A Second Chance at Love

I remember someone commenting that they wanted a story about a husband who fights to save his marriage. That inspired this story.

Totally blindsided.

Maybe I was lulled into a false sense of security since our marriage had settled into a groove. That is what happens when you have been married for many years. Routines get set and you just go with the flow.

Dorothy was a details person. I was an ideas person. I might suggest an action but she was the one who followed through. I earned the money and she handled the finances. I thought the division of labour was perfect.

Life had become a ritual, get up, shower, shave, go to work, come home late and exhausted, watch something on tv, fall asleep, wake up around midnight and go to bed, rinse and repeat. It was a ritual that was comfortable for me.

It was 9 pm on a hot Friday night in August. It had been a tough week at the office and I was happy to finally come home.

Dorothy wasn't home and her car was gone. I figured she had gone shopping and would be back soon. Two hours later I was getting concerned. It was unusual for her to be out this late. I called her mobile number but she must have switched it off. I left a quick message saying I was checking in with her. Three hours, and it was midnight, still no Dorothy.

I called a couple of her friends who said they hadn't seen her today.

I called the police to advise that she was missing. I gave them the plate number. Since it was 1 am they said they would keep an eye out for the car.

I was pacing around the house, I couldn't relax. Finally I decided I needed to get some sleep. When I opened the closet door I couldn't help but notice that a some of Dorothy's clothes were missing. When I went to lie down I noticed a note pinned to my pillow.

A shiver of crawled up my spine, I didn't want to see what was in that note, but I knew I had to read it.

Dennis,

I am going to be away for a few days. I will be back by Sunday evening. I am sorry I wasn't brave enough to tell you in person. I am going to be meeting a friend.

I know you have questions, but they will have to wait till Sunday. My phone is turned off so I will be off the grid. See you Sunday evening.

Love Dorothy

A friend, boyfriend or girlfriend? A friend with benefits? I couldn't imagine a less likely person to have an affair than my wife. Why was she afraid to tell me about this weekend trip if it wasn't an affair.

Dorothy was an attractive woman but she was no beauty queen. She was a middle aged woman, not a young hot wife. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions. Maybe she was away for a shopping weekend with a buddy. Who was I kidding, this had to be cheating.

I didn't advise the police about the note. I probably should have but if they spotted our car I might get a location. I got lucky.

At 8 am the police called to say that the car had been found in a parking garage in a city about an hour's drive from our home. There was only one hotel in the area but my wife wasn't registered, not in her own name anyway. I got the address and checked it on Google Maps street view. It was right across from a big hotel, how convenient.

I got into my car and drove to the parking garage. Sure enough, there was our car. The only course of action I could think of was to find a good spot to watch the comings and goings at the hotel.

It was just before 1 pm that I spotted her entering the dining room, alone. That filled me with hope and like a drowning man I held that hope like a lifeline. I gave her some time to get settled then I strolled in and saw her sitting at a table. She was with a man, a young guy, at least ten years her junior. They were laughing at something. She looked great. She seldom wore makeup but she had just enough to highlight her assets. She wore a dress I hadn't seen before. She looked wonderful in that dress. She reached out and held his hand as they spoke to each other.

I was asked if I would like a table and I said yes. There was a table that was out of her line of sight but I could see her back and his face. I didn't recognize him. I was too far away to hear their conversation.

I ordered something that I could eat quickly so I could leave if I needed to follow them. I clandestinely took some photos of them together just in case I needed proof. If she was indeed having an affair then I would divorce her. The thought of that brought a tear to my eye. How could she do this?

They laughed and talked through lunch. They got up and left the table. I walked by their table because I saw a copy of the bill which gave me a room number.

I followed them at a distance. They held hands as they walked. She hadn't held my hand in years. I got a few photos from a safe distance.

They stopped in front of the elevators. He turned to her and they embraced. He kissed her. She responded in a way that took my breath away. God, she hasn't kissed me like that since our damn honeymoon! I took another long distance shot. The elevator opened and the two stepped in, arms around each other. The doors closed, so did my hopes and dreams.

I couldn't follow them to the room. I knew the room number. Could I knock on the door and ask to speak to my wife? Should I? Unless they were just meeting up today they would have already had sex last night. That didn't matter to me. I had to intervene. I stood at the door and knocked.

I turned my head in case my wife looked through the peephole. I then realized she knew me from that angle too! He was the one who opened the door.

"Excuse me, I would like to speak to Mrs Dorothy Douglas please."

"Who are you?" He asked cautiously.

"Tell her it is alright, and not to worry it is just her husband."

"Dennis? NOOOOO!" She cried out.

"Yes dear, it's me. I called from the hallway. I will wait downstairs in the dining room for you. we desperately need to talk. I will give you fifteen minutes to put yourself together. Any later than that and I won't be there and these will be our last words."

I turned on my heel and strode back to the elevator. My face burned with boiling blood. Now I was second guessing myself. Maybe I should have let it play out. Well, the fox is in the hen house now so no going back.

I got a table at the back of the dining room asking for the most private table. I sat there sweating, burning with anger, rage, embarrassment and shame. How did I ever let things get this bad without any warning?

