All Comments on 'Big Mouth Ch. 02'

Great until the ending where he got his ass kicked. What a terrible way to end what in every other way was a pretty decent story.

its very, very hard to unring a word or to swallow. TK U MLJ LV NV

Slirpuff has the gift of a believable yarn. Fact is, I can see both sides of the story. His ego took a major whippin', and she can't understand why he took it so hard. Mars and Venus stuff.....As I read the tale, I kept on saying to myself that I just didn't know what I would do in a situation like that....so, IMO, a very effective story and author.

Sorry, but I couldn't identify at all with the ego-driven asshole of a husband. His wife is clearly far more than he deserves.

The anonymous prick who called Steve an ego driven ass should go fuck themselves.

The man was deeply wounded and handled it the best way he could. I hate candyass anonymous assholes and their fucked up opinions. As far as the story goes, I'm not usually a fan of reconciliation. In this case, it was acceptable, however the story left me feeling somehow unsatisfied.

Wow, it went exactly the way I said it would. How unexpected, and yet expected. It was the guy's fault and he has to apologize. Ofcoooourse.

All the cliches are in here:

1. Court-ordered counseling. Ofcourse it's a female judge, who ofcourse will order counseling.

2. The counseling couple firmly being on the wife's side, since I noted that the counselors never asked Heather any hard questions, only Steve. What's more, Steve told Heather he never thought about anybody else while making love to Heather. Heather couldn't say the same. The counseling couple reversed that. They asked whether Steve ever thought of someone else while jerking off. Why did Steve not bring up the point of NOT doing that WHILE making love to Heather? Huge difference. But that would not fit in with the wife never doing anything wrong.

Also, Heather missing an appointment despite being court-ordered. Never got the cops calling for her, although Steve did the same and almost got arrested.

3. Court-ordered misandry: Steve paying for half of everything while having nothing, and eventually having the house and kids taken away from him, on top of paying alimony and child support. He better be prepared to live in a cardboard box.

4. Fragile male ego. This just has to be mentioned in-story, whenever a guy feels hurt, no matter the cause. When a woman is hurt, it's never about ego, but her feelings.

5. In the end, it's all the guy's fault. Always. He has to apologize for getting his "fragile male ego" hurt, and blowing up over "nothing". Whatever happens, whoever does it, it is always the guy's fault and he has to make it up to her. That's a given.

""Honey, I didn't say he was bad, not anymore anyways. Hell, it took me the first five years to show him where it was and to properly train him on what to do with it."

"Girls, he was just in the right place at the right time."

"Look, Steve's a wonderful father and a loyal husband, but as a lover he's just barely adequate."

"I've got a little something in my night table that could take care of that problem for you," my darling wife piped up. "It's about ten inches long, silver, and hums like a motherfucker. When I'm really horny and no one is around, I get Brian out and have the most mind blowing orgasms you can imagine."

"An ex-boyfriend, but by far the best lover I ever had. He was hung and knew just what buttons to push, boy did he ever. He could almost get me off by just looking at me. Damn, that guy sure knew how to please a woman."

"Now, if Steve and I are getting it on, and he's not doing it for me, I think about my times with Brian and then even he can't fuck it up."

See these quotes? Now, what will his close friends, male and female, think of Steve whenever they see him? "Horrible in bed. Terrible lover. Sucks at sex. Wife has to think of ex boyfriend to get off."

In his friends eyes, male and female, he is completely shot. "Steve? Yeah, good guy, but lousy lay." That is what he will be known as.

But what about Heather having to tell all of Steve's friends that he's not lame in bed, you say? Imagine this scenario: A guy is in a bar with his male friends. A really hot woman walks by, and the guy says "Damn, hottest piece of ass I've ever seen." Turns out his wife was standing behind him, so he says to her "Honey, you're way more beautiful than she is!"

Is he telling the truth, or trying to appease his wife? Would his buddies believe him in such a scenario?

This is the same for Heather. Steve forced her to say that, and I doubt any friend of his will believe her, because they all know the circumstances, AND her previous words to the contrary. She's saying it purely to appease Steve. They know the truth...

He got back together with Heather, but she never gets the point. She never fully understands how she hurt Steve. She literally says it's only his fragile male ego that's hurt. Worse, SHE is upset and bitter that he's making such a fuss about it. No, she never gets the point. And he goes back to her...

In the end, this story is "Steve VS the world" and Steve lost. Everything conspired against him. If he did anything to get justice for himself, or just to prove to people that he WAS hurt, he was slammed. HARD.

What would have happened if he had not gone to Heather begging to take him back (because that is what he did)? Heather would've moved away with their children. Steve would've had to pay alimony and child support. There's enough info in the story about his job that he'd be perpetually broke if that happened. He would be ruined.

To be honest, I'm disappointed the way this story ended. Too much misandry for me.

Ever gone fishing & felt the thrill of bringing in a doozy after a long fight ? Well the fact is in terms of you & that animal - the thrill is gone. you can only fight so hard & so long with any one being & then if you are sane; it's time to move on & start over. Slirpuff's characters in this story are like that.

I see them getting that divorce after the duration & intensity of the fighting so skillfully detailed by this author. They ideally have learned valuable lessons to carry in the relationships. First & foremost, Heather needing to respect her alleged lover & helpmate in terms of the world at large.

Barring that, she should make sure that Steve is outside a fifty mile radius when she opens that titular ' Big Mouth' to demean & castigate him. Dressing up for dates planned after marriage counseling sessions ranks pretty high on the faux paux scale as well.

Steve has his own lessons to learn. Suffice to say love doesnt follow the blueprint laid down by the incredible Del-Phonics song ' Didn't I ( Blow Your Mind This time ) but I leave it to others to more extensively detail his personal frailties.

I prefer to profusely thank Slirpuff for yet another riveting story with depth, heart & compelling detail. It was such a pleasure to peruse this - odd to say that given the tension that frays souls but there it is. Bravo, Mister SP you've stepped up your already formidable game.

The story played out like a real life tale. It shows the important of communication in the bedroom as well as everywhere else. Some of the consuling bs was made up because if they took sides it wouldn't be very effective counseling. Liked the story and agreed with the ending because what happened wasn't a deal breaker. just something that needed to be overcome. Great story

It held my interest from beginning to end. Therefore it deserves five stars. I agree with Mousse that Steve lost. I would probably end up in jail.... Really the counsellors were working against him, but in their minds in favour of the marriage, which is their mission brief. They scored again. Perhaps he is happy...

it is a proven fact(and I can attest to this) that women have a much more sensitive ego than men ever had...

REALLY? this is so badly done one has to wonder if it was done by the same author. Throughout the story there are numeorus chances where Steve can drive home the points of what the issue is... and he fails to do so .

fro example heather says "Steve, no matter what you say, you do satisfy me and always have. ***I don't have a clue how to get you to believe that." ***

OH MY GOD!!! Heather REALLY has no idea why he thinks that? At this point Steve COULD of recalled the actual words she said in front of everyone.

( "Girls, he was just in the right place at the right time.") Instead of using the atctual words Heather said... Steve says this crap which makes Him looks amazingly immature and child like

"Heather, neither do I, and I can't stay married to a woman who can't get off without fantasizing about one of her old boyfriends or someone with a huge cock."

You see? the author is going out of this way to make Steve looks like a total immature asshole. In fact throughout all of part 2 Steve never once recalls ANY of the words that Heather said

Even worse was the married counselors ordered by the court. David's insistence that Steve jerking off in the bathroom is the same thing as Heather's sexual fantasy and sexual bordedom with Steve.... just KILL this revolting vle awful story . Women fantasize about sex....

THAT IS NOT THE GOD DAMN FUCKING ISSUE . It is actually offensive that the author tries to make it so.

Heather doesnt show up... no cops. Steve misses a seession now there are cops?

Last but not least ... in the end Heather did NOTHING wrong. It is once again

all about Fragile MALE ego ... ( yawn) . You see folks saying this "Girls, he was just in the right place at the right time." doesnt really count....

Get it? no? well no one else does either.

Started out fine and then went south. Author cut his balls off. He should of told the female judge to jail him and put an end to this charade. Unfortunately, typical ending for these stories. Wifey gets off free and made a saint. Bullshit.

For those looking for realism I am reminded of my best man at my wedding. He get married about two months before I did. He was a stay home dad like I was. After his 2 kids were born ... the wife suddenly wanted to stay home even though she was the one with the Dr. degree. Of course financially that that not work out but she became very angry and resentful even though she had this fabulous career. ( yes I know it sounds like he could not win). So course with all this resentment from the wife the sex dropped off to none. At one point they went over a year without sex... And she screamed at him that "if you want sex go find a whore".

This cold lifeless marriage continue for few years . I told him to cheat but he would not. Then as he started web based business and began making more money than she did... Her attitude changed. They start having more sex and things seem to be getting better.

Then one day she said to him " you know you not very good at this are you?'.

It shattered him. He walked out .

The wfie thought it was about his " stupid " male ego. In fact what destroyed him was the realization that even though he hung in the marriage and did not cheat ... even though he was in an impossible situation where she wanted to stay home and had a fabulous career and have good family income ... Her remarks showed that she was completely incapable of seeing anything besides her point of view. She had absolutely no consideration for his feelings or what he had been going through over the last several years.

While I might not like some of the plot points, like her dating some guy from work and then having to miss a counseling session to tell him goodbye, the story is cohesive and Slirpuff's gift for expression is used to great effect. I like this one better than "Too Much Information." Thanks too for getting the story told in short order.

Am I fat in this, is she prettier than me, why are you always looking at her, so on and so on. Women are the vainest creatures on the planet. The male ego isn't the issue. She stole his pride and yet everyone including his clueless wife wanted him to just live with. And again slirpuff writes another fuck over the husband story. You atleast could have let him beat Brian. Brian is a cowardly women beater, but she names the dildo after him. Now there love and respect for her husband. So lets see, his wife fucks him over, the couselors are brainless deweebs and Brian kicks his ass, what's next, he gets rectal cancer.

