Part 1 of 3: Marriage After 20 Years
It was another night of bland sex. Neither of them complained. After 20 years of marriage, sex had become more of a routine than anything else.
Maureen came back to bed after washing herself between the legs. She turned off the light, got underneath the covers, and laid next to her husband.
"That was lovely," she said.
"It was," Steve replied. "Kind of nice with the kids off to college, isn't it?"
She poked him with her elbow. "What an awful thing to say."
"But you have to admit, it's nice that we don't have to keep things quiet anymore. And we get to leave the door open."
Maureen thought for a moment. "I guess so. But I still miss them dearly."
"So do I."
She closed her eyes. "Night."
"Goodnight dear," he replied, kissing her on the forehead.
***
The next afternoon was a typical workday for Maureen. She was an accountant for a mid-level accounting firm. With the recent economic growth in the downtown area, she had plenty of work to do for new clients.
During lunch, she ate with the same group of women for the past many years. They talked about their usual topics: Gossip, entertainment news, family, their kids, new recipes, ect...
They were all best friends and they always enjoyed each others company.
It was nearly 5 pm by the time Maureen came home. Steve's car was already in the driveway. When she went inside the house, it was particularly quiet. Steve was usually quick to say 'hello'. She called out for him, but there was no answer.
When Maureen stepped into the kitchen, a pair of arms wrapped around her body from behind. The hands lewdly groped her breast. She screamed loudly.
"It's okay!" he said, releasing her. "It's me! It's me!"
She quickly turned around to see a stunned look on Steve's face. He clearly wasn't expecting his wife to react like that.
"God! Steve! Don't ever scare me like that again!"
"I wanted to surprise you."
"How was that a surprise?" she fumed. "You scared the living daylights out of me. I thought I was being attacked!"
"I'm sorry. I was just trying to be romantic."
"There's nothing romantic about being touched
that way
."
"I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
Maureen took a moment to calm down. "I didn't mean to get so upset. It's just, please be a little more considerate with your surprises, okay?"
"We never have fun anymore. Have you noticed that?"
"Please, Steve, I'm not in the mood for this right now."
"Okay," he nodded in defeat.
Maureen turned away and went to the bedroom to change her clothes. She sat on the bed and sighed.
***
The next afternoon. Maureen was in front of the computer doing her accounting work. Her phone rang. It was her husband. She answered the call, and when Steve said it was important, she told him to wait a moment while she walked outside for privacy.
She wondered what the call was about. Steve rarely ever called while she was at work. It couldn't have been about their previous fight, she assumed, because she had already given him make-up sex that night.
"Yes?" she said when she was outside, away from the other co workers.
"Let's take a trip next week," he replied bluntly. "There's a private place we can stay near San Diego."
"I really can't. Things are so busy with my job right now."
"Mine too. But we can make time. We can go next Friday and stay over the weekend. Just take an extra day off from work."
"There's no need for this," she replied, trying to reason with him. "I'm not mad at you. I thought we cleared this up yesterday?"
"It's not about yesterday. It's about our marriage."
Those words sent a shock down Maureen's spine. She had always assumed that their marriage was strong and that she gave Steve everything he ever wanted in a wife.
"Is our marriage in trouble?" she asked.
"Don't talk like that. But there's a way to make our marriage ...better..."
Another sting went down her spine.
"What's this trip about?"
"I think there's someone who can help us."
"A marriage counselor?" she asked in surprise.
He paused a moment. "Yes. Something like that. A marriage counselor."
"We aren't doing that bad, are we? I thought...I thought..."
Maureen's voice was getting stuffy and her eyes watered.
"We're not doing bad at all," he replied, trying to reassure her. "I just think we can improve. This is something I've been thinking about for a while."
"Fine. If you think it's for the best."
"Thank you sweetheart. I'm sorry for calling you at work. It's a last minute thing. There was a last minute opening in her schedule and I wanted to take it."
Maureen raised an eyebrow. "Her? The counselor is a woman?"
"Yes."
"What do you know about this person? Why do we need to travel so far?"
"I'll explain it to you later. But she has a unique reputation. And I think it's going to work wonders for us."
"If that's what you want, then fine."
"I'm glad you're open to this. We'll discuss the details tonight."
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye."
The call ended and Maureen was dumbstruck with her phone in hand. A bombshell had been dropped on her and she realized that she would do
whatever
it took to keep her marriage strong.
***
Several days later. Maureen stood in the bedroom folding clothes for the upcoming trip. She knew the weather was going to be hot, so she packed accordingly- tshirts, shorts, sandals, and swimwear which Steve told her to bring since they would be near the beach.
She didn't want to go, not just because it was costing them thousands of dollars, but because there was too much going on with her work. But it was best for their marriage, so she didn't want to fight about it.
What bothered her the most was that Steve was being unusually coy and vague about the marriage counseling. In all their years of marriage, they had always been open about everything. There were never any secrets. There were never any lies. It was why their marriage was so successful.
Until now...
Too much of her time was spent wondering why Steve wanted to see a counselor.
What's wrong with our marriage? I thought everything was fine. I thought everything was perfect between us. Is it the sex? Am I not good enough anymore? Does he want someone else? Is he having an affair?!
The suitcase was almost full. All she needed was the swimsuit. There was an old pair in her closet. She hadn't worn it in years.