it don't say sleep with other men and hubby go along with the adultery.you play ,you pay.the wife could have talk to hubby first about his wrong doings and not fucked the lover.if it was the man some of you would be cutting his balls off.

Do not agree with the other anonymous. When you say 2 things to be forgiven (remorse and promise not to repeat), where do you draw the line, adultery? child molesting? Wife beating? No. Susan's Charactor betrayed a vow (foresake all others) as important as any other vows (such as cherish and protect).

Your honor and code of ethics can be cold bedfellows, but it just shows what can you live with and what you won't. This story touched me in many layers, but what made me sad was that neither partner could move forward - they were crippled by this event and they never were happy again. What a waste.

greg was miserable because what he loved and lived for was gone.some say he should forgive and forget, and he probably should, but we are all different and some men can't love someone after what she did. some say kick her out and have fun , but those people only love themselves and have never experienced true love. they have never had a major part of themselves cut off and thrown away. people judge differently because we are all different.some are to forgive, and some are to move on. there is no universal answer or recourse. heck, some would want their wife to do the boyfriend in their presence. all responses aren't right, but there can be more than one right response.

There are numerous comments and I agree with portions of many. One thing I don't understand (but I guess it's because it's Europe, not the USA) is the lack of charges by David Shiner against Greg for assault? In America, there would have been a civil suit against Greg and maybe even felony assault charges. Not that someone couldn't understand Greg's reasons; he was angry and wanted to get even with Shiner. But the law says you can't just go beating someone up because you are pissed about what they did. Greg could have sued Shiner for alienation of affection (I see that in lots of stories so it must be a good legal maneuver). But instead he took the law into his own hands. He felt good for doing it . . . I guess in England people don't sue each other much . . . I need to comment about Nici's critique; she states that Susan gave Greg three children, but the story states Melissa and Jude are the two children, so I'm wondering where Nici got the third child in this story? Also, Nici states that Susan sacrificed everything for Greg, her career, etc. but I recall from the story that Susan had a nice career until her full-time job was eliminated a year or two prior to the affair in the story. She was bored, she had nothing to do except for her Church group. I don't understand this and I wouldn't mind being bored like this. She had freedom to pursue hobbies, plenty of money, she could live like a queen. I don't understand why Nici puts the story in terms of submission and dominance? Nici's stories seem to reflect this idea but with the implication that men should be dominated . . . is life just domination and submission? I think Greg and Susan had a marriage built on a partnership with each filling roles to which they agreed. It's clear that they loved each other for most of the marriage. I think it truly could be said that Susan overlooked what she thought were affairs on Greg's part due to her love for him and a sense of duty to the marriage (love can imply forgiveness for a person's imperfections and mistakes). I don't feel this willingness to keep quiet represented a lack of respect for herself. But her affair makes it difficult for the marriage to be saved. I agree with the premise of "forgiveness" and it is clear that Greg is incapable of doing this; he wants to remain angry with Susan no matter what. He places a shell of business terminology and contract law around himself so he need not open up his feelings (but we do see that he cries privately, and with the bartender). I think a sequel to this story would be very interesting.

My dad always used to say "A man has to do what a man has to do". I was glad to see that her lover did not get away with his infidelity either.

A legal points. First, just because you seee something in a story, it doesn't mean that its reality. For example, alienation of affections. This was a good cause of action about 60 years ago, maybe. Today, you would be laughed out of court. In regard to assault and battery ... this is a criminal issue which can result in jail time and a fine ... but it is on a par with drunk driving which usually results in probation. And it only happens if the police are called and or just happen by. A civil suit for assault, under the circumstances of someone thumping the guy cheating with his wife is going NOWHERE, at least in states like Texas, unless you disable the guy and he has real damages and the jury, if it has at least two men on it is still likely to give the cheater nothing.

You write well. Dark and sobering ending, probably realistic. A bit like Ohio's Blue Dodge Minivan, the wronged spouse is left with two crappy options, only Geg doesn't feel the execise of exploring forgiveness could ever be worth while. Fair enough.