Your characters were too extreme, and the plot line sent them too far to the edge, for it to be believable they were able to put anything together. You could have had them work back, open up, learn another level of honesty, but instead you made them both assholes and slammed them back together. Second chapter was a waste of my time.

I enjoyed chapter 1 of this story, and I was keen on reading chapter 2. But this conclusion was a let down. It's as if the author and all the characters in the story but Steve forgot the actual words that she said that started this whole thing. One other commentator pasted them in above, and it was like a slap in the face to recall those after all the psycho mumbo jumbo of chapter 2. Even after everything, the wife never really seemed to get why she hurt him so much, and she kind of admitted she was wrong only after months of suffering and her marriage on the verge of death. I have to agree with other commentators who point out that Steve gets teamed up on, and all kinds of false arguments are made to make him out to be the bad guy (for instance, the false equivalency masturbation example - the fact that he masturbates while thinking of other women is NOT the same as his wife thinking of her ex-boyfriend to get off while having sex with her husband, nor is it the same to her saying that she has more explosive orgasms masturbating about her ex-boyfriend than actual sex with her husband).

By the way, lie detectors don't really work, and Steve would be an idiot to base his marriage on such an unreliable test. It's like the author wanted there to be a real reliable test and so just pretended like lie detectors work.

Normally, I'm a sucker for reconciliation. But reconciliation leaves a sour taste in my mouth this time. It seems like the wife never really understood why he hurt, and just dug in and played hardball instead of really trying to work things out. It seems they never really resolved their issues but more just got tired of arguing and were scared of the alternatives. The problem to me largely stems from the wife's stubbornness, and yet the husband got ganged up on. Much pain could have been avoided if she'd told him more about what happened with Brian, but even with her marriage on death's door, she practically had to get it tortured out of her because she found it embarrassing, and yet she constantly harped on HIM about his "fragile male ego." With her marriage on the line, she came to a counseling session dressed up for a date?! You've got to be kidding me. I have little hope their marriage will be a lasting and happy one, and I feel kind of sorry for him sticking with her.

was to many spelling errors, quite for quiet, and transpositions of words, things an editor or proof reader could easily correct. The real issues involved in her harsh and cruel words she spoke of her husbands to her girlfriends were never really addressed. And the thing of his male ego was just to funny. It wasnt his ego that was trashed it was her total marriage she was trashing and basically saying she was married to him for his income and that sex with his was just her way of paying for that income and she got her rocks off without her husband, in other words she is just a whore paying in sex for her income. If this was just trashtalk of her marriage to her girlfriends she needs to stop seeing her girlfriends. If I ever heard my wife say anything about our marriage to anyone trashing it, I would walk out of the marriage and never come back to it. It isnt an ego thing, its the fact she totally disrespects me, her marriage, and ultimately herself, meaning finally there is really nothing about the marriage that is real............ If you want to write serial stories please write it all before posting the first part and make sure they are posted daily without lost time, planning is everything.

Enjoyed your story as I have your other writings. Thanks for sharing with us

Pretty good story, but along with some others feel that the characters are too extreme. He has about as fragile an ego as anyone I have ever met and why she kept the information about Brian hitting her a secret until things were on the brink is beyond my understanding. Oh well, I am glad they reconciled because they never should have separated IMHO, but what do I know?

that Heather started dating during the seperation. If she was as faithful and loved him as much as she said you would think she would have waited until the divorce was final. In my mind, dating is as bad (or possibly worse) as cutting him down in front of his friends.

This was a story line that could have made an interesting and insightful series. of course, I guess that isn't why most people come to the site. But it still had great potential. To me the author missed the most basic point in this conflict. The subject matter that the wife used to trash talk about her husband with their mutual friends. All couples bitch about their spouses with their friends. Usually in jest, and often when alcohol is involved. But it's usually about relatively benign things like helping around the house, being emotionally dense, spending too much money, working too late, etc. Most of these comments are usually exaggerated make a point and let off some minor frustrations and are harmless to all. It would be no big deal if the spouse overheard.

To ridicule the size of your husbands cock PLUS compare his real or imagined insufficient sexual skills to a previous big dicked lover, PLUS naming a favorite dildo after that previous lover says a lot about the lack of respect and love for the husband. This was only a fictional story, but in real life that would take some incredibly shallow and selfish person to do that. It would have been interesting to see the author probe that angle a bit more.

I'm just sorry she went back to the dumb shit. Our two dates had some of the best sex ever and I was looking forward to much more.

Adam

Now thats what i call a story, you really got into the characters and made it real.i know people can behave just as you described. this was a real life story. to bad for those NAYSAYERS...

Once she did this even to cause husband to be jealous she opened the door for mistrust. I wouldnt have went back to her and then she missed the next session and they pull him in with the police but not her. It shows the court and rules are in favor of the woman not the man.

any woman that bad mouths their husband in front of friends even in jest has no respect for the husband.

Much of the story seemed to be filler and the same stuff was rehashed over and over. It didn't add to the story, it just made it longer and more tiring to read. Two separate counsellings ...why, this added nothing. Longer stories are not always better stories.

You always write well, stay close to realism and I enjoy your stories...except - This One!

Granted, our guys' ego was fragile and her feelings about her comments were indifferent to the point of disaster; however, they were factual and neither of them found a way to remedy or overcome the problem.

Of course, he didn't want to and she thought too little of the issue to try and analize it or remedy it so...things got worse.

My big problem came, when after all the time and lack of talk, she shows up 1st - cursing him, degrading him and callously referring to him in vulgar fashion and then 2nd) she shows up dressed for a date ( a date that didn't just happen, she had to be courting the guy) and when hubby wants to talk about working it out over coffee - she turns him down ...(In favor of the date)...'Marriage Over'!!!

For the children sake, it's trajic, for him - well, she has already demonstrated her willingness to see other men - Before The Divorce is Final!!!! Sure she was fed up but horny as she might be - she just showed the same disrespect that caused the original problem only now she is going to trade in her dildo and secrets for fucking another guy and throwing it in his face - Not The Woman he thought she was - nor my thinking!

Sorry, Slirpuff, this was a good one but should have/could have been saved in the very beginning.

Thanks anyway!

An interesting first half, but I saw it as a totally unbelievable second part. Brutal honesty time. In summary, the husband Steve was not a credible character, or he had no balls to begin with. By itself not a problem, except that someone like that doesn't split up their spouse to begin with -- it's inconsistent behavior. And there were too many other events that kept shattering my suspension of disbelief and tossed me out of the story repeatedly.

First, the counseling sessions:

Any counselor who takes one side -- sending police after only ONE party who skips, are you KIDDING ? -- needs to be reported to whatever passes for an ethics board. And the local paper. And on blogs. The appearance of partiality -- let alone the actuality of it -- undermines everything that couples counseling is supposed to achieve.

And we had a "couples exercise" where one party was FED the answers by the counselor in order to get the other party to emote in a given direction ? Oh, that level of dishonesty and deception with human subjects will (or damned well should) get the ethics board, ahem, excited. And not in a "good" way.

Not sure what state this was supposed to take place in, but that level of counseling quackery is precisely why in some places "counseling" is an absolute joke, worse than worthless, it's actively damaging and it's malpractice. You do get that honesty is somewhat "important" in counseling, right ? If a counselor EVER deceives a client in any material way, they're done.

And Heather, the wife PARTICIPATED in the deception ? What a way to convince Steve that he could TRUST her ! She's STILL lying to him. And after her "I wanted to be totally honest with you especially after everything that has happened," oh I'm sure that would work well . . .

Then, Heather started dating before the counseling sessions were concluded. That immediately indicates either "game over" or "I want to have it both ways." That was either indicating she wanted a divorce, or she was acting in bad faith. Mind you, had she stopped by after work with a male co-worker, that would be one thing. But she dressed up for him. That's a "real date."

Now the judge, I believed. They DO get nutso from time to time. About the one credible character in this half.

Let's see, Heather writes a ONE sentence letter ? Oh, THAT'S putting effort into the counseling. She should have been admonished on the spot for not complying with the judge's order.

And we have the:

"Did you tell Heather that when she missed?" It was quiet on the other end. "I thought not. The woman is always right, gets custody, and the man ends up getting the short end of the stick."

Holy cow! all the counselors needed was a BILLBOARD saying "we hate men." That's exactly what their words and actions RADIATED.

I could go on and on about how messed up the counseling sessions were. But what's the point. Had anyone in my practice done even 10% of the things done TO Steve by those hacks, I'd fire them on the spot.

The ending was really, really poor. It went exactly as one commenter on part 1 said: Heather lied to him by omission for a decade, savagely disrespected him in front of his friends, lied to him during counseling, disrespected him by dating others while still in counseling, and somehow it was all Steve's fault in the end.

Yuck.

his reaction to what she said was acceptable. dont like the "i'm not seeing him anymore" comment from the wife - instead i am not seeing him "again". dont mind everything else. recon was acceptable. good character development - liked that you made her learn to give a good blow job. i always told my girl friends not to fucking fake it ot i would think i was doing it right and make the same mistake over and over, tell me what the hell you want - so i can see that part of your story too. going to re-read it again - toss up between 4 and 5 - but you will probably get the 5 - liked that it took a long time to get them back together and you did a good job on what they were going through.

You managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat, even with everyone trying to figure out the trick.

Getting the couple back together in a realistic manner was a tough, tough task. I think you pulled it off, and from the posts you have convinced about 75% of commenters.

Whether you agreed/disagreed with the ending, this was one FINE well written tale that kept up the conflict, and thus my interest in the tale.

I was hoping you were going to ratchet it up a notch by going more into the “..wife Heather character dating Adam –guy from work thing, while they are in counseling.” You touched on it briefly with the hubby saying “…but it appears Heather has already made up her mind about what she wants and it looks like it doesn't include me. I wish her the best. I have to look out for myself now." & Heathers “.."The reason I wasn't here last Thursday was because I was telling Adam I couldn't see him any more." This begs the question, “ How Long, Who, When, Where, etc..” It was great segment- just I wanted more.

