Eve Flees

Eve had an almost sleepless night. Drifting between short naps and long periods of drowsy thinking, Eve realized she couldn’t face Tim in the morning; not after seeing him last night with his dick in his hand and another woman watching him masturbate.

She texted John at five in the morning. Bfst ur place?

Where else could she turn except John? She couldn’t go to her family or her friends. None of them could ever know. There’s no recovery from knowing this information about Tim. Even in her anger, Eve wouldn’t and couldn’t reveal Tim’s internet masturbation to her family or her friends. In her family’s eyes, at every family get together, Tim would be the man who masturbates with other women. And Eve would be pitied for having a husband like him.

Eve wondered if her brothers would ever shake Tim’s right hand again. The thought of Tim extending a handshake and her brothers simply staring at it without shaking it was too much. Eve shuddered. This was unacceptable.

Could she save her marriage? Should she save it? She had too much emotion and anger to think clearly on her own. She needed advice. John was that new friend who might be able to help.

Eve made her toilet amid a cacophony of thoughts about John and her marriage. Tears fell as shallow sobs echoed from the bathroom walls; she thought about losing Tim over something like this. She couldn’t live with Tim masturbating with other women, could she? What other choices did she have?

She was surprised to hear the chime of a text so soon. John sent his address and simply said now/whenever I’ll make it work.

Eve threw a bag together. She might not want to come home tonight. She was confused, hurt, upset.

Be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. Her mother told her on her wedding day. Eve telepathically flashed I bet you didn't think of this, Mom as she made her way out the door.

Tim heard the garage door open and leaped out of bed. He ran to catch Eve before she drove away. Fear used a scythe to shred his heart. Is Eve leaving me?

So much to say, so much to make right. He hated his weakness. He loved Eve so much.

Why can’t I control myself?

He was too late. Eve was too fast. The outside garage door closed. Tim heard her car speed away as he opened the door to the mudroom.

He paused. If she left a note, she was coming home. He ran to the kitchen counter looking for one. No note. “Shit!”

Tim panicked. Was her suitcase still here? He bolted upstairs.

Her large suitcase sat on the floor of the master bedroom; the bed littered with her clothing. Her overnight bag was gone. Tim sighed in relief. She wasn’t gone for good. She would’ve taken more. But he didn’t know how long until she'd return.

Tim began to clean up. If she came home, when she came home, whenever that was, Tim wanted her to know he’d prepared for her return. He simply had to make amends. Cleaning up after her was a start.

Eve Enters a Different Garden

Eve arrived at John’s condo in jeans, two light pullovers, and sneakers. When the door opened, Eve threw her arms around John’s neck, tucked her face into his shoulder, and sobbed uncontrollably.

John held her lightly as she emptied her heart and her tears into his sleep shirt.

For the second time in less than twelve hours, John waited for a cue before speaking. Her body had melted into his.

Eve paused. A grieving sob and a longer breath shuddered inside. She melted deeper into John’s comforting arms.

John pressed Eve closer into him and murmured “You’re okay, Eve, You’re safe with me. This is a safe place.“

The fingers of his right hand caressed and patted Eve’s back to comfort her.

Eve’s sobbing lessened. She became aware of John’s clothing, his smell, the shape of his body, his gentle voice, and his comforting touches. She relaxed into John’s arms and discovered a moment with him. It felt right to be in his embrace. She held him as her sobbing ran its course. She held him and remembered his kiss from last night.

She then turned her head and kissed John’s neck before pulling away.

“Thank you. I needed this. Please don’t think me a bad person.”

“Tears cleanse the soul, Eve. By the amount of crying you’ve probably done in the past few hours, you might have the cleanest soul in town. Maybe the state.” John smiled. Eve smiled back.

“I feel foolish coming to you. I don’t know you, you don’t know me, and yet here I am. Is something wrong with me, John?”

“Eve, even the best people have something wrong with them. The choices we make in life are not always logical. It’s the way life works. You’ll have the best life if you make choices good for yourself. But you have to define what is good for you before you make those choices.”

“You sound like a psychologist now.”

“Perhaps. Ready for breakfast? Come, it's in the other room.“

For the first time, Eve looked around the room she was in. She gasped. It was stunningly beautiful. Casually erotic and trѐs chic; the pinks, golds, blues, and floral patterns dominated the room. Supporting the room’s beauty, nude and semi-nude works of art completed the look. All of it gave Eve the impression she was in a sensual and sexual garden.

Eve passed between two life-sized nudes painted on either side of an archway that led into a dining and kitchen area.

A tall table was set with white linens; two place settings in opposition. John helped Eve into her seat and poured coffee from a carafe. From Eve’s position, she could see the Garden room glowing in the morning light.

Eve sipped her coffee and considered how to begin.

“Eve, before you tell me what’s on your mind, tell me about Tim. How did you meet? What’s he like?”

“Tim’s intelligent. He’s pleasant to be with. He’ll do almost anything I ask him to. It’s funny in a way, he was actually my back-up date. I met him when he was with his friends. His friend Alec was my first choice. So I told Tim no when he asked me out. I waited for Alec but he never called. So I called Tim and asked him out instead.