Beautifully written, the characters and their actions well presented. As I think about Greg, I certainly sympathize with his feelings and his actions. At the same time, however, I would like to remind the posters that--at least in my experience--one learns more from mistakes than from successes. It is not at all necessary that Susan would have continued the affair idefinitely, nor is it obvious that given the awful consequences to everyone, that she, as well as Greg, was unable to learn real lessons from the whole business. Life is about including the weaknesses of human beings, not just their perfection.

Thanks for a great story.

i have no criticism. the ending sure is very affective. awesome work.

Kudos!

I don't understand why so many of the responses are so hard on the husband. It seems clear from the wife's excuses that she still holds herself fairly blameless in the cause of her affair. First she seems to pass it off as no big thing, then she blames him and holds herself as some sort of martyr because she has lived with his supposed affairs, then she seems to think that he owes her because she has been a good wife for so many years. Just the fact that she has come up with so many excuses, all of which don't hold her to account, make it more likely that she might do the same thing again, especially if she knows that her husband will forgive her and work to make it work. She did this to the marriage. He reacted to it, maybe harshly, but not unreasonable so. If anything, his family owes him for seeming to blame him through the early stages, even though the break-up was all on his wife's head.

A very well told story. Great in characterizations and detail. The build up was supurb. Yes, Greg is a sad lonely old man, and it is his own doing. Just as he blames Susan for the affair--the marriage break up is all his fault. They are both to blame for the situation they find themselves in -- As is the case in most thing dealing with life. His honor is intact--but his life is not.

As I said--Great story well written.

Now that he's dumped the cheating slut wife, and is a semi-retired gazillionaire, he gives up on relationships after only two attempts? Sometimes it may take as many as 5 or six, perhaps even seven. Any man knows half the fun is the hunt.

When the other guy takes some of the heat. Lit stories are mostly by non thinking types that only want to blame the wife Your husband laid it where it really rested ...in both their laps. Usually the other guy never experiences the turmoil in his own private world with his family...The oh do goody two shoes writers of the pupl fiction that passes for wrtiting on lit are so hung up on doing the proper thing that other guy just gets the pussy and the husband ends up with his life shattered. Not so in yours. The other got what he deserved when his wife discovered his infelility. Cheers...

I enjoyed the story as far as it went. I was totally let down with the ending. Either get them back together or finalize the "no reconciliation" theme.

This story was well written, well plotted, the characters well developed, the movement was well designed, but...all is not really well with the story.<p>

I read the story twice, and was disappointed that what should have been an excellent story (based on GaryAPB's prior ones)was flawed in some respect. All of the characters were of less than noble stuff. Susan, the wife, came across as a self-proclaimed martyr rather than a loving and truly concerned wife. The husband, Greg, was a pompus and rigid businessman who believed that his blind adherence to the laws of contract applied to every aspect of life. And so the story developed along predictable and questionable lines.<p>

But what really made the story unsatisfying was the fact that the story was never finished. The ending left hanging. There was an opportunity, which was missed, to redeem one or both of the main characters...either through reconciliation or through a more difinitive resolution of the seperation. In reading the story, one gets the feeling that the best part is yet to come. And yet it does not. **sigh**<p>

LG

Gary, you never fail to amaze me. I love my reconciliation but stll thought this was a great story. Retribution is also high on my list and I got all that I needed. The characters were well defined, so human. I don't understand the comments that complain about a lack of an ending. They may not have liked it but the story came to the appropriate conclusion. Given Greg's nature it was appropriate.

Another great story from my favorite author, life ain't always beautiful.

It's an interesting experience to find myself sympathizing with the cheater and not the one who was betrayed. First, let me say that what Susan did was horrible. It brutalized and savaged a good marriage for no apparent reason. Greg, however, proved himself to be an unfeeling logician. He was a cog in the corporate structure that lived, breathed, and thought as a corporate drone. He didn't have the fortitude to demand semi-retirement from the board of a company in which he was a principal stockholder, for gosh sake! ..... So, when his personal life goes to pot, the only thing he can do is think it through like a corporate drone? Mind you, I wouldn't have minded so much if he had acted more like a thinking/feeling man and not so much like Star Trek's Dr. Spock. ("Fascinating, Susan, but your actions are illogical. I will never understand you humans.") .... Given that, it was odd to me that the only time he acted as though he had any non-logical emotions was when he decked his wife's lover--but even then, I got the impression he only did it so that David's wife could see and ask questions. .... By the end of the story, I was happy that the corporate automaton found out that he didn't know how to relate to a real person in a real relationship where business deals were not involved. It serves him right. .... By the way, I agree with others. A sequel would be fascinating. I'd like to see the story from Susan's POV. .... The Cobbler