Not many authors could have talked the couple off the divorce ledge after the conflict you devised. I feel your ending had a reasonable amount of “believeablity”

Appreciate your posting-need more stories like this on the LW

But ultimately unsatisfying.

In Chapter One, Steve made his point eloquently and with good reasoning.

This chapter, he let everyone run right over him.

As noted by everyone else, Heather phoned in the counseling sessions and her about face in the final counseling session seemed unrealistic. She wrote one line for her first homework assignement (Dave weakly called her on that), ditched a session and WORE A DATE DRESS FOR A COUNSELING SESSION! (Lacking HTML formatting does not let me express my feelings adequately on this point)

Exactly what did she do to make her husband think she was serious in wanting to reconcile? That's right, screaming 'I'm sorry' and asking about his fragile male ego.

His questions for the lie detector test sucked. Here are a few I think would have occured to anyone.

Were you telling the truth about your husband to your friends that weekend?

Do you frequently need to masturbate to get sexual relief?

Did you use the memory of Brian to sexually stimulate yourself frequently when making love to your husband?

Do you regret your actions of that day?

Do you feel your husband is seriously overreacting?

Do you think you betrayed your husband's trust?

Did you withhold important information from your husband?

But that's me.

It isn't a bad story. But it's unsatisfying.

I note that others commentators have the same issues with the "councilors". They were totally unprofessional and even unethical. In short, they should be stripped of their license.

It is not impossible that a Judge could act this way. Power does that to some folks. But, having seen the system and heard from others, it is highly unlikely that a judge would do the things noted.

The behavior of the wife from the beginning was incredibly hurtful. A "loving wive" would NEVER disrespect her husband this way IF she really had any love for him.

Was she falling down drunk and rambling? No. She was just in a "BS" session and went over the top with her statements.

Her behavior during the counseling was despicable. If the marriage had any chance of being saved, her acts during this period dealt the marriage several death blows.

At that point, the reconciliation became an insult to our intelligence. Until then it could have been saved.

I can't believe I forgot to include Heather's big date. Yeah, that is a surefire way to show that she loves hubby and wants the marriage to work, by going on a date with another man. Note how the counseling couple makes NO mention of this.

"Steve, theses sessions were court ordered. You could be held in contempt."

"Did you tell Heather that when she missed?" It was quiet on the other end. "I thought not. The woman is always right, gets custody, and the man ends up getting the short end of the stick."

Also, did you guys notice how incredibly angry and resentful Heather is because Steve was hurt by her words?

"Amy and Robert miss him not being there. They'll eventually get over it, and after a while will realize what an ass their father was for breaking up our marriage. I hope they will hate him until he's dead and buried for it." She was looking me right in the eye. "Your turn dick head."

Whose fault was this? Who started this? In other words, SHE is angry at HIM because HE is hurt by HER words. She never takes responsibility. Even then it's incredibly half-assed.

"That's right, spared your feeling so I wouldn't hurt your fragile male ego." Now I was pissed.

"Don't put this shit on me, If you would have fucking said something maybe, just maybe, we could have averted this whole thing."

"All right, I was wrong. It was my fault, are you happy now?" I smiled for the first time in a long time.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" She didn't smile, but I saw the corners of her mouth twitch upwards.

That was the lamest, half-assed, insincere, barely-there apology I've ever read.

"I want you to tell my buddies that I'm not lame in bed and I do it for you." She was balking at that. "Just think of it as a consequence of having opened your mouth at the wrong time." She did it, but wasn't happy about it. It also didn't help matters when the guys gave me high fives saying they knew all along I was a stud.

"Look, I didn't say he was a stud, just that he doesn't suck in bed." Heather said, smiling along with the other wives. She always had to have the last word.

Again, Heather only apologized because she was forced to. She never wanted to apologize. Never wanted to say to her friends that Steve does NOT suck in bed. Ergo, she wants her friends to continue to think that Steve DOES suck in bed. What the hell?

But what about all the times she apologized in part 1, you say? Where she kept saying sorry until she "was blue in the face"?

She was sorry for getting caught, not because she said em. Even then, it was in the tone of "Alright, alright, stop being so upset, sorry. There, I said it. Get over it.".

Slirpuff puts in all these...these plotpoints, and simply fails to resolve them.

1. Heather trashtalking Steve to her friends. The issue is not ego, but trust and respect. Turn your back, and you'll get backstabbed. This is NOT resolved in the end.

2. Why did Steve not tell the counselors about the huge difference between masturbating thinking of someone else, and making love to someone and thinking of someone else? Why did he NOT TELL THEM? (Perhaps, the counselors would see no difference?)

3. The biased counselor couple. Why did they let Heather miss an appointment while they had Steve nearly arrested? This is a VERY big one. Again, UNRESOLVED.

4. When did Heather start dating a coworker? That one date mentioned she claimed it was to break it off with said guy, but when did it START?

5. Why does Steve never ask why Heather goes out on dates with coworkers, when she is fighting the divorce tooth and nail, and wants the marriage to work? He never asks her anything about Adam.

As a few other commenters pointed out, none of the REAL, underlying problems were resolved. They just got tired of fighting. Heather still thinks she didn't do anything wrong, and Steve didn't want to end up in a cardboard box, never being able to see his kids.

Poor Steve...

...Pulling a GREAT 60 foot time at the drag strip..

Then missing 3rd gear...

Bummer, I didn't bother to vote.

....conclusion that 75% of readers think this was a realistic conclusion? Who's your dealer because I want in. If in general this read like the typical way a relationship in turmoil breaks down completely it is inadvertent based on the improbable actions portrayed by the players(judge,counselors etc.) as pointed out by the majority of the readers. This speaks directly to this authors prime weakness as a story plotter. And don't get me wrong slirp-dog, you have developed into one of the better writers on this site but you consistently inject your own feelings about reconciliation and the strength of love into almost every story you write, which makes you an unobjective author and if while writing fiction you remain subject to your own slant on things how can you ever develop as an author and how can you avoid churning out the same story over and over? Your male character could fit into 90% of your stories and this does disservice to the diversity of human behaviors and to life in general. I challenge you to write a story where the male lead is strong without being a neanderthal, or any other typecast. Maybe a man who would have strode into the room, loudly thanked his wife for betraying their sacred bond and expressing to all the women that he'd rather be a lousy lover(as that is something that can be worked on) than a back-stabbing insincere phony.(Since that is endemic to personality and harder to correct.) And end it there,on the premise that any regret or penance paid by the wife would be suspect from then on, since it would be externally motivated, and not from the heart.

worth the extra effort, not at all. I'm not going to repeat what others have so eloquently said already. It's too bad there were children involved, forcing his hand to remain married if only for that. I don't see the real life ending being the way the story had it, though, not at all.

It's not about whether she was lying. (The counselors didn't have a clue as to what they were doing, in treating this as a question of "truth" or not.) It's about what she said voluntarily, with full knowledge that her friends were listening to and understanding her words and thoughts. It's about whether those words and thoughts hurt Steve (or would have hurt any husband); and, if so, why she thought that he should overlook them as simply a joke and go ahead with his marriage. She said to her "friends," with all apparent seriousness, that Steve wasn't good in bed and that she could get off only by fantasizing about her former lover Brian's wonderful dick and his skillful fucking. She made herself perfectly clear on those points, and her audience fully appreciated what she was saying. It makes no difference what "the truth" is -- whatever that means in this context.

There was no movement on her part during this narrative that warranted his acquiescence in her act of total disrespect and humiliation. She never retreated from her insistence that he was overreacting to remarks made "in jest." Who was supposed to be amused by this kind of witless betrayal? If she needed the ego-boost of her friends' giggles badly enough to humiliate her husband in this way, that is a separate and independent reason to divorce so shallow and uncaring a wife. Decent people don't treat even strangers (or enemies) so disrespectfully in public remarks. And why does she think it was relevant that her husband was not supposed to hear it? It's okay to say terrible things about people (much less your spouse) behind their backs?

The fact that Brian might have hit her way back when is totally irrelevant. If anything, it makes her admiring remarks about his sexual talents and her fantasies about him during ineffectual sex with her husband even less acceptable. What is the point: That Brian was able to get her off in part because he beat her? And it is inconceivable that Steve's fist fight with Brian -- regardless of the outcome -- would do anything to lessen his humiliation. Steve's problem was not with Brian, but with his uncaring wife and her hurtful remarks about him. And you don't even discuss the semi-affair with Adam and its possible relevance to understanding Heather's fundamental failure to appreciate her role as a wife.

I gave you a five on the first part, but no points at all on this part. It's not because I disagree with your decision to make it possible somehow for them to get back together. It's because you show no understanding in this part of the nature of her action and his reaction to it. I like a lot of your stories. This one, sad to say, simply shows no comprehension of what happened between the two parties to the marriage. And, since you didn't understand that, you could not come up with a resolution that meets a minimal test of rationality.

But I didn't. Great story. The guy finally got his head out of his ass. Oh, she was wrong all right. But he was too rigid.

I wasn't expecting this ending. However it was unique and for that reason made this two part tale enjoyable. Five stars.

It was well written, believable, entertaining and had an interesting LW theme a little (a LOT!) off the usual. As is often the case, some critics didn't like it because some of the characters did things the critics didn't like. So be it. It's the author's fiction, sown together as he chose.

This author's stories seem to just get better and better. The fact he evokes such comments, many insightful and lengthy, shows his writings get beneath the surface and stir up the readers' emotions. That's fair praise, in my view.

