Les was gobsmacked that his wife of almost ten years was cheating on him with somebody named Johnnie from work. It seemed all the action was in Chicago, when she flew there for business.
"Monkey business," thought her husband.
On Saturday morning, Les’ wife’s Uber arrived while he was doing the lawn. Sure, they could afford a lawn service, especially with Carolyn’s new job and pay grade, but Les enjoyed the outdoors: the methodical cutting patterns he created, the peaceful silence of a gasoline engine going at full throttle and the aroma of freshly cut grass.
“Hiya, big guy,” was her greeting. Carolyn’s husband shut off the mower and waited for her to approach him.
He called to her from a few steps away, not leaving his station. “How about a kiss from my executive-grade wife?”
She shrugged and said, “Oh, honey. I just got these new tennis and if I walk on the freshly mowed grass, I’ll get green stains on them.”
“Suit yourself. Let me finish this section and we can chat about your trip.” He studied her walk as she wheeled her one large suitcase into the open garage door.
Les wondered whether she walked differently after being fucked. Did she hold herself differently? Her ‘do’ was the same, different now with her new style and position. She wore typical travelling attire: light pink short-sleeve shirt tucked into khakis. She’d lost a pound or two in her week’s absence. Carolyn was fashion-conscious to buy good clothes to adorn her shapely figure.
Les was no slouch, either. He dressed well but tended to stay with the college-age clothes style he was comfortable with. His job as an IT specialist meant he needn’t wear a suit. With his button-down light blue Oxford shirts and khaki slacks, ladies did still look at him.
Decision time. Les punted. By the time he’d entered the house, Carolyn had unpacked and had made herself a snack.
Les noted that she didn’t offer him anything, even a glass of water. She sensed the chill.
His wife’s question bordered on the solicitous, “Oh, do you want me to fix something for you? You’ve been batching it for a week and I just assumed you were comfortable fixing your own stuff.”
He asked about her trip (boring). Her work (difficult, but manageable). Boss (a terror and a tyrant).
Her husband responded, “Aren’t you going to ask about my days, my work, my nights?”
Carolyn’s half-hearted reply was, “Okay. How were your nights alone? I made us lots of money.”
Despite it being a Saturday night, they went nowhere. She fixed the salads and he grilled steaks with potatoes on the grill.
Les sat down to a tasteless (to him) dinner and thought, “Status quo ante bellum.” ("The state existing before the war.") He was a linguist at heart.
Carolyn opened a new topic with, “You remember Johnny from the company party?”
“No,” was his monosyllabic response.
She soldiered on, “He and his wife are having a cookout next weekend. It’s a holiday and I am expected to attend. You can stay home if you wish; it will be mostly coworkers there anyway.”
Les came to life, “Oh, I love meeting new people. What’s Mrs. Johnnie’s name?”
His wife stuttered before saying, “I don’t really know. They tell me she is kind of frumpish. We will see.”
“Yeppers. We will see,” was his response. He followed it up with, “I am sure you will get all the details from Johnnie and let me know time and place and what we should bring.”
Before either of them knew it, Monday came and Carolyn was off to her ivory-tower worksite and Les dawdled at home. He could work from home if he cared to. He cared to; soon he fell to temptation. His hands shook as he opened her laptop.
Johnnie, you drove me crazy all week. Fucking on your suite balcony, knowing someone might look over at us, was a rush.
You must keep your promise and erase those tapes. Do it for Ace as well as me. If the company saw me sucking his big black dick while you fucked me, all three of us would be toast.
Was that Wednesday night or Thursday night? Oops, it was three a.m. Thursday morning! I am going to give you an A-plus for creativity. I know you were tired of room service, but I was scared that if we were seen together, folks would talk. Talk more than they do now. I’ve already heard rumors and two of my own staff asked leading questions. btw, those two’s flying-to-Chicago-days are over!
When you invited Ace to join you for dinner and some clubbing, I thought you were ditching me. Then you politely asked if I wanted to tag along. Ace sealed the deal by pleading on one knee at the bar and I was smitten. Hope you aren’t jealous!