in a relationship a man or woman want a spouse they can trust and respect.this woman shit on her hubby because something in their past that wasn't true.she added more hurt by not talking with hubby before acting out her fanasy.one time i could see going back together,but four times seem she like what she was getting.this was a married woman who vows she broke.in this country that ground for divorce.here to the writer their are women looking to make men happy out there and live for that purpose,so stop trying to put a broken marriage back together.

This was a harsh story. One full of failed expectations, missed chances, and disastrous consequences. All divorces don't have happy endings; we saw the concealed pain of the husband. The shattered remnants of the betraying spouse. We also saw the futile searching for meaning after having a lifetimes emotional investment squandered.

The husband didn't strike me as a cold manipulator or a misogynistic batterer. Instead he took surcease in the only way he could, as a shattered contract. He left openings for reconciliation, but in the end he realized that he didn't even know his wife. The martyr complex that she 'bore so proudly' was the death knell of his marriage as far as he was concerned. For 80 percent of their marriage, the wife thought he was cheating on her. Rather than communicate her concerns, she stoically decides to bear the iniquity and soldier on. Of course this is the true justification of her infidelity, she loved him but didn't trust him. Her lack of communication and trust with her husband doomed their relationship. Too bad real life has few happy endings. Thanks for sharing!

It is sad to see to see divorces these days but its life. I liked the point of view from Greg and his logical thinking. His corporate thinking collided well with his job position. As for the ending, its quite well done. From the story i knew Greg was really upset that his wife of 25 years or his partner of 27 years cheated on him and she deserved what she got and that he couldn't find another woman like Susan. It proved he tried to find another woman like her but in the end, it was best if he didn't or he would relive the emotions he felt during the divorce. To me, it seems like a proper ending.

There should be a special section, with the simple title ‘good stories’ … oh well one can dream… But if it was possible –this story should have found a safe place in it. Revisiting it, and after all the previous reviews (and I am focusing on the positive ones) I have little to add. Except perhaps with regard to the ending. Unlike most it did not bother me. The man finally got in contact with his emotions, he finally feels some pain not only anger. The women? Oh, no worries, I am sure that in few months max, they will be back in his life..

It seemed to need something at the end as you left it hanging. This was a very thoughtful and well written story, but kind of sad.

she acted as she did, and broke the trust. being lonely versus a sense of betrayal and she did it, and again?

sadness for all, by the act of 1

against the husband. It is simply forced reconciliation and political correctness taken to the ultimate extreme. A man loves his wife, cares for her, finances her, and is totally faithful to her thinking she was totally in love with him, respected him, and was faithful to her marriage contract. It turns out she incorrectly assumes her husband has cheated on her for years and instead of facing up to that builds a wall between them based on her own mental manipulations. Deciding she has been faithful enough she takes and lover and commits adultry not once but at least four distinct times. When cornered in her infidelity she uses the husband's "prior affairs" (that did not exist) as her excuse. Some out there seem to think the innocent one in this travesty needs to get over it, forgive her, and keep on with a marriage based on lies, assumptions, and infidelity. Might I pose a very simple proposition? You have a legal contract with someone to rent your property. That persons makes payment with funny money knowingly. You attempt to deposit the money in the bank and find it is worthless. But for the sake of the contract, you forgive the renter, accept the fake money, forgive them, and let them take up the payments where they left off. That is what we would all do right? In this contract the wife never knew her husband, assumed he was an adulterer, and we can also assume she had no real love for him since this did not bother her. Letting her festered mind work she decides unilaterally she will go out and fuck around on her marriage, something that breaks the marriage contract. In so doing in her sicken mental state she places the blame for her infidelity on her husband, thus betraying him and humiliating him at the same time. The only possible outcome of her behavior, mental attitude, and lack of love, is total and complete divorce. If he choses to stay home and be bored and lonely because of his empty nest that is his mental problem to be solved, it doesnt mean any reconciliation with someone like his exwife would make his life any better or more meaningful. Anyone that thinks there is only one person in the world for them hasnt opened their hearts or their minds to reality........... Look the wife didnt believe that was only one man for her did she?