I can hardly wait until he posts his next story.

for a writer, or a character in a story.I feel that several commenters have identified the crux of the guy's problem. She ran down his sexual prowess to her friends, which naturally was repeated to his buddies. We are all liars and we all marry liars. We all have disappointments in marriage. We all let our spouses down from time to time. She, however, released a shit storm when she ran down her husband'd sexual ablities. The problem was how does a guy regain his self esteem after the wife destroys it? The story touched upon it some when he had her tell his buddies that he was a stud in bed. That was the solution he didn't realize he needed. Somehow, the wife had to put the genie back in the bottle. She had to convince the husband that she had convinced his friends that he was a pretty good fuck. That was what he needed to get past the bullshit. All the talk, and counseling, was not addressing the real problem. The problem wasn't truth and honesty. Don't ever tell a husband that he's a lousy fucker regardless of how true it may be! It was a very bad decision that she made. I was able to identify with the husband's anger and humiliation, but his pages of whinning became too much. He needed to somehow convince her that she somehow had to truly convince his friends, and their wives, that she thought he was a great lover. How do you do that? That, my friends, is the job of the story teller, not of the commenters. Beginnings are easy. Anyone can dig a hole for a character. It's getting them back out that takes effort and imagination. I am very impressed with the tremendous improvement this writer has shown over the years. He mixed POV's, tenses and metaphors when he first began. He has become a very interesting story teller.

I hate this story. What I didn't like is that I got drawn into it despite the fact that I didn't like the characters or what was going on. I sometimes like when I come across a story that is not erotic but it draws me in and I enjoy it. This one just sucked. She names her vibrator after the guy who beat her up and she tells all their friends but somehow their marriage was so great otherwise. Their is some mention of a date and then later it turns out it was an afair with no further explanation, a date doesn't require a "talk that it's over" that is worse than the original situation. What's the big deal about a vibrator anyway? I feel the author owes me an apology for wasting my time to find out what happens. Especially cause what happens is bullshit. Sorry

I was right, it was disappointing that they got back together. Heather is disrespectful of Steve throughout the story. Her opening diatribe with their friends, him being in the other room, starts it all off. She threatens to take him to the cleaners in a divorce. Her tone usually ends up threatening and disrespectful. THAT is the problem. AND someone who is disrespectful of you can NOT be trusted either.

Heather says she didn't tell Steve how she felt because it would turn out bad. I'm sure she feels justified because he found out and things are bad. Yeah, no one likes to feel they need instructions in sex. Women included. But if it had been said in a loving way it would have been fine after a while. Further, looking at Heather's real point, Brian had a big cock and pounded her like a cave man. Some women enjoy that. But most of us don't have monster cocks and we respect our women too much to pound them without concern for them at all. So Steve is never going to be Brian. It's not a matter of Steve getting better. Heather's mind wanders occasionally to being pounded by a big dick. But she has THREE huge dildos and seems to use them frequently. How much of her sex life is with Steve and how much is with Brian and friends? If a guy has a willing wife and is doing her once a week but jacking off to porn every day, wouldn't that seem out of balance? It's hard to be sure but Heather seems to put a good amount of focus on her fantasy sex life. BTW, the guy that says he doesn't, once in a while, slip an image of a hot babe into his lovemaking with his wife is a liar.

A couple of seriously painful themes. A LIE DETECTOR to determine if your marriage is worth saving? Really? You want a clear answer on "Did you cheat on me?" maybe. Next, Ann TOLD Heather to make up the stuff about moving and taking the kids away? OMG! A therapist pitting one of a couple against the other? Ann TELLS Heather that Steve is "floundering in a pool of self-pity". That is just SO horrible. Heather is even dating other guys. I wonder if she told the counselors about that and what they thought about it? Heather disrespects him and he can't trust her. Now the therapists disrespect him and he cannot trust THEM either.

Steve is not pitying himself. He is trying to reconcile a relationship that was apparently based on disrespect and lying. That's real! When bad things happen, it is normal and right to recognize the associated pain and try to work through it. The problem in this story is that Heather, the judge, and the counselors all try to deny the reality of what happened. "Women just talk like that sometime." Bullshit. Trash talking is trash talking and he didn't deserve it. If Heather has a craving to get beat like a drum from time to time, that's NOT Steve's issue, it's HERS.

There are several points in the story where Steve seems to take responsibility for not "communicating". He thinks, "we forgot how to talk to one another". But there is ZERO proof of that. Heather always kept the truth from him.

Right until the end Heather believes "That's right, I spared your feeling so I wouldn't hurt your fragile male ego." . That's what Heather thinks. That's what the counselors think. But it's a lie. When someone slaps you in the face, it's real. That's figuratively what Heather did. Your spouse shouldn't be doing that. Heather didn't think it was OK that Brian slapped her. But it seems OK that she can verbally do the same thing to Steve.

Essentially Heather says (barely meaning it), "All right, I was wrong. It was my fault, are you happy now?". And it's over. The rest of the story is a moronic fight with Brian and other silliness. Pages and pages of anguish ended with a half assed apology. This would have made a better short story. Just cut out 3/4 of the junk in the middle.

I enjoyed the story throughout, that is until the end, I was not only not expecting then getting back together, but I didn't like it. Heather made an awful lot of mistakes and got the to almost divorcing, caused A LOT of suffering to Steve and her children with her lies, half truths and omissions. I simply didn't think it was possible for them to get back together <.< and when they did I was..... hmmm I guess I was "not happy".

...but a disappointing end. As others already stated, he had to take all the blame (what was wrong with his normal and human reaction to her bullshitting?) and she did get off scot free, despite she even did not get the message at all.

But despite this fault (and as always with Slirpuff): a masterpiece of writing

Slirpuff,

I wrote you a comment (anonymous) titled 'Disappoinbted'!

Well, I have additional thoughts and read all of your reader comments to now. Several accomplished writers and commentors seem to have similar thoughts as my own - and, additional points of view.

My thoughts here...

You are good but this story cries out, begs for a better ending (story - I know) and my 2ndThoughts...what about a chapter three or Epilogue where Steve begins to realize that his wife Is Not the woman he fell in love with, is basically a reasonably good woman but very shallow, self centered and his original feelings of being disrespected, held in contempt and living with a woman who is quick to use disparaging remarks about his character and manhood are not what he thought he married, much less - spend the rest of his life with! And, what about those hang up calls, the telephone whispering from some guy named Adam.

I didn't think she cheated for ten years but now (after all they went through since her put downs) she seems to have displayed an open mind to what she might see as better men - not to keep, just to fuck!

Your story but I think the majority of your readers would agree that we would all like to see something different for Steve - he's just too nice a guy!

Your story...Thanks again!

I READ PART ONE OF THIS STORY AND NOW PART TWO.DUDE ,WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?I CANT BELIEVE HOW GOOD AND COMPELLING YOUR WORK IS.I DONT CRITQUE PORN STORIES.BUT I WANTED TO FINISH THE STORY.I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO CHAPTER TWO.IF YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH TO KEEP THIS KIND OF WORK UP FOR A COUPLE OF HUNDRED PAGES, I WOULD BUY IT.BRANCH OUT.THAT STORY CLEANED UP JUST A LITTLE COULD BE IN A MAINSTREAM PUBLICATION.GO FOR IT YOU HAVE TALENT.

Slirpuff tells wonderful stories involving human emotion and human frailties.

None of us are perfect and his stories show this. Was Heather wrong,

you bet. Was Stephen wrong, sure he was. Marriage is about caring, it's about

give and take. It needs communication, and not just from one of the partners.

This is a story that shows just what can and does go wrong when both parties do not talk and share there most intimate thoughts and feelings. It shows a woman who does not understand how fragile a man's ego can be especially when the bedroom abilities of her man are questioned by her. But it also shows how a man can

let things completely control his actions when he has been disparaged and is

not thinking clearly. They both messed up. They both needed to sit back and

ask honest questions and truly listen to the other. They also needed to be totally

open and honest. Think, Ask, Listen... Communicate honestly not letting bruised

ego's or feelings get in the way.

Sometimes a story teller try's to stir emotional response and Slirpuff is one of the

best at this. In reality a counselor or therapist would not make the mistake of not

warning both for missing meetings as he/she can also be held in contempt by the judge. He/she must provide the courts with attendance and all other paperwork in order to keep him/her self on the court approved list.

I'm just thankful for writers like Slirpuff who provide hours of enjoyment to me by

writing and sharing there stories.

Why do readers here insist on rewriting perfectly good stories. Slirpuff wrote the story. It's his story. He's sharing it with us. It was well-written. The characters were interesting. The situation was universal. The solution was unique to those two people. We either enjoy it or we don't to varying degrees.

It wouldn't be a better story with someone else's ending. It would be a different story. It would be someone else's story. If you want to see your own story, write the goddam thing and STFU.

Slirpuff, in terms of writing skills and plot development and the works this story rules. Your skills as a writer can never be praised enough. However, The ending totally sucked. A lot of your readers have commented on the same and so do i. She got away way to lightly, what a great disappointment to a great story. Please think about it.

I liked the story though I was a little dissapointed by a few things

1 A real councelor Ann would never "tell someone what to say" like she to did here, with Amy, She would loose trust from him and its just not something a councelor would do.

2 his lawyers would have a field day if she went out on a date. and missed a session.

other than that I did like the story

May be realistic, maybe not.

Who knows?

After a dozen pages who cares!

He was a wimp who was incapable of getting on with his life, and she was a self centered shrew. The fact that he crawled back to her especially after she started dating, just goes to show why she had no respect for him.

Hell he would have gotten more respect going to jail.

(ACLU just loves going after heavy handed judges, who use "contempt of court" as

an excuse for illegal incarceration).

They're both a couple of losers and it was very hard to empathize with either one of them.

Not one of your better stories, didn't care for it, much at all.

I bet my little "anonny" mouse will love it. She seems to like wimps.

(squeekums, squeekums, my little "anonny" mouse, squeekums, squeekums)

ROFLMAO!!!