It was ten minutes before she showed up with the boyfriend.

"I don't care who you are, I just need you to leave my wife and I to talk."

Her boyfriend replied, "She asked me to stay. She is afraid of how you will react."

"Dorothy, if you fear me that much then our marriage is truly over. I am upset and I want answers but you know I would never hurt you. Tell this boyfriend of yours to leave or I leave."

"Go upstairs. I will be alright. He won't hurt me." She gave him a smile. He stood up, gave me a withering look and left."

"Dennis, how did you find me? Why did you come here?"

"I didn't see your note till I went to bed Friday night. By then I had panicked and called the police. Saturday morning they called giving me the car location. The hotel being right opposite was a dead giveaway. I saw you two at lunch, laughing and flirting with each other, it made me feel sick. you wore a new dress for him, you made yourself up for him. I saw you holding hands. I saw the passionate kisses."

I had to pause. I had more to say but I was so emotional I couldn't catch my breath.

"I had to decide whether to let you have your fun and confront you later with evidence or intervene and stop it now. I went with option two."

"Dennis I am so sorry, I should never have let it get this far. I was so lonely."

"Lonely, how the fuck were you lonely? If I wasn't at work I was at home with you."

"Physically you were there, but most nights you barely spoke a word to me. You were emotionally unavailable. Every day was the same thing. We stopped cuddling. We stopped holding hands. We stopped passionate kissing and we stopped making love. Oh there was the odd time, once in a blue moon but even that was unfulfilling. I wasn't a wife to you I was a room mate."

"It is the nature of a long term marriage. Nobody can keep up honeymoon level intimacy."

"But we never tried to regain any of what we lost. My...friend and I met at my weekly group session. He was warm, kind, talkative and he took an interest in me. After group we would go for coffee and chat. Occasionally we skipped coffee and went for a cocktail or two. It was fun and flattering to have a younger, handsome man interested in being around me.

Sometimes a favourite tune would come on and we would dance to it. He would hold me in his arms and it felt so good. You hadn't done that in ages. One time during a dance he kissed my neck. I felt tingles Dennis. Then he kissed my lips."

"Do I have to listen to this Dorothy?"

"Yes you do. You need to hear it. Eventually he suggested a weekend away together. I told him no, that I wouldn't cheat on you. you may remember I suggested we rent your friend's cottage at the lake for a little get away? That was my last ditch attempt to revitalize our relationship. I wanted that so badly because I was so fucking tempted to go to my boyfriend. I was trying so hard but you turned me down. You were too busy, too tired, I held off for months but eventually I weakened."

I was silent. I was at a loss for words because I could now see that was not the only time she had tried to revive things between us. I had ignored all of them.

"I left Friday afternoon and checked in at the hotel under an assumed name. I was full of doubts but I was excited for the adventure and yes, the risk. If it makes you feel any better Dennis he didn't get to the hotel till late this morning. We spent maybe thirty minutes together, no we didn't have intercourse. he went to the dining room to get the best table for lunch and I redid my makeup and joined him in the dining room. You know the rest."

"Dorothy, was I that bad a husband to you that you wanted to replace me?"

"No, you have been a good provider, but you are so emotionally unavailable. It was sucking the life out of me! That man who is waiting upstairs is offering me part of my life back. I felt like a sexy, desirable woman with him, not the dull middle aged housewife you have made me feel like."

"Got it. Boyfriend is hot and sexy, your husband boring and not giving you what you deserve. So is that all my fault Dorothy? You haven't exactly been a model of clear communications have you? When did you ever tell me you were dissatisfied? When did you ever ask me to make love to you? The answer is never. Today you tell me that the cottage trip was a last ditch effort. Why in the hell didn't you communicate that plainly? If I had even the vaguest impression you were considering having an affair we could have addressed things!"

"So Dennis, I apologize for this. I know this has hurt you. You are right, I haven't been very communicative but the reason is that you shut me out. I want you to know that he and I had never had a physical affair but I was willing to do that today. Your intervention kept me from giving myself to him. I don't know whether to thank you for saving my virtue or hate you for spoiling something exciting. I am really lost here Dennis."

I was lost too. I wanted to both hug and comfort her as well as leave her here.

She had spoken the truth. What I had considered to be a good, albeit quiet and maybe boring marriage had become a prison for her. This affair was a last ditch, desperate action on her part to put some meaning back into her life.

"Dorothy, I am sorry I have been such a bore to you. I do love you. I have not so much ignored your pleas for a more meaningful relationship as I have simply not heard those pleas. For fuck sake if you thought I was disrespecting you why didn't you say something. I can be pretty dense sometimes. I have often joked about needing a 2x4 upside my head to make me aware of things. I guess this your version of that 2x4."

"I guess the real question is whether we can stay together or do we separate. I mean, you were ready, willing and able to make love with your boyfriend. I'm willing to bet you already had your dress off when I knocked on the door."

She blushed deep red, which told me I was absolutely right.