I liked this story even though it was a sad one. I usually hope for a scenario where reconciliation is possible and in this story, who knows. The reader has the prerogative to speculate that a happy ending might be out there some place in the future for these two. After all, it is just a story.

But, I have a difficult time understanding what more the husband is supposed to do to save the wife from herself. A good number of the comments on this offering seem to indicate that the husband is the “evil doer” here. I don’t see it. I don’t even think that it is anymore complicated than him reaching a point where he realized that the marriage they had had for all of those years was a sham and that it needed to end. He realized that his wife who professed to love him didn’t even know who he was. Then from his point of view she certainly wasn’t who he thought that she was. In any event, the wife decides to do something stupid and risk the marriage. She has that right doesn’t she? Well, it was just one little affair. And after 27 years of being exclusive with her husband, she was entitled wasn’t she? I think that probably there was nothing in the wedding vows that specifically and openly stated that after 25 years the wife could have a short fling and nothing would be said. I mean just because she made promises in the wedding, everyone knows that, all wives cheat in their marriages don’t they? It’s a given isn’t it? After all it was just sex? The husband should have been ok with that. He probably gives his golfing buddies a mulligan once in awhile. “Oh well Greg, sorry about your luck. Hope that you don’t catch anything. I clean myself up after I’ve been with my lover. You can accept that right? I’ll always be here for you except when I am with my lover of course. But you’ll get use to it. We’ll be fine.“ That all sounds like the garbage that you see in a few of these stories where the husband is the ignorant fool who ends up maybe having to move to the basement or at least the spare bedroom so that his wife can have her freedom to prowl for extra fulfillment outside of the marriage. Etc.

The point is that the wife made a choice and the husband made a choice. She had the right to make the choice, so why didn’t he? So the wife is a mess and she is drinking herself to an early grave. She is letting herself go and even after all of that, if she really loved her ex husband enough, she could go and work on getting him back. Her children are pleading with her to do it. The ex is not happy. He is lonely. He is there for the taking. It would probably be easier for her to get her ex husband back now than it was for her to take on her lover when she destroyed the marriage. But I guess if the ex is an un feeling arrogant pig then she doesn’t need him anyway. Besides he expected faithfulness before and what kind of nerve is that? It’s probably better that she stay with the bottle or maybe her old lover can break away once in awhile again.

Keep writing GaryAPB. It’s entertaining and enjoyable.

I read Back to Bristol last week. This story is quite a bit different. Third person POV and no reconciliation. However there is still the excellent character development. What else could he do?

Here was a guy who lived his life by a set of rules that he himself adhered to he cheated neither business nor his wife/family she was well aware of his beleifs before they wed. That he held to those rules for life should not be a suprise.

could be a pig. There is no real reason for him to sit in the same place and rot. Life is meant to be lived and if you arent happy doing what you are doing you need to do something else. The wife was a common slut no use avoiding it. She deserved everything that hit her in the head. For years she assumed her husband was an adulterer and then decided she could commit adultry over and over and he had to forgive her. When a person ask you to forgive them they admit they committed and act against you. Whether you forgive or not is a matter of foul or harm and your willingness to let them have you blessing. You can forgive perhaps but to forget is a totally different thing. There is no way to forget your wife fucking another man on purpose four different times. There is no way you can trust a woman who lies, cheats, and humiliates you without thought for herself, you, or your marriage. I love the line "I know what I've done, and I know we can get over it". What I did, we can get over it. Isnt that great. Say I shot you in the chest, you lived, now we can get over it. Or, I just took a sledgehammer to your new Mercedes Benz, now we can get over it. Or I made a mistake I put pepper in the salt shaker, I know we can get over it. Or even better, I have let a man fuck me four different times and his cum to run out of my cunt, then I came home to you, I know we can get over it. Cheaters are cheaters, they will always be cheaters, all they need is a rationalization.