I'm always eager to find a new story written by you. This one provides a cautionary lesson: words, misused, can be destructive, and can destroy trust and love just as physical infidelity can. Although neither of these characters was very likable, the torment each was experiencing was so deep and painful that I thought the ending felt rushed. Nonetheless, five stars. Thanks for sharing your storytelling skills with us.

Thanks for sharing this very interesting read.

That was pretty lame, however I did like the rest of it. There have been sooooo many willing cuckold stories lately, it was great to finally read a story about a man and a loving wife for a change.

I maybe a little lenient, but I gave you 5*

I was way too lenient in my initial statements about this story. After thinking about it, how could Steve live with a malicious bitch like Heather for 9 years and not have a clue as to who she is? She bailed on a counceling session to go on a date demonstrating that she never did and does not have any respect for the man. Now that he knows what she is capable of, I don't know how he could continue to be married to her. Unless he's a total wimp, he will walk out one day and never come back. The more I think about Heather, the more I dislike this story and the bitch wife.

If Heather did to me what she did to him, and then, in making it up to me, she told the same people "I didn't say he was a stud, I only said he doesn't suck in bed" I would have been out of there so fast her head would spin. She is a first class bitch, has learned absolutely nothing from what happened to her, still treats him like shit, still bitches at him constantly "I told him I was still in love with my stupid ass idiot of a husband and wanted him back... why don't you tear out of here with your dick tucked between your legs because frankly I'm done with it, too." For Gods sake, do men really stay with women who talk to them like that? The level of disrespect she shows him throughout this story is shameful. He is in for heartache as soon as the crisis wears off and the deeply innate bitch she is reemerges.

I mean part 1 was soo good

but part 2 is just bullshit

happy end is absolutely unbelievable

one star

This isn't brain surgery. If this author or ANY author .... Develops a conflict in chapter 1a it is NOT wrong or unreasonable to expect some sort of conflict resolution before the story comes to an end.

This author fucked up BIG time. The idea that the marriage counselor team could send the police to the husband's location because he did not show up for one session.... but the wife does not get similar treatment.... is bizarre.

Maybe there' is reason for this but we don't know what it is. This glaring

error IS the responsibility of the AUTHOR to explain this bizarre part of the story.

And for these two same marriage counselors to slough off her DATE while they are in counseling??? Again maybe there is an explanation for this. But SLIPRUFF doesn't give us any and ruins the story

SP wrote the wife really well - she screws up, and of course it is not her fault. Hubby is over reacting. Hubby isn't listening. Hubby is taking it too seriously. Regardless of the ending, SP wrote the wife character well and captured hubby's reaction well.

Though this sequel couldn't live up to the first chapter, could it? The first chapter put up an interesting quandry-no physical cheating, but verbal humiliation of hubby (even if he was intended to be out of earshot), and a disclosure about wife's dissatisfaction with hubby. Wife never really seems to get how powerful the pain and betrayal was, and hubby cannot let it go.

I thought the therapist(s) device was effective in this story (reminds me of some of Ohio's and Longhorn's stuff). Slirpuff's characters are oftentimes emotionally rather immature.

Some incongruent/unrealistic elements in this story: the counsellors couldn't call the cops on hubby-need a court contempt order for that, but I can get over it. The counsellors I think would not advise the wife secretly to put down this life plan to 'get a rise' out of hubby. The wife goes on a casual date, then has to miss the next appointment to let the 'casual date' know that they can't see each other anymore? C'mon! A casual date requires only a phone call, or a personal chat at work, not a whole evening of discussion (maybe more than casual dating?-seeds of doubt...).

The import of the hubby's sexual failings is reduced in this edition-turns out she prefers him as a long-term lover over Brian, and he often gets her off? Well....kind of cheating there.

Still, very entertaining, and I was glad they came through.

The second chapter was not close to the same level of tension or quality as the first.

The ‘stand up for himself’ Steve seemed to disappear somewhere on the way to the motel. What followed was a systematic breakdown of a somewhat credible response to seriously messed up circumstances.

To recap the high notes:

Steve is forced into a second round of counseling by a power mad judge. The fact that the couple went through mediation and reached a joint decision is tossed out.

The counselors are clearly biased toward the wife’s position, so much so that false equivalency is used in terms of Steve’s masturbation and Heather’s repeated actual visualization of her previous lover during intercourse! Let’s not even talk about the double standard of Heather missing a session without consequence and Steve being visited by police to force compliance. Giving Heather a false story to prod Steve into action? Ethics, anyone?

Heather becomes verbally abusive, once again denigrating his manhood (I mean, did she even remember saying all those things were untrue from chapter one?) and then for the ultimate blow- she dresses up for a date before coming to a counseling session! She couldn’t make the date for another night? Vicious and disrespectful, and neither counselor made a comment. Good faith effort on her part to try and save the marriage, right? But if he decides he’s had enough based on her comments and behavior, no slack whatsoever.

Then at the big reveal of physical abuse, the pertinent part is glossed over. She was having her cake and eating it too but she wanted more ‘love’ and would have stayed with Brian if he would have acquiesced! The physical fight was not revealed because- and this is rich- she would have been embarrassed to let people know of her weakness or shortcomings. Nice that because of it she has some empathy for…oh yeah, that’s right, none of that was there for her husband. What a loving wife Heather is…

And after all that, Steve feels it was his fault? Nuh uh, while he became a whiny little puke in this chapter, it was not that way in part one. Heather created and perpetuated this. ‘Get over it’ is not dealing with the issues. Issues she still does not see when the story ends, by the way. She gets what she needs and he capitulates. A false statement of his adequacy and all is well? ‘Not a stud’? Surely she should have taken the opportunity to build him up not make yet another joke at his expense. Lesson learned? I think not.

And that brings us to how warped a person Heather truly is. The man that beat her, humiliated her, that’s the go to guy for her fantasies???? So much so that she names her B.O.B. after him? Goodness, think about that for a minute! Imagine now how Steve SHOULD have reacted when armed with that knowledge. How much less of a man must he be in her eyes that she would choose a violent abuser to get her jollies over simply telling him that she needs more?

Fear of hurting his ‘fragile’ male ego because of how Brian reacted? Clearly she does not trust the man she married. And once again, her deciding to just let him use her body, which lead him to think she actually wanted it, more dishonesty. Surely she resented it on some level, regardless of her words.

The epiphany of ‘I love my wife’ the second he finds out about the abuse belies credibility. Suddenly, after being ganged up upon, his dignity stripped from him and his manhood eviscerated, THAT makes it all better? She’s the way she is because of that? Her using memories of Brian during lovemaking is justified by THAT? Naming her B.O.B. is justified by THAT?

Really?

I wanted to like this- truly I did. I just think it didn’t ring true. Heather’s disrespect is not addressed. She never sees the problem, and belittles it as ‘fragile male ego’ issues. The dating should have ended the counseling process. It is a clear sign that she had moved on and did not care about fixing things. Missing a court mandated session to call it off with a co-worker she was DATING, something she could have done over the phone? Unless, as it would appear to any rational person, she was actually sleeping with ‘Adam’ and wanted to break it off. A single date doesn’t require breaking up, does it? Another reason for Steve to cut bait and run.

The polygraph trope was at best a minor point. She only confirmed his view of her from part one, meaning that the test results were useless in resolving the problem. All it did was try to redeem Heather- and it failed. The questions were not designed to get to the heart of their issues, only to confirm what was already known.

I believe that Slirpuff wanted reconciliation, but did not really think about how it would look in the end. The cries of RAAC are justified here. The character of Steve from chapter one is not the same in chapter two. His anger is muted; his ability to see his OWN arguments is gone.

This chapter was not up to the same standards of the first. Several people think it is well done. I think the holes in the plot and characterization bring it down and render it a very flawed attempt at redemption of a shrill one note character in Heather, and a minimization of the strong male of the first chapter.

Sorry, but this might as well be about another couple. I gave a five for chapter 1, but this one barely rates a two.

Monolith8

The main problems in the relationship is the Heather not working on improving sex with her husband, "cheating" with her vibrators (keeping them a secret from her husband) and most of all, the total lack of respect she showed him in front of their friends. His reaction is appropriate in that no one who loved or at least respected their spouse would ever make such comments in public. She may love her life the way it is, married to a man that loves her, but she does not love him, let alone respect him. She is playing him when she tells him she didn't want to hurt his feelings. She has been using sex to control him in the relationship. Like giving a dog a treat, she uses sex to keep him happy. In the end, he is ready to get back on the leash. Sad as it seems, this is the case with many women in relationships.

I really thought you were writing about me until it was shown that she had not cheated sexually. I have had to live with the fact that my wife cheated for years with my best friends. Life can be very tough, especially with children in the equation. Keep on writing, you really hit the nail on the head with most of your stories.

To quote: "Steve, I'm not going anywhere. Ann told me what to say to get some type of reaction out of you. You're floundering in a pool of self-pity, and she thought that might at least get you a little charged up. It worked. Can't you see you've still got a wife who loves you, why I'm not sure, and two children who are crushed that you're not with them? I'm not perfect and neither are you, and I've spared your feeling far too long." An act like this would have grave consequences to the person involved. Counselling is all about trust and decieving someone to get a reaction is not what a true professional would do. This story illustrates my knowledge of the success rates of these sessions, almost zero. When the trust is gone move on. The cousellors would quickly understand their patients and would likely understand the contempt the wife has for her husband. They would not gang up on one of their patients as has been written here.

I personnally would never have taken the slut back, you can never believe her again.especially after she went to dinner with a male coworker and claims she didn't fuck him. The stupid cunt couldn't even wait until she was divorced to date another man and nmost likely let him fuck her. Then the phychologists always make the husband look like its all his fault,,, fuck I'sd rather be sentenced to death than get back with a whore that lies to you or be foreced into counciling.

4 pages of the same thing cliche divorce councillors , would be better in glamour or some who cares brides story magazine.The story started off great with trash talking and a few drinks in the kitchen promising a different fly on the wall insight then became crap

If you read it, she went out on several dates with Adam, then told hubby she broke it off because she loved her dumb husband. So she went out on several dates after the lie detector.