"You have hurt me more than you know. I don't know if we can recover any kind of relationship after this. Even if we tried and went into counselling it will be difficult. Divorce would be like giving up and giving away all those years together. But then again those were not good years for you were they? Maybe divorce is the best option for you, You could have a chance at a new and exciting commitment to your boyfriend. Oh for goodness sake Dorothy, tell me his first name so I don't have to keep referring to him as boyfriend!"

"Ed, his name is Ed."

"Is it Ed that you want so desperately or do want me to be more like Ed? I am on the fence right now. I love you enough to stay and work at saving our marriage. I also love you enough to give you the freedom to seek out your better life with Ed and give you a divorce. Your intentions today were to give Ed your body and your soul today in that hotel room. Whether you carried through with the deed is irrelevant in my mind. You may have had good reasons in your estimation but it was cheating none the less. I am going to leave you here with Ed. Stay with him or come home to me. The choice is yours but I warn you, the path to full reconciliation will likely be hard."

We both stood. I turned to leave but she grabbed my sleeve. She pulled me into a tight hug. She felt so good in my arms. I kissed her and she returned the kiss. In that kiss I could sense her brokenness, her loss and desperation. I broke the kiss and walked away.

One hour later I was home. It was the longest, loneliest hour long drive I have ever had. Part of me wanted to make her feel the hurt, punish her for her indiscretion. There was an equal part of me that wanted to reach out and heal what was broken between us. Part of me blamed her and her runaway libido and part of me blamed myself for the lack of attention and detachment I had subjected her to for so long. Yes, she had an emotional affair but damn it I was the cause. I had practically driven her away albeit unknowingly.

She got home an hour after me. I figured it would take her half an hour to pack up and get to the car and that also meant almost a half hour talk with Ed. The fact that she came home to me was a positive sign that she wanted to reconcile.

She took her luggage into the bedroom and left it there. Maybe another good sign. She returned to the kitchen where I sat with a coffee. I poured her one and we sat across the table from each other. We sat together in silence. Each of us unsure of the road we were about to embark on. I broke the silence with a question.

"What did you tell Ed?"

"I told him that my agreeing to spend this weekend with him was a huge error in judgement. I told him that I was still in love with you and that I was going home to be with you. He asked me how I could do that after you had told him how you neglected me. I told him that my husband cared enough about my wellbeing that he called the police when he thought I was missing. My husband cared enough to drop everything and drive an hour to search for me. Dennis showed me how much he cared by knocking on the hotel door to stop me from betraying him with you. That took guts. Ed, are younger, fitter and stronger, yet he risked his safety to protect me and my honour. He loved me enough to give me the option of walking away from my marriage to him. He gave me the option of coming back to this room and fucking you, the way you expected, but I can't.

I chose to come home to you Dennis because you love me enough to let me decide for myself. Ed was upset of course. He left me there in the room, no hug, no kiss, he just left."

"Dorothy, I am deeply sorry for taking you for granted, for ignoring your needs, for disrespecting you. Trusting you after this business is going to be very hard but I pledge I will show you the affection I have for you. If you want counselling I will participate. I never want you to feel that you need someone else to fill an emotional void in our marriage."

"That is all I ever wanted Dennis. I love you."

"I love you too."

Counselling was set up and we both participated wholeheartedly. We didn't need to be told that our communication skills sucked. We were given tools to improve them and methods to determine outstanding issues before they became crises. Things were going so well that I rented a cabin by the lake and we spent the weekend with no mobile phones, no television, just some old records and tapes to listen to. We talked and talked about everything under the sun. We laughed until we cried sometimes. We made love the night we got there. It was a joyful coupling, both familiar yet different. It was intentional lovemaking not casual, not a duty but a pleasure. We each wanted the other to receive the most pleasure possible. It was lovemaking like we hadn't experienced in years.

The following day we were sunning ourselves on the deck. I took the sunscreen lotion and began massaging it into Dorothy's back. I untied the string of her bikini top to make sure she has well protected. The feeling of her skin under my hands started to excite me. I put lotion on my hands and ran them down her sides, my hands brushed against the side of her breasts. I worked the sunscreen into her legs and thighs. Her bikini bottoms tied on either side so I untied them and pulled the bottom off. I massaged her ass with the lotion. She just moaned and wiggled. My hand found its way between her legs and I massaged there.

"Oh Dennis, that feels wonderful. I want to feel your fingers inside me and on my clit but I need you to wipe off the sunscreen in your hand first."

Ever practical, my Dorothy, the sunscreen would have stung her. I didn't need to worry about lubricants because she was producing plenty. I pleasured her to an orgasm. She rolled over, completely nude on the lawn chaise.

"Now do me on this side. Then please just do me!"

That afternoon was absolute bliss. I wondered how on earth I had ever taken this vibrant and sexy woman for granted. We discovered that we both enjoyed fucking outdoors. How had I not discovered that before?

We took several weekends away. Cottaging, camping, visiting quaint towns and vibrant cities. After six months of this we both agreed that reconciling was the absolute best thing for us. We found a new and deeper love for each other. Sometimes a challenge forces us to change. Thank God it changed us for the better.