My wife Jesse and I had just completed an intense love making session as her head laid on my chest, toying with my chest hair. Sex between us had been pretty good for the last few weeks.
"I've met someone," she said.
"So, you want a divorce," was my immediate response as I got out of bed.
She was sitting up, those beautiful tits exposed, "I was hoping we could come to a different arrangement. Talk to me Jack."
I was busy shoving clothes in a suitcase, enough stuff for a week and grabbed my toiletry kit I carried on my business trips and vacation.
"In the morning I'll contact an attorney and I suggest you do the same."
"Just forget it Jack, forget I said anything and come back to bed."
"No Jesse, after standing by your side the last two years, you throw that shit at me. Absolutely fucking not!" And I left.
Two years ago, Jesse was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She was only in her twenties. The hysterectomy removed her baby factory, the chemo removed her hair and the hormone imbalance put her in bitch mode. Six months ago, things started to return to normal as the irrational outburst subsided.
But there was a period during the first year that I thought I was losing my mind and Jesse had lost hers. The counselor I went to helped, I was really hoping for good drugs but he pointed out that all of Jesse's dreams had been shattered and nothing was safe in her world. Jesse would be constantly testing me to see if she could count on me. Part of it is also hormonal, the surgery will fuck with her hormones and it will take time for doctors to find the right hormone replacement therapy. I could leave her of course but the world would despise me. I really didn't need the end piece but it was true.
After checking in to a cheap hotel, I emailed my boss and admin to say I needed a few days off. I felt bad since my boss was very lenient with me as I dealt with Jesse's cancer.
It seemed every fifteen minutes, a different Jesse would text me that night and into the next day. Several messages said she was just testing me, to see if I was still committed to her since she couldn't have children. Seconds later she wanted to know why I was so opposed to opening our marriage. And mixed between all of that shit were her apologies.
In my mind, how could I trust that she was really taking the open marriage off the table or would she just go behind my back and fuck the guy anyway. Our sex life had been great recently, was it because she was fantasizing about the guy she had met.
That Monday, I found a lawyer, cancelled our joint credit cards and opened a separate bank account. There were no surprises when I met the lawyer, Jesse made more than me and we had few assets. We had been living in an apartment while we struggled through her cancer treatments.
In the evening, I sent Jesse a text message giving her my attorneys name and number and what I did with the credit cards.
Her response shocked me, "Is the poor baby happy with what he did today? Is your little male ego feeling better? Knock this stupid shit off and come home, I said I was sorry."
Did she realize her response would have the opposite affect from getting me to come home. I typed a dozen responses and settled on, "at least now I'll have an opportunity to find someone who can give me children."
But I couldn't be that mean, I deleted it and instead said: "after all we've been through, how hard I worked to show you how much I loved you, it was so disappointing to read those words. I'm not going to put up with that. I'm blocking you, get and attorney and we can communicate through them."
My admin called me the next day, she had gone to the bathroom and when she came back she found a very upset Jesse sitting in my office. My admin Sheryl had worked for me for at least five years. She was old enough to be my mother. Her favorite line was, "I love you like you were one of my sons and I don't hesitate to slap them when they do stupid shit, so don't do stupid shit."
Sheryl asked me to explain what was going on, she already knew of my struggles through Jesse's cancer, so I only needed to talk about the last 48 hours. It actually felt good to vent to her and I was expecting a tongue lashing.
Instead, she said, "I would have done the same thing Jack but maybe it is one of those tests your counselor use to talk about. Either way, it may be best to go see him again. I'm going to talk to Jesse, we can't have her camping in your office and the only alternative is to have her arrested for trespassing unless she leaves on her own."
Sheryl called me back an hour later, "I got her to leave Jack, that's the good news. But the whole time we talked I felt like I was talking to three different people, even her mannerisms changed. One Jesse was deeply apologetic, telling me it was just a random thought and she wanted your opinion. She hadn't really thought it through and could understand your reaction. You have been her rock for more than the last two years and she needed you back."
"Then her expression change and she started calling you a neanderthal and what was wrong with having sex with others as long as we maintained your commitment to each other. She was spouting some Cosmo psychobabble that didn't make any sense and was generally incoherent. The theme of male ego was frequently mentioned."
"At the end she said, 'I don't need his bullshit anyway, I can have a much better sex life without him,' and she stormed out of your office. You should contact her doctor."
A call to her doctor went to his answering service. He called me back an hour later. I did my best to describe Jesse's behavior but I did not feel he was getting my point. Finally, he said he was going to try and get her to come in. I asked if he could keep me updated and he said that would violate HIPA laws.
I was left with worry for the woman I loved competing with the feeling I had enough. But I unblocked Jesse and asked her to go see her doctor. She replied back saying she was fine.
Jesse sent me a text two days later, telling me she had a lawyer and that she moved out of the apartment. It was too small for her and too many bad memories so I could move back in.
My lawyer confirmed that he had talked to Jesse's lawyer and things should move rather quickly. I was at a lost how I felt about that.
A month later, Jesse demanded counseling out of the blue. My lawyer advised that I smile and to at least pretend to participate. Three weeks later, Jesse and I were sitting in the counselor's office. It was the first time I saw her since the night she said she met someone.
Jesse dominated the first session, the counselor asked what she hoped to get out of counseling, Jesse went on what sounded like a prepared speech how she said a random thought out loud and she was sorry for the hurt she caused. Then she went into a detailed discussion about her cancer, losing her ability to have children and how much I had been her rock, even when she was mean to me. There were a lot of tears mixed in and I found myself holding her hand as I had did so many times during her treatment. The counselor saw me holding her hand and smiled. I wanted to say wait lady, you haven't been on this roller coaster long enough yet.
The following week, a different Jesse showed up. This one was spouting her new age bull shit calling me a cave man and trying to dominate his woman, not giving her a chance to breathe. This was a little different than her Cosmo bull shit she had spouted before and it went on longer. The counselor started agreeing with her especially when Jesse said she almost died and realized she had missed out on so much of life. The counselor turned to me and asked me what I thought.
"Let me begin by saying your impartiality left the building about 15 minutes ago. I have never come close to death so I can't really say I know how Jesse feels. But that being said, why fight the divorce? Let's go our separate ways and she can sample all of life she may have missed out on. I have never tried to dominate her, she wants to experience new things and I'm opening the door for her."
"Why is divorce the solution for you Jack," the counselor asked?
"Jesse has a view of the life she wants to live, so do I. Those views are not congruent."
"But you're not open to compromise?"
"In some areas I am not, in others I am. I remained faithful and in love with Jesse even when it became apparent that she couldn't give me the children I always wanted."
Jesse went running out of the counselor's office on that remark.
"That was uncalled for Jack."
"You have no idea what you're talking about. I lived in hell for two years holding Jesse up, being the loving husband as her hormone imbalances sent her in every direction possible. I spent many hours with my own counselor trying to hold onto my sanity. He told me that Jesse was testing me to see if she could really count on me. One day at a time he kept saying, you know how many days there are in two years, a fucking lot. And after all of that I'm rewarded with her request to open our marriage. I'm sorry if you think that was uncalled for but it's time for me to get off the Jesse train."
I got up and left her office.
Shortly after the time Jesse camped out in my office, a young woman began spending a lot of time near my office, never passing a chance to engage me in conversation. I think she had a camera in my office because she always knew when I was getting coffee or heading to the cafeteria for lunch. She would ask if she could sit with me during lunch. Her name was Jill and she was very timid but our conversations were pleasant. It was an enjoyable break from Jesse's crazy train.