This is a stand-alone story. You do not have to read any of my other 'Cheating Wife' stories to understand this one. However, many of you won't like this posting, and I get that. I wish I could convince you in advance not to read it, but that is a fool's errand. You'll read this, and it'll have impact -- large or small -- and you'll own that. I'm OK with that; I hope you are too.
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My tale begins with acceptance, and the unintended consequences of acceptance.
I married a wonderful man, former military, who desired to provide for his family. My husband married a vivacious woman, an unemployed artist, who longed to bring passion and excitement into the world. There were many overlaps in our dreams, but the overlap was not complete.
Our major conflict arose out of minor events: my husband preferred routine, and I rebelled against it. He preferred meals and events -- including lovemaking -- to occur at a specific, and agreed upon, time. I wanted spontaneity, and variation, in my life. We fought over this frequently, until one day he made a compelling request.
"Sweetheart, I don't care how you do it, but you have to find enjoyment in routine."
"I don't think I can, I find it boring. Seriously -- it's fucking boring!"
"I know you feel that way, but that's only is because you are thinking about it too narrowly! We make love three times a week -- Tues, Thurs, and Sat -- but each time isn't the same. I don't think you can say that our love life is boring, and I doubt your friends are more active!"
He had a point, and a lesson. Firstly, he was right -- our lovemaking was wonderful and interesting -- so routine was not a problem there. Secondly, routine is what you make of it -- I hadn't realized that our love life was so scheduled! β¨β¨I had no choice but to concede.
"You make a great point, really, what can I do?"
"All I want is that you develop your own routine, find joy in it, and let it play out! I think it will be good for you as an individual, and great for us as a couple."
"If that's all you want, I can try it."
"That is definitely what I want."
And with that he gave me a kiss on the forehead, and the discussion was over. Anyway, it was close to bedtime -- 10:30 -- so there wasn't much else to discuss. Frankly, I wish it had been a Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday, because I could have used a good fucking to take my mind off the topic.
But it was Monday, so I went to bed -- not to sleep -- with my husband's perspective on my mind: "develop your own routine, find joy in it, and let it play out!" I tried to imagine what that meant as I fell asleep.
He was correct in that I needed a schedule for creating art, and that the schedule needed to compensate for us -- for meals, for 'connecting', and for love. And in honesty, he wasn't asking much, given what he was offering. He kept us well fed, and our apartment is lovely. He was taking excellent care of me!
If I could contribute -- emotionally or financially -- it would make his life better. I focused on the first, and hoped for the latter. By finding my own routine I could help his.
And his routine was strict! Not only was our physical love scheduled, so was preparing for a successful week (for example pressed suits, nutritious lunches, etc.). We prepared meals the night before, we knew what we were going to wear, we even know the path we would take to work.
My path was short; his was much longer. I worked -- or rather I created art -- from home. Once he ate breakfast in the morning (at exactly 6:50AM), he would leave the apartment (at 7:10). Because he considered it best to combine location with exercise, he chose to walk down sixteen flights of stairs. I waved from him each morning from our window when he emerged on the street (after ~5 minutes, at 7:15) and again, still from our window, as he turned the corner down the road (~10 minutes, at 7:25).
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A routine found me, and I submitted to it.
I won't bore you with specific details of how we met, and how the relationship started. The short story is that I was both surprised and delighted that a model lived so close, and that he worked so inexpensively. Given the time we have spent together, it is surprising that I still only have a partially finished charcoal drawing of him. But that is a story for another day, if there is any interest.
What is of interest for this posting, is that my model made me appreciate routine, and in that understand my husband's perspective. Routine became my master, and as a result my husband and I got along much better. As an example of my routine, I'll explain this morning.
The alarm whet off at exactly 6:00. My husband turned it off, woke me gently, and went to make coffee. I stumbled into the bathroom for a quick shower, when I reemerged into the bedroom, hot coffee was waiting for me. My husband then kissed me on the forehead, left me with my coffee, and headed to the shower.
He showered while I selected my morning attire. I chose to wear one of his 'wife beaters', which I find hugs my body well. At 5'6" and about 120 lbs, I can wear his clothes, although most fit me loosely. My nipples are pale, so although hard, their color did not protrude from the tank top. To match color, I put on a white thong, although I would have preferred to leave it off.