PLEASE STOP WRITING YOUR NOT THAT BRIGHT

To anyone who writes "PLEASE STOP WRITING YOUR NOT THAT BRIGHT" -- well, commenter, YOU are not at all bright.<p>I found the story worthy of about 4/5 stars. There were a few minor problems, and it seemed a bit long; but I rated it 100% to counter that asshole.<p>I say keep writing. The odd differences between English and American keep me on my toes!

miserable but that is what happens... This is close to the real stuff

why does everyone seem to think a couple should get counseling or whatever? sometimes its just not ment to be and what the fuck was with everyone, including his kids, thinking he overreacted and should have tried to make it work!? thats bullshit and you know it Gary. and that parting shot from that little shit jude, about his self respect now that hes lonely? he is who he is and frankly i dont give a fuck how susan's doing because she reaped what she sowed. answer me this, i suppose its possible but not likely that he could have gotten over her deliberatly having sex with another man four times but to think hes a cheating bastard for over 20 yrs? jesus, thats terrible. i will admit what the guy before me said, this is real life and real life is often miserable. because i think everyone knows he wouldnt be happier with her because what she did, what she thought of him, goes against every fiber of his being, from his actions to his opinions and if he compromised who he is, then he would be the broken one in need of desperate repairs. also Gary, any chance on you writing another story/novella? oh, im giving you a 50 not because the plot/editing was bad, because it was pretty good but because of how it ended and how everyone treated the husband.

You write in a awfully dry manner. I guess I should read your bio next. There is not a lot of emotion in the words you use. It is like you are reading off a very formal script. I would suppose it must be your own style, or do you really think this way? It is all very proper and all, but lacks any real moment to moment emotion. At least to me. Still the plot is real and plausible for a business man like him. She definitely did not know how to communicate with her husband for twenty-seven years. I have the same problem with my ultra-inverted wife of 28 years! I have not ever been able been able to get her to just relate her feelings to me. I don't know if that is what you meant by this wife being stoic or not...

the ending leaves a lot to be desired, the author thinks he should go back with his wife,she cheated with no remorse, she's a drunk, she has mental issues,she still blame him, i'd take the lonelyness any time

Let that be a lesson to you. No happy ending needed because there was none to be had. Greg had done almost everything right in his life except one crucial thing: he married the wrong woman and lost 27 years of his life because he was oblivious to that fact. Neither Susan nor Greg ever knew each other until after the divorce. That's the tragedy, not the cheating or the divorce. Susan was a poor excuse of a wife from the beginning, but it took Greg decades too long to figure that out. Had Greg been more aware, maybe he would have realized earlier what a joke his marriage was. Now, it's too late. Everyone's old and lonely. If you're going to get married, make sure it's with the right person. Preferably someone who loves themselves and you, with or without you.

the point was her 4x, where she 'had' to do that. 'had' to? i am unsure of the love that speaks for her spouse. that trust was thrashed about, to where it was broken, seriously. open to more than she would have offered, where he'd not let that go. being open to new things, priceless

Nice and well written but it seems like it needs more,

I hope that you continue with this story and finish it.

thanks

This is a very well written story (using a writing style that I do not really like, but legitimate), and very realistic. I don't like the way the author stopped writing (I can not call it an ending), it appears he just got tired of his writing the story and decided to stop. He really needs to finish it properly. That, and his failure to use all the carefully constructed foreshadowing is why I gave the story only a 75 out of 100.

There are a few points brought up by some of the other comment posters that need addressing. 1) The wife had only one affair, not four. The number of couplings inside that affair is immaterial. 2) Marital counseling is overrated, most especially if one of the spouses is lying (whether by commission or by omission) or is operating under false assumptions or information. Ask me how I know. 3) Although husbands generally find some excuse for their cheating, wives have no such requirement for their own cheating. In fact, cheating wives usually can not explain why they have cheated, and can easily still be head-over-heels in love with their husbands. Incidentally, modern research techniques estimate that 60% of all husbands and 60% to 80% of all wives cheat in their marriages (all cultures, all generations). Further, genetic studies show that a solid 10% of all children thought to be sired by the husband are actually fathered by another man, much to the surprise of the husband (The full spread is 2% to 50% depending upon geographical region and socioeconomic class.).4) Religious devotion has absolutely no bearing on whether a spouse is cheating, has cheated, or is likely to cheat. 5) A breach of contract does not require termination of the contract. The parties can decide for themselves how to handle a breach. 6) Lastly, many marriages are really shams, unfortunately. Again, ask me how I know.