“Tim was vice-president of his high school senior class and class salutatorian in college. He chose to become a computer systems analyst. He’s now the Deputy Director of something-something in research.”

“Anything else about Tim you want me to know? Were you Tim’s first love?”

“No, it was Wheezy Parker but she broke up with him and instead dated a boy who became a jazz musician. That’s why he was out with his friends when I met him.”

“It seems like the gods are against him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Seems like he’s always in second place: a vice president not a president, a salutatorian not valedictorian, a Deputy Director not a Director, and your back-up date. Does it bother him to be in second place?”

“I didn’t make that connection before but now that you point it out, I don’t think I’ve known him to be first. But it doesn’t bother him if it’s second or even third place. He's gracious to those who take either first or last place. He has a generous heart. ”

“What do you mean by a generous heart?”

“He’s always giving his time or his money or his stuff to help others out. Especially Alec. They’re best friends. I think Alec uses Tim’s Harley and his Ford Expedition more than Tim does. Alec’s borrowed practically everything from Tim. Tim doesn’t mind. He says Alec always brings it back in better shape than when he borrowed it. Alec has even worn Tim’s suits to job interviews. He brings them back straight from the dry cleaners. “

“Was Tim your first?”

Eve smiled. “My second, actually, and I never thought about the relevance until now.”

John’s phone signaled he had a call. “I’ll take this in the other room. Be right back.”

Eve nodded.

“Lexa, stereo, 30% volume” John called out as he walked down the hallway.

Guitar music filled the silence in the room as Eve’s thoughts drifted toward Tim. She never had cause to doubt his fidelity before. He kept her informed when his plans changed. He was attentive to her. Other than this hot wife infatuation of his, he’d been a good man. But this masturbation with a woman on the internet is disturbing; even if the woman is married and her husband knows.

Eve never expected Tim to have orgasms with other people. Isn’t that what the marriage vows were all about? To forsake all others meant no fucking around, right?

Suddenly John burst from his bedroom tucking his shirt into his pants as he ran pell-mell down the hallway.

“I’m sorry, Eve. I have to run and take care of something. I’ll be back in two hours. There’s a frittata in the oven. When it beeps, take it out. Eat when it’s ready. Keep it warm for my return. Sorry to run. Have to meet Governor…doesn’t matter. I’ll be back as quick as I can. Mi casa es su casa. My condo is yours until I’m back. “

John opened the freezer and pulled out a small plastic container. He pocketed it along with his car keys.

“Sorry I have to run, I’ll be back as quick as I can.”

And with that, John ran through the living room garden and out the door.

Eve Discovers the Tree of Knowledge

Eve alternated between horrified and fascinated as she read the book she found on the mahogany table in the sitting area. Its title, The Sexual Tree of Knowledge, was enough of a lure for Eve to begin reading. Written by a woman with a Ph.D. in sex therapy, Dr. Lilith Cheyenne conducted sex-positivity counseling for couples in open relationships. The title page was signed To John, without your help this book would never have been written. Thank you for sharing yourself, your friends, your knowledge, your experiences, and your time. We’ll always have the Foshay. Lilly.

Eve was fascinated by Dr. Cheyenne’s Kink Awareness Counseling. Eve delved into the multiplicity of sexual arrangements to be found in the real world. She was horrified by the outcomes due to ignorance and distrust in some relationships.

In her prologue, Lilly revealed she was a new feminist: she was responsible for her sexual fulfillment as well as her husband’s. She rejected terms like polyandry, polygamy, cuckold, and wife sharing. She’d written: For many people, marital fidelity is flexible by choice, for others, marital fidelity is unswerving, this book is a guide for you in both types of relationships and all the ones in between.

Eve’s Minnesota upbringing never prepared her for anything but singles sex, married sex, and adultery. The kinks and combinations of human sexual relationships reviewed in the book were eye-opening. There was more than one way to lead a married life and Eve began to understand the possibilities ahead.

Eve remembered what John asked the night before. Do you love your husband enough to test him and learn his true nature? Was John telling her something? Was Tim something other than what she knew him to be?

By the time John returned home, Eve had decided to learn what Tim’s true nature was. Her marriage had to be fixed, perhaps adjusted. She was sure of it.

She asked John if everything was okay and he said it was. Then he changed the subject to breakfast and the book Eve had been reading.

Over the next several hours amid eating, reading, learning, laughing, and drinking mimosas, John coached Eve on how to learn Tim’s true nature and perhaps how to shape it. Eve found herself opening up to possibilities ahead. Perhaps divorce wasn't the only solution, perhaps it went beyond that.

Eve was comfortable talking with John; the mimosas made it easier to talk about Tim and their sex life. Not in graphic terms but in wifely terms about what she expected and what she received from Tim as a result of sex. She wanted orgasms with Tim but they were not as intense as they once were and this weighed on her at times.

By late afternoon, Eve had a plan to move forward. If Tim agreed to four conditions of hers then his true nature was clear. Knowing that nature, Eve could perhaps save her marriage.

Eve texted Tim and said she would be home for dinner. She was bringing Chinese and would be there at six.

We have a lot to talk about.