It was his fortieth birthday, and I had decided that it was to be a memorable one. Paul and I had been married for five years. He was ten years older than me. So, I was twenty when I married him. Already at thirty, he had this salt and pepper hair that makes women look unkempt but makes men look sophisticated and dangerous. So he was, I was later to find out. Sophisticated in his tastes, from food or drink, nothing was too foreign, strange or disgusting for him not to try. With him, I developed a taste for exotic foods, frog legs, escargots, and monk fish liver. You name it, the more potent the flavor, the more he craved it; and with him, so did I.
His taste for liquor was just as eclectic as his food choices. Not just the single malt Scotch or small batch Bourbon that the cognoscenti rave about. He had Absinthe brought over from Slovakia, Raki from Turkey, and a particularly favored Grappa-like drink from some place in Spain.
I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, as Middle America as apple pie and biscuits. That may have been what attracted me, at twenty, to this man, so much my senior. He entered my life like a tornado, sweeping everything before him. Soon, I found myself skiing double diamond terrain, shooting white water rapids, and diving in the open ocean; all things I had never even thought of doing. We got engaged at 120 ft of depth, in the great wall of Little Cayman. I was so surprised I almost dropped the ring, and that would have been a disaster, since the bottom of the ocean is about three thousand feet deep at that point! I have followed Paul ever since, and never regretted it for a second.
Now, after five years of marriage, I decided I shall give him a gift to remember. I changed a lot from the wide eyed ingénue from Omaha in these years, but one thing, until now, did not change. I never accepted his, shall I say temptations? In the matter of sex I remained the proper conservative American girl. Of course we had oral sex, but aside of that; the kinkiest thing we ever did was to do it in the kitchen. And I knew, and know, that he wanted more. He kept a large collection of erotica, in his library. Although locked, these books, tapes and art, have always been available to me even though I did not avail myself of them until recently. That's when I realized how much I was withholding from him and, for the first time became afraid, afraid that he would find someone who would give him what I would not.
Fast forward to the present. I found a willing accomplice in Sakura, a Japanese beauty that frequented our country club. She was twenty five; we often played golf or skied with her. I do not believe Paul knew the effect he had on her, or if he knew, he never acted on it. Me, on the other hand, I knew. It was obvious to me that the oriental beauty was besotted with Paul. She was always respectful, always polite and proper, but I could not fail to detect her blushing, her breathing becoming faster when he approached her. If he talked to her, and touched her arm, she always would seek support from the back of a chair, table or other piece of furniture, her knees would weaken so.
I approached Sakura one evening, about three weeks before his birthday. Paul was traveling that day and, it being the middle of the week, the lounge at the club was relatively empty; some women played cards at a table, and a couple of older, retired guys played chess. Sakura had been playing tennis, and was looking around the bar for someone to share a drink with, so as soon as she saw me, she approached me, smiling.
"Hi, Sakura" I greeted her "Care to drink something?"
"Hi, Lola" She answered, "Of course."
We sat at one of the couches, near the fireplace, far from the other people. We ordered Margaritas. We made small talk for a while, until the second Margarita. Then, as inhibitions began to loosen, thanks to Jose Cuervo, I made my move:
"Have you had sex with Paul?" I asked nonchalantly between sips.
"Of course not!" She answered angrily "What makes you think so?"
"Relax my dear" I said stroking her hand. "I know you like him. Don't you?"
The tequila was having its desired effect. I had eaten a burger before coming to the club, but Sakura just had two Margaritas on an empty stomach. She answered truthfully.
"You can't blame me for that. He is gorgeous" She paused for the briefest moment "But I've never..." "I know, I know" I said soothingly "But you would, if things were...different" It was not a question.
She did not deny it.
"I have an idea I need your help with" I continued.