Fucking cunt

I did think that Steve was a bit of a wimp and too thin skinned for his own good.

I guess Steve didn't know how raunchy women talk when they are together.It's usually bad enough to make a bartender in a biker bar to blush

Thanks for the read.

All that hard work Slirpuff, but I grew so tired of those two stupid idiots. I liked most of your other stories, however.

After such an excellent Ch. 01, I had hopes that the resolution of their conflicting situation would be illuminating, something new, something insightful. Such a disappointment...not with a bang, but with a whimper. What happened to development? Even at the end, Heather did not get it. Slirpuff, with so many good stories, so wild an imagination, where did this chapter come from? I hope it was only an experiment for when I start agreeing with Harryin VA, you know you'll take a hit from even those of us who tend to praise the effort alone.

Slirpuff did a great job bringing this story to a conclusion. For those of you who missed it, in one stroke, the confrontation with Brian, our main character learned that he was no longer a superstud, and that Heather's fantasy guy thought that she was a dud in the sack. Also, salute to Heather for stepping up and revealing the true nature of her relationship with Brian. Liked both the characters and hoped they would work things out. So I am a hopeless romantic. Looking forward to more of your work.

Woodbine68

good story. shows some of the pain of divorce. 4 stars

I usually like your stories, but this was a disappointment. When the only characters I liked were the kids, I knew this was a bad story. I actually wanted to take a bat to him to get him to shut up. Friggin' crybaby.

Everybody lied to Steve. His wife. His therapists (Ann) making her tell a bullshit story to get a reaction out of him. Is that ethical? I enjoyed the story, as I do pretty much all your work, you are a very gifted story teller. Having read all your stuff here, I can't get over one glaring commonality that seems to run throughout all of them. All your main characters, either get their ass kicked or say they would because the other guy is bigger, stronger, whatever. Plenty of scrappy wiry little motherfuckers out there. Would be nice to read about some.

I waited until the story completed to not kvetch too much, but this one riles me due to the assumptions that drive it. So... I am going to suggest another set of assumptions for the annoy-i-mouse crowd that thinks a story needs to follow their assumptions, as a public service.

This one is a varient of the "big dick is better" meme... if I ever run into it in real life, my response will be to roll up my sleeve, make a fist, modify it by moving my fingers into a cone, look into the eyes of the idiot and rotating my fist say "it think this should be able to do you". Your search term is "fisting" and Suzy Bright should be one of your first stops.

No-one is responsible for your sexual pleasure other than yourself. Our author came close to this one with the question of whether the guy still masturbated ... of course he did. Would the girl have been irked to know of how often he wanked? Yes she would have. Would she have thought that meant she wasn't meeting his needs? Of course she would. I have had to throttle myself to keep from laughing when some woman told me "my boyfriend doesn't need to masturbate - he has me". What it said about her self image kinda frightens me.

You can try to help someone come, you can take is as an avocation, but you shouldn't take it as a vocation. It isn't your job. The final responsiblity for someone elses pleasure, someone elses coming, belongs to that other person.

And frankly guys, I have helped more women with their issues with pleasure BY GIVING THEM THE RESPECT TO GIVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO THEM, NOT TO DO THE "MAKE THEM COME" BULLSHIT and so share the pleasure of whatever pleasure they get out of our time together. Really.

And if someone isn't making it with me? I'm a bit sad, and wish to see if our times together might be changed to make it better.

BUT I'm not crushed and I'm not angry and I'm not destructive. Because fundamentally it is not my job to fix the situation, to "make her come". It is something we can do together, in the best of times.

The story was rather good - it did rile those emotions. I have a particular issue with it since I think the conflict wasn't dealt with fundamentally - from what I see as a fundamentally flawed set of assumptions. But I do not dictate terms to characters or authors. Some of the implementation issues in part 2 that others have brought up were issues I found as well - the counselors did not act in a way I am familiar with, for example. The POV of the female lead was left undeveloped, but that might have been necessary due to the requirements of the presentation of the conflict. Such a development of her POV might have made the resolution more connected, more organic, with the narrative.

I also think it might have cleaned up another issue that came up in this story - the "I love you" ambiguity. "I love you" for children means I want what you give me. "I love you" for adults can mean I want to give you what you want and need. The female lead insists that "I love you" is the solution to the underlying conflict without specifying which version she is saying. A common problem, btw.

And to the author: Thanks for the story, and I always look forward to your contributions!

Green-something

(I might have to post an expansion of this rant sometime in Essays - if for no other reason than to hopefully cut down on some of the "big dick" themes here)

Do you stand up, put your shoulders back, take a deep breath, tighten your fists, flex your muscles and smile at yourself approvingly in the mirror after you write nonsense?

Steve was upset about the betrayal, not the sex. One thing I avoided when I was dating was a woman that shared my intimate life with her friends. I felt that whatever we did or did not do was on ly to be shared by the two of us. To tell other people things about my intimate life without my permission is a beayal.

Secondly, no relationship can have a healty existence based on lies. The thigs Heather said about her own sex life shoyuld have been told to Steve and no one else. Faking an orgasm is the same as outright lying.

Marriage is based on trust and respect Heather lost both of those with her words to her friends. She was wrong for trivializing Steve's ego. Men are not women with different plumbing. They are mentally and emotionally different. Every man has an ego if they do not, they are called wussys. Men have to have something in their lives that define who they are. Being good at sex is high on the list of a man's emotional needs, (Other than the physical needs). We are no different than Bulls or Moose that fight for the right to mate with the herd. If a woman wants to take that away, she ight as well try a same sex relationship because that's what she will get. (Homosexual marriage! We are getting to be a sick society)..

Great writing as usual. Thank you for sharing

Most of us can identify with the main character. And as the story was written from his point of view, we can see and feel the distress through his eyes. This is the mark of good writing to suck us in so deeply.

You almost need to read the second part of this fine story twice to appreciate how the author wrote the Heather character.

Try to look it from the Heather character point of view. She knew she screwed up big time with her diarrhea of the mouth about Hubbys bedroom ability. The author had Heather apologize often (although true the hubby would have seen this as nothing but spin and an apology for getting caught more than what was said.) The author had Heather volunteer to do “whatever” it took to make up for her remarks, however Hubby repeatedly claimed he did not know how to “fix” the situation. The Heather character tried the tack of if the question was about sex, she would give Hubby plenty of sex. The author had Heather view the sex she was able to have with hubby as progress in the marriage and path to forgiveness. Hubby saw it as just going through the motions. Author had Heather make the error of mistaking motion for progress.

The lie detector event was well done. Most readers saw the results like hubby, it proved Heater was not telling the truth to key questions. The Author had Heather look at the test results as “proof” she was not telling a lie about being satisfied with Hubby’s abilities. (Classic “is glass half empty” or “half full”).

The Heather character like most people, would feel she went the distance in trying to “make things right” and after a while he should “get over it”. The fact the author frequently wrote Heathers girlfriends held the same opinion, and backed Heather up on this point this throughout the story. This constant reassureance from her girlfriends would have given Heather confidence she was doing her part & more to repair the relationship. The ladies all felt her actions, not words should be what counted. (Although Heather “actions” with the dildos would have gone a long way in blunting those arguments)

As far as dating the coworker Adam. At that point in the story the author did not have Heather looking to rebuild the marriage. Divorce was a forgone conclusion, both parties (and their lawyers) had already filled in the blanks, all that was needed was a judges signature. The court ordered counseling sessions were just killing time. The Author wrote Heather as a pragmatic person. Heather chooses Hubby over Brian because hubby offered a better overall package (even with his smaller package). Dating Adam the coworker was written to show Heather was again being pragmatic, an attractive single mother with two kids needs to move fast before the bloom falls off the rose. Having Heather drop Adam was the Authors way to show Heather was willing to gamble on reuniting the relationship with hubby.

Why did the author not have Heather tell about the Brian abuse, and other items earlier in the tale? My guess is it would have lessened the conflict that made this story so riveting to begin with, and shorten the tale considerably.

A nice touch was having Heather balk at talking to all the male friends. No one likes to have their nose rubbed in their mistakes. Heather’s quip about hubby not being a “stud” was a face saving remark the author tossed in showing Heathers character was not going to be apologizing forever and wearing sack clothes and ashes.

Divorce would have been a much easier option for the author to write and I applaud him for taking the more difficult route of getting them back together.

One cannot get over the feeling that the counselling was a deus ex machina, that should have gone down in legal flames. It was just bizarre. Pragmatic or not, the wife's action rubbing Steve's face in things with the nice dress, the dates, etc, needs to be explained--even if it was a simple: "I want you to be jealous, so you will get your head out of your arse..." unless that was also a suggestion from the conselling duo! I agree with HV, Monitor, and HDK. The male character reads like a stereotypical female character--more interested in words rather than actions. A nice reversal, but pretty inconsistent with the rest of Steve's character as you show it. Example: When he goes off to fight Brian, is this a sign of the "new" Steve or the "old" Steve? I have no idea...

I decided to give this chapter another read (along with the new comments), and was having the exact same thoughts that cpete just posted.

Wife fucked up big time "talking trash" about hubby's sexual prowess to the girls in Ch. 01. No doubt. Hurtful, disrespectful, and, it appears, a rather gross exaggeration, as well. Her other "sins" include: fantasizing about her ex-boyfriend (even while having sex with hubby), having occasional secret dildo self-love (and naming one after the ex), occasionally faking orgasms, and perhaps not informing hubby of how he might help her get off better. Except for the hurtful words, none of the other things are really all that big of a deal. I thought the hubby was justifiably and righteously pissed off in the first chapter, but also rather immature/insecure. I felt for wife when she (repeatedly) cried out (in both chapters) "you're going to throw away 10 great years of marriage over my talking trash?!?" True, wife maybe never seemed to really 'get it,' but maybe a woman couldn't. Nevertheless, it seemed a bullshit reason for a loving couple with kids to split up, and I could understand the wife's despair, anger, and eventual willingness to just get it over with and move on.