This story parallels so closely to my marriage that it's spooky: The wife's false assumptions, the failure of both spouses to really know each other nearly as well as each thought, the wife's lying, her deliberate misunderstanding and refusal to communicate lasting decades, her projection of her own bad behavior and guilt onto the husband, and her subsequent use of that projection to excuse herself as a martyr. This all hits really close to home. For me, it's not the wife's sex with another man that bothered me, it's her lying about it and rationalization that hurts most. I've discovered many cheated husbands have the same feeling. Unlike the husband here, I gave my wife the option of remaining married, but that I would no longer remain monogamous. (Yes, I am one of the 40% that was faithful for the 25 years of her cheating.) She chose staying with me. We now have an open marriage that is far stronger than ever and much more palatable to me, and I achieved it without any so-called counseling (Tried marriage counseling three times over 10 years, each an utter failure because of her lying.). Since once a cheater, always a cheater, I've made a lemon of a marriage into lemonade.

Anyway, the story is realistic, if sad. If the husband had been a bit more flexible (he is already fairly reasonable and understanding), he could have had his cake and eat it, too. Now, the two of them are miserable. I hope spouses in similar situations can learn a lesson form this story and my own real life story.

I wrote the immediately previous comment. I wish I knew the secret to paragraph formatting here in the comment section. The site refused to accept my paragraphs. Sorry, folks, not my fault. I tried.

<br>Hopefully, I reformatted it correctly for you.</br>

<br>Type the following before and after the text without using the dashes. I added the dashes to keep the format command from working.</br>

<br> <--br-->sentence/paragraph<--/br--> </br>

<br>The following is your text.</br>

<br>This is a very well written story (using a writing style that I do not really like, but legitimate), and very realistic. I don't like the way the author stopped writing (I can not call it an ending), it appears he just got tired of his writing the story and decided to stop. He really needs to finish it properly. That, and his failure to use all the carefully constructed foreshadowing is why I gave the story only a 75 out of 100.</br>

<br>There are a few points brought up by some of the other comment posters that need addressing.</br>

<br>1) The wife had only one affair, not four. The number of couplings inside that affair is immaterial.</br>

<br>2) Marital counseling is overrated, most especially if one of the spouses is lying (whether by commission or by omission) or is operating under false assumptions or information. Ask me how I know.</br>

<br>3) Although husbands generally find some excuse for their cheating, wives have no such requirement for their own cheating. In fact, cheating wives usually can not explain why they have cheated, and can easily still be head-over-heels in love with their husbands. Incidentally, modern research techniques estimate that 60% of all husbands and 60% to 80% of all wives cheat in their marriages (all cultures, all generations). Further, genetic studies show that a solid 10% of all children thought to be sired by the husband are actually fathered by another man, much to the surprise of the husband (The full spread is 2% to 50% depending upon geographical region and socioeconomic class.)</br>

<br>4) Religious devotion has absolutely no bearing on whether a spouse is cheating, has cheated, or is likely to cheat.</br>

<br>5) A breach of contract does not require termination of the contract. The parties can decide for themselves how to handle a breach.</br>

<br>6) Lastly, many marriages are really shams, unfortunately. Again, ask me how I know.</br>

<br>This story parallels so closely to my marriage that it's spooky: The wife's false assumptions, the failure of both spouses to really know each other nearly as well as each thought, the wife's lying, her deliberate misunderstanding and refusal to communicate lasting decades, her projection of her own bad behavior and guilt onto the husband, and her subsequent use of that projection to excuse herself as a martyr.</br>

