John and Maggie Bernhart were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Their children had organized a big event in the hall attached to the town's community center. John and Maggie were "good people," and this was a small town so the turnout was large. All afternoon and evening John and Maggie had been congratulated on their long marriage. Many of the well wishers wanted to know the "secret of their success." Every time this happened John and Maggie would look at one another and smile with both their eyes and their mouths. One of them would then reply, "we worked hard to keep it interesting." The inquisitors would probe deeper but never did John or Maggie elaborate. Soon enough the next person or couple would want to congratulate John and Maggie and their last well wisher would move on, further convinced this couple had a closely guarded magic formula that clearly kept them enthralled with one another.
Not that John and Maggie's story was "special." They had first met in kindergarten. Maggie had given John his first kiss in grade 8 and John had reciprocated by being the first person to kiss Maggie. When they were both 16, they have given one another their virginity. Not one of those fumbling around in the back seat of a car anticlimactic first times. No, it was in bed with plenty of time to savor the moment and make it great.
Marriage had followed and soon enough they were a family of 5. John had a good job at the factory in town and Maggie had run a stay-at-home daycare. They had had their ups and downs, John broke his leg, Maggie was in a bad car accident, but they were happy together. The secret to that happiness that they would not share with anyone was what they called "the game."
When either John or Maggie thought their sex was getting stale or they weren't connecting in their marriage they would say to the other, "things are getting boring, I need to go see what I can find elsewhere." The other person would then have to organize a babysitter for the next Friday or Saturday night. They would go to a bar and the "bored" person would dress to not attract and shoot down any companionship attempts. The other person would dress for success and be on "the prowl." Once the "bored" person was sufficiently wound up from watching their spouse be the subject of attention they would find a way to end the seduction. By that time John and Maggie would be so fired up from their "game" they couldn't wait to get home and the sex would be dynamite that night and for weeks to follow.