Some commentors are pissed about the wife dating this Adam character. Cpete had it right-your hubby leaves you and is gone for 6 months, he files for divorce, the divorce is all but finalized. She has every right to date. She has every right to fuck someone else if she wants to. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. But, the moment there was an apparent break-through in therapy, she ends the relationship with Adam; without really knowing if she and hubby would get back together.

The one thing which seems fucked up, and I think the story would have been better without this element, is the incident of physical abuse by the ex. As others have noted, what kind of crazy bitch would make an abusing ex the focus of her sexual fantasies, and name her favorite toy after him, and extoll his sexual prowess to her girlfriends? And, frankly, doesn't that incident make her choice of hubby over the ex less of a choice and more of a default option (assuming she didn't want to stay with an abuser)? Not my job to rewrite SP's stories, but I would have suggested getting rid of that element if I had been editing.

I liked this story (including this Chapter) on the first read, and more on the second.

Showing up dressed for a date would only drive him further away. My point - she lost him over her disrespect for his manhood and now she is openly seeing another man. That would only drive him further away and definitely convinced that he didn't need her kind of love.

Yes, the counseling was court ordered, the divorce petition filed but my point is simply - she had no respect for him or she would have had the coutesy to see her date later or on another day and - she missed a meeting to tell her BF that she was breaking it off - just how far into her BF was she, they worked together so how about hey Adam, we need to break it off. She never said that the date thing was a hoax to push him and even if it was a ploy, this type of conduct would only guarantee his distance from her...already enough damage- now a date?

This woman has no sensitivity to Steve at all and then only for her needs.

Cpetre, your points are valid and good but I think his reaction to her was based on the fact that he realized that he was not the man for her that he had thought and That was a Game Changer and...hurt like hell.

Yes, I enjoy Slirpuff stories, just think he didn't really pull this ending off well, either for reconcile or divorce.

Buyt what I don't understand is how Heather, and even the other girlfreinds, didn't understand that the whole issue was not about sex, but about trust and lack of communication. How does one "get-over" knowing that he has never be given an honest and truthful feedback from his wife?

Absolutely idiotic, but I can see where some broads would be goofy enough to try to pull this; BUT WHY WOULD ANY GUY BE WIMPY ENOUGH TO ACCEPT IT? The wife can't have coffee with the father of her kids that she's been trying to get back with for multiple court ordered counseling sessions because she has a "CASUAL DATE (???)" with some guy. WHY OF COURSE SHE CAN'T STAND THE GUY UP FOR HER HUSBAND WHO SHE WANTS TO GET BACK WITH. However, SHE CAN STAND HER HUSBAND UP, WHO SHE SUPPOSEDLY LOVES, THE FOLLOWING WEEK AT THE NEXT COURT ORDERED SESSION to supposedly dump the "casual" guy?!?!? WTF!?!? Anybody ever heard of phones, email, notes, letters, or even that old standby, the cold shoulder?? Sounds like she was trying for this new guy, he (Adam) got lucky some time during those weeks and then dumped her and now she's settling for the husband. Otherwise, this part of the story makes no sense at all. Why of course: you can't stand up the guy you don't particularly like for the guy you love, but can stand up the guy you supposedly love for a guy you don't like. But if all this IS somehow true, it absolutely proves the wife has not even 1 brain cell and shows her husband absolutely no respect. How would this part alone not just end the marriage?? Why would the husband not be COMPLETELY OUTRAGED THAT HE WAS DUMPED AFTER A COUNSELING SESSION WHERE PROGRESS WAS FINALLY MADE FOR HIS WIFE'S CASUAL DATE? I'm the husband, I ask my wife for coffee, but she can't make it cause she's got a "casual" date? WTF?!?! You've been reading too many women's mags author. There's only one response for that, "Goodbye. Have a nice life." 1 STAR JUST FOR THIS, BUT ONLY CAUSE I CAN'T GO LOWER. Her actions are too unforgivingly insulting and idiotic to be overlooked. If anyone thinks not, then why wouldn't hubbie be able to bring a hooker to the next couseling session for a "casual date" right after??

Great writing, but I feel it missed the main point. For whatever reason Heather was contemptuous of her husband. This constant harping on the problem being all about his "bruised male ego" is BS. Such arguments are never acceptible from any one. It simply says that the person doesn't care about you as a person and feels only contempt for you. You don't get to decide how someone else should feel about or react to a situation and if you love them you damn sure don't trivialize or invalidate their pain. After all the time she spent disrespecting him in front of "the girls" and the months of telling him that his feelings are irrelevant and he has no right to them she disrespects him again by showing up at a session dressed for a date. She had to know he would know and yet she apparently didn't care that he would. Really? You couldn't schedule the date for another night? This absolute contempt she had for him was at the core of the problem and it was never really addressed. Those counselors should have their licences revoked for missing that issue.

Loved the Story from begginning to End. So things are not Perfect at least they learned to be Honest with each other.

I think everything I wanted to say was said.

For starters:

@Cpete

"Most of us can identify..."

"Most readers saw the results..."

I'm just curious how you got elected as the mouthpiece of the majority of the readers, and just how long is your term of office?

Don't bother replying. The questions are rhetorical.

I just like to point out blind arrogance when I see it.

@the story

If I were the protagonist, and the cop gave me the chance to explain myself to her honor as to why I skipped a court ordered session, I'd go.

What would I say?

"Well your honor, I don't see the point in going. Not only are the therapists allowing her to skip sessions, my future ex-wife already has her divorce plans in place: a job in Antigua [or where ever, I'm too lazy to look back to the story] but she's already begun auditions for the next man in her life. After all, you don't date other people when you are married, your Honor."

So this is where the the Heather character doesn't make sense.

She fights this divorce tooth and nail, then starts dating someone? If you love someone you don't date others. If you don't love someone, then you date others. Isn't that how it works?

The 64,000 question: is there an appropriate time to date others during a marriage? Yes, before or AFTER being in love/a marriage. Her dating tells me she is no longer in love with him, but not him. He persists. The manhood remarks got to him, but not the dating. Makes sense.

Then it turns out she really loves him, loves him enough to date others... Yep, realistic to me.

@Pragmatism

I really really really love you BUT, I might as well hedge my bets...

Since my husband is dying and he's so close to death, I might as well be pragmatic and start dating, but I still love him and will of course stop dating if he gets off that bed.

There are several failures as an analogy to this: death <> divorce, etc, but it comes close enough.

What names would you call this wife?

Ex-wife comes to mind...

@that stupid husband and wife therapy team.

They totally destroyed what's left of the story for me. Aside from their unethical behaviour, they are only helping in the destruction of the marriage.

A good therapist:

"How do you feel about Brian?"

A bad therapist:

"I take it you didn't like Brian very much?" David asked me.

A good therapist:

"So in your words how would you describe her choice?"

A bad therapist:

"So in other words she chose you over Brian?"

The previous line:

"Well, yes and no. Physically she chose me, but mentally it looks like she never got over him."

A good therapist:

"How does that make you feel?"

A bad therapist:

"What I hear you saying is that Heather emotionally cheated on you?" Ann interjected.

There's more, lots more.

If you can't see the difference: a good therapist does not inject their opinion but makes the patient formulate their own.

Yes, the problem here is that the author isn't a therapist, but it also indicates the author couldn't be bothered to rationalize it out. Who here hasn't seen or heard the stereotype of a shrink asking "how do you feel" or "how does that make you feel?"

That lack of forsight fortells how determined the author is to forgo reason and end it as he/she so wishes to...

SP,

Really good job--as usual

Matt

cpete, I usually agree with you and BTTap, but not fully in this case for many reasons.

First, in the very first chapter, I listened to Heather. Heather's friends, much smarter then she was, kept trying to pull her back into the 'acceptable range of shooting the grease to your spouse.' "He can't be that bad." "You had two kids." "He must do something right." She would have none of that: she pushed harder and stronger in her condemnation. (Though she prefaced all her remarks by saying 'he's not bad' something she should have been harping on constantly.)

Now, your remarks on her dating etc are spot on. She's done. Finished. Put a fork in her. Which is fine. And you are correct, she THINKS she gets it. But when the damsels of Literotica who read this story have 'YIKES!' faces on and are hissing their breath, obviously SOME girls get it...why didn't she?

And she spent so much time telling him she'd do ANYTHING to fix this...except, you know, have honest conversations, get counseling, stop telling him to man up and get over it, quickly and meaningfully apologize to EVERYONE IMMEDIATELY about the whole issue. Nope. That isn't ANYTHING. That's EXCEPTIONAL.

But we already know she's as self aware as a whelk. Too bad someone with insight into the human condition couldn't help her. Someone who maybe studied about the dynamics of marriage. Someone old with experience. Maybe a couple. Certainly a wise and experienced man could ask questions...uncomfortable questions of her until some insight blossomed into her conscienceness like a supernova. But how silly to think there is anyone who might do that to a WOMAN!

The story lacked a few 'gottcha' moments of the wife. And as counselors, they should have been all over Miss. 'Not showing up at will'. That was a definite blind spot and certainly not calling her on her dating. And they were easily avoidable.

"Sorry Steve. Yes, we are coming down hard on you, but it's because your wife started this that we've instituted this zero tolerance policy. Not to mention the earful we got from the Judge for letting her do that."

"Okay Heather. Imagine that your husband was chatting with the guys and he mentioned that the only thing holding you in shape was some incredible undergarment engineering and Victoria had a hell of a Secret if she could keep your pancake titties up into something attractive."

So she has a point of view. It also happens to be mostly wrong. And 'pragmatic' girl certainly didn't phone it in with the insults. No, that's viceral hatred. If he had to ask her to tell her friends, then it's too late.