<br>This all hits really close to home. For me, it's not the wife's sex with another man that bothered me, it's her lying about it and rationalization that hurts most. I've discovered many cheated husbands have the same feeling. Unlike the husband here, I gave my wife the option of remaining married, but that I would no longer remain monogamous. (Yes, I am one of the 40% that was faithful for the 25 years of her cheating.)</br>

<br>She chose staying with me. We now have an open marriage that is far stronger than ever and much more palatable to me, and I achieved it without any so-called counseling (Tried marriage counseling three times over 10 years, each an utter failure because of her lying.). Since once a cheater, always a cheater, I've made a lemon of a marriage into lemonade.</br>

<br>Anyway, the story is realistic, if sad. If the husband had been a bit more flexible (he is already fairly reasonable and understanding), he could have had his cake and eat it, too. Now, the two of them are miserable. I hope spouses in similar situations can learn a lesson from this story and my own real life story.</br>

At that point you had him put on the poor me syndrome. And the comment how's his self respect. His self respect is great, he is an honorable man and did the moral and honorable thing. The wife conducted herself as unmarried for four months. She fucked four times. It never specified but I would assume she fucked her husband and took medical risk with his life by her actions. As it turned out she considered him an adulterer for almost all of their married life. She had very little respect for and by her actions proved she had little love for her husband. What she is really despondent and crashing on isnt her lost love but her lost lifestyle and status. She is no longer the wife of the top guy, she is just another woman divorced for cheating on her marriage. What she really needs to do is get a job and start to live her life. And what he needs to do is quit living in the past and learn more about himslf and the future. When I divorced my wife it took me five years to find the woman who loved me as me. We have now been happily married, more happily than in the preceding marriage, for fifteen years. I did learn one thing, you dont find the one who loves you by actively looking for her, she will show in her own time if you are open to being open.

later. I forgot to mention one thing. I was 50 when I divorced my first wife after some 28 years of marriage, she was to involved with other men by then and I was actively seeking a new wife. Makes this story almost real for me except I wasnt rich.

Not a happy ending but very realistic. The cheating would be hard enough to resolve, but learning what had been going on in the wife's head after 25 years.....some unions just are not ment to be. I very much enjoyed this story. anon jerry

In your other stories the wimp lives happily ever after returning to a sham marriage while trying to convince himself, and the reader, that being married to a cheating slut is somehow okay. In this story a real NORMAL man can't find happiness for dumping a cheating whore? Do you have something against men? Must they be penalized for not accepting second place? I wonder if your taste for cream pie doesn't influence your writing, apparently you find wimps and non-men more attractive protagonists in your stories. This tends to make them rather repulsive regardless of how well you write, and I'll make a special point of not reading more of them, unless you put a no wimps disclaimer in the intro.

This tale is typical of so many Literotica stories from England/Canada/Australia with Brit men who have sticks shoved up their butts so far they can't function as humans. What use is it to create a man who is so fussy about his "self respect" that he has no compassion, no understanding of human failure and especially has no forgiveness. Despite the misogynistic reviewers who really fear or hate womankind, there is no reason for a simplistic black vs white viewpoint on human behavior. The more erotic and more entertaining writings incorporate some complex human understanding and resolution of problems and issues. The ones to forget, especially in LW are the ones with a man who runs from problems, refuses to talk with anyone about possible resolutions and violently seeks revenge, mostly for its own sake.

Thanks I really enjoyed it. Very good writing style as well as good story. One complaint...I had no idea that Jude was a guy until near the end of the story. If you use names like Jude & Leslie try and identify their gender early on. thx

But I sincerely regret having wasted my time reading this pitiful excuse for a story. I was so disappointed in the ending that I could not even bother to rate this pitiable effort. I'll look for your other stories, so I can studiously avoid them!

Now you need to end this very well written tale. Everyone has suffered enough and reconciliation is now warranted.

As Hosea was commanded in regards to his adulterous wife...

Then the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery,... So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley. And I said to her, "You shall stay with me many days; you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man—so, too, will I be toward you."

when reading erotica on this site. Did this story entertain me? If the answer is yes, I accomplished what I intended to do. Be entertained. This story was entertaining. I need say no more. Thank you author for accomplishing what I think is important to me only. You do know how to make words into a story. ML