But your mileage may vary

While your comment has a point to it, there are some things I plainly disagree with. Key differences.

"She knew she screwed up big time with her diarrhea of the mouth about Hubbys bedroom ability."

This is very questionable. The way it was written, (and since there is no POV from Heather, we have to take Slirpuff's words for it), Heather thought of it as "no big deal". She knew she screwed up yes, but not the magnitude of it. She was sorry she got caught, not that she said it. And like others have pointed out as well, I don't think she ever got the point at the end of the story, that she had been disrespecting and lying to her husband. For their entire marriage.

"The author had Heather volunteer to do “whatever” it took to make up for her remarks, however Hubby repeatedly claimed he did not know how to “fix” the situation."

This places the blame on hubby, for not knowing how to fix it. That is not his job! SHE caused the problem with her callous remarks, SHE should find a way to fix it. And let's be honest here. "I've been lying to you for our entire marriage, and telling all our friends that you suck in bed, behind your back, for God knows how long."

How do you "fix" that? Is there some step-by-step manual for this? Can you Google it for answers on the net? There IS no one-step easy solution for something like this. Don't make out hubby to be the one at fault for not knowing how to "fix" it.

I won't copy/paste your entire paragraph about Adam, but I will say one thing, if it's true that Heather is pragmatic, this extends to being pragmatic about Steve as well. Love does not come into the equation! She merely does what is "optimal" for her, and her situation. Hence, her very quick jump back into the dating scene, and the rapid progress with this Adam. Although I wouldn't call her a golddigger, if what you're saying about her pragmatism is true, she sure shows traits of one.

But that pragmatism does not explain the callousness and disrespect to Steve by missing a court-ordered appointment for a date, and later on showing up to the counseling dressed up for one. Again, couldn't she have called Adam to reschedule? There is simply no other explanation than sheer callousness and disrespect for Steve by doing this.

"A nice touch was having Heather balk at talking to all the male friends. No one likes to have their nose rubbed in their mistakes. Heather’s quip about hubby not being a “stud” was a face saving remark the author tossed in showing Heathers character was not going to be apologizing forever and wearing sack clothes and ashes."

Apologizing forever? Wearing sack clothes and ashes? When did she ever in the first place? At first Heather apologizes for Steve overhearing her. She wasn't sorry she said them, only that he overheard. And that was with the tone of "Oops, sorry. No big deal, eh?"

Then she gets angry and resentful when Steve doesn't accept her halfhearted apologies.

After that, dating her coworker, and all related inanity

After Adam, the deception set up by her and the counselors, tricking and lying to Steve about her moving away, taking his children with her.

When they finally get back together, Steve forces her to tell his male friends that he does NOT suck in bed. And to THAT she is highly resistant. It's true that nobody likes having their nose rubbed in their mistakes, but the implication of that is that she wants them to continue believing Steve DOES suck in bed.

So with all that, WHEN has Heather ever been truly remorseful and apologetic about her words and behavior? Exactly never. Either she's half-assed and not really sorry, or she's angry, cussing him out and blaming his "fragile male ego", and, in the end, when she finally PUBLICLY apologizes, she immediately amends her saying that he's not lame in bed, by saying "he's not a stud either!". When did she "lose face" in this story? You make it out like she was crawling in the dirt throughout the story, but that simply never happened.

The missing point here seems to be love and respect. Heather simply does not respect Steve enough to tell him the truth, or to keep herself from trashtalking about him behind his back to their longtime friends. And in the end, she still hadn't learned her lesson.

and still believe that he should have divorced her. Only the kids in the picture make that difficult. It's too bad they were there. Was that a reason for the ending or just 'they happened to be there'?

Thank you! I loved it!

I'm not sure I would have trusted her enough to go back. It was a wonderful story but the last page or so felt rushed, but not enough to distract from the story. I did remove one star for the reconciliation that felt forced but it was at least a four and a half star effort. Thanks for the read.

5X5 ***** for an excellent BELIEVABLE RECONCILATION STORY and it is not RAAC at all. I wrote my biography I am a revenge story fan but I stand for a good reconcilation story as this is. It is difficult to be in the minority with my opinion. I want to stand for the officials side, because first the children interest. If I were the judge (agains being man) I would have sent this pair for counseling be known I would have been same injuried soul as Steve is in the story with my ego. I wrote earlier Heater did HUGE mistake (in the first chapter) when Steve did sex marathon for sake of her to remind him about the original injure. It costed an almost ended marriage same to Ohio's story "The surrogate". However Ohio's story Joanna cheated physicaly and Heather did not do it , moreover she did not start an affair with David at all (In my next chapter I will analize this). If I would have been the counselors I did a streep slope soccer stadium against Steve to assist the reconcilation. The officials MUST LOOK AT THE CHILDREN INTEREST, BECAUSE A SOLID NORMAL PAIR TOGETHER WILL BE BETTER FOR THE CHILDREN. I am the umpteen occasions when I had to tell the children's interest sometime is important and this interest actuates the officials as well. The judge and the counselors discovered quickly the root of the problem is not any physical extramarital love affair, which could couse a incorrible problem, so they did the bBEST FOR THE CHILDREN. However Heather saved the marriage............luckily, and I agree Heather.

I thought about responding to some of the other comments that give Heather a pass on her behavior but Mousse9 got to most of it first.

Disrespect. Period. It is not what Heather does but the manner in which she goes about it. She is often indifferent to Steve's feelings and sometimes outright hostile. Dating may be "pragmatic" after 6 months but being obviously ready to go on a date when you go to your counseling session is a slap in Steve's face. Was that a suggestion from her counselor as well, "Make him jealous"? Then, skipping a session without informing anyone to go on her "casual" date isn't disrespectful?

Heather clearly has the impression throughout the story that this is "much ado about nothing". She maintains that attitude to the end. That's why the story fails. She still has no respect for Steve. Everyone was waiting for Steve to get over his "hissy fit" and that's exactly what happened. Steve's acceptance of Heather's disrespect is a capitulation that makes the whole story pointless; eight pages to resolve a hissy fit.

Since Adam worked with her I think she could have told him on Weds that she wouldn't be needing his services any longer. The fact that she decided to noshow a counseling session to "tell" him they had to cool it was very telling in and of itself.

Other than that, good story.

I can spot the influence of quite a few of Literotica’s best authors in this story. I say that as the sincerest of compliments. Good stories rarely stand alone in their own plot devices.

In this tale you expanded upon a fundamental act of disrespect. That act is similar to one used by Harddaysknight in ‘Misery’, though he resolved that marital conflict with a bit more humor after much angst on the husband’s part.

You chose to deploy the counseling sessions as a major plotline. Those sessions were expertly written and I applaud you. Only ohio is known to make such deft use of this device in his stories. You too appeared to have mastered the same technique. It’s troublesome that so few LW stories utilize mediators or counselors.

I even noted a hint of the influence of K.K., particularly where you have the wife indicating she was going on a date while the couple was in the midst of a separation. In ‘That Asshole’, KK uses this same event to quickly elevate the stakes in their relationship.

However, I thought that the best moment in the story came when the wife explains the reason for here breakup with Brian. This provided a powerful and credible vehicle to shift the momentum towards reconciliation. Her disclosure gave her husband the opening he was searching for, if not consciously, to reconcile with his wife.

When you have the wife stand in front of the car, preventing the husband from leaving the offices of their counselors, it was reminiscent of a similar scene from Jack Straw’s excellent story ‘Jealousy’. And just as in the tale, the husband folds during the confrontation. This scene was both realistic and poignant.

By the way, after reading Big Mouth you prompted me to reread Jack Straw’s other work, ‘If We’re Not Back in Love by Monday’. The married couple in that tale also uses sex as a way to get back to a point where they can work on resolutions to their problems. As a couple they are as likable and endearing as your main characters.

Thanks for sharing this well thought out, and well written story.

You're worse than Duna.

Way too many posts especially when nobody cares what you think.

I follow showing my minority opinion. The foundation of the succesful counseling was the opening of the spouses to each other. Heather told her connection to Brian, which was only a sex connection without love. Heather was sincer the sex could have been great with Brian but Brian was an egoistic predator type and not a good family man and he used the sex partner only and the cocky Brian was cruel to Heather, when she told her opinion about him. Heather told Steve on the session he heard a part of her gossip with the wives of his friends and the male Ego injuring part was a less insult (but not 0 level) in the light of the all gossip. Heather used secret weapon when showed Steve she is not a wrong "merchandise" on the love merket with the David date and she could find a good stepfather candidate. However she was wise and showed her husband she will start look for mate on the mate hunter playground after the divorce certificate only. She was succesful, because there was not any extramarital affair, the David date was a smart woman trick. Heather fought well for her family for her children and FOR HER HUSBAND after Steve was sincere himself and Heather to admit that he likes his wife on one of a sessions. She fixed her huge mistake which was in the end of the first chapter.

The story was very smart fable story and the meat of the story was hid behind the male ego problem. The Author used the provocated male Ego Potemkin wall to tell the meat of the story. Heather's sentences show the meat of the story. My idea is to read many stories on LW hub is similar as the Author wants to say with Heather. Naturaly my idea is not 100% same, but in 95% same as Heather's sentences show.

I case of The trubador's 2 part of stories "The Wife Gets Caught" and "The Wife Gets Even" I tried to show others the second meaning of the fable story ("The Wife Gets Caught") and only I got positive feedback somebody who read "The Wife Gets Even" after "The Wife Gets Caught". (The troubador did mistake not to do a 2 parts story instead 2 distict stories) The troubador's 2 stories do not tell about the cheating itself in the story, but something other. SP's story tells other as the MALE EGO, which was used from SP to show Heather's sentences about family life, love and sex.

SOMEBODY IS INTERESTED IN THE SECOND MEANING OF THIS STORY THAT SHOULD REREAD HEATHER's SENTENCES DURING THE CONSELING...........Interesting and NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am sorry Adam was the dating partner.