Fifth Anniversary Honeymoon Cruise

"Dear Julie,

This has always been a very important day for us and tomorrow was to see us embarking or our long-planned fifth anniversary honeymoon cruise and, perhaps, starting a family. There are no words to tell you how regretful I am that it is not to be. It was just about a month ago that I tearfully said that our marriage was a wonderful thing but you killed it. I find myself every day with my eyes filled with smoke.

Mark"

Those words written on an anniversary card were like a knife driven into Julie's heart. She collapsed on the bed, curling up and sobbing as remorse and sorrow overcame her. It was the final blow to her hope of Mark's continuing love and she just collapsed into a stupor, not even able to think.

There was sex that last night and while Julie's body was involved with it, her mind was somewhere else. She let Henry do what he wanted, but she wasn't participating - her body was but not she. He licked her cunt to get her wet enough to enter, but it wasn't enough. He had her use her mouth to lubricate his cock and he was finally able to penetrate her but she did not, in any significant way, take part. It wasn't like fucking a dead body because she was warm and soft, but she showed about the same level of involvement. It was a very somber end to a week-long cruise.

The following morning was a drear one despite sunshine. There was no happy homecoming awaiting her. She and Henry waited until their disembarking time arrived, entered the vast terminal storage area, found their luggage, went through customs and found the limo waiting for them. It was a long ride home for Julie, dreading what she would find. She opened the door, Henry put her suitcase inside and, with a brief token kiss goodbye, she was alone in an obviously empty house.

She walked through the living toward the kitchen, stopping to look into what had been Mark's office and, as she had feared, found it emptied of all his belongings. That would have been heartbreaking, but that breaking had already been done. Surprisingly, things got even worse when she turned into the kitchen. There on the table she saw a thin pile of papers and beside then a stack of photos with half a dozen others arranged separately.

To her absolute horror, those photos depicted her and Henry in a series of adulterous activities. The two of them nude and engaged in a torrid kiss. Her on her knees with Henry's cock buried in her mouth. Henry performing cunnilingus as she held her legs up and open. Henry on her, her legs over his shoulders with his cock visible and half way into her cunt as he fucked her. The last showing Henry's cock withdrawing from her cunt which was already leaking cum.

Julie almost fainted as she saw this vivid evidence of her adultery. It was so graphic, so explicit - so obscene! Seeing herself in those pictures literally turned her stomach and she almost threw up as she thought of Mark having also seen them. That thought brought another even greater feeling of dismay and revulsion as she suddenly realized that he must, somehow, have taken these photos! Then, even worse, she saw a DVD disc lying there labeled, "The Julie and Henry Show, An X-Rated Cruise." The whole situation was just too shocking for her mind to encompass.

Then, more confusing, how did this stuff get there? She and Henry left the ship, had a limo waiting and drove directly home. How did Mark get all of these things to the house, carefully arrange them and leave before she got there? Actually, the explanation of that was simple. Mark signed up for Express Walk Off and, after breakfast, left the ship at 7:30, carrying his own luggage, quickly cleared customs and was met by Jerry. By the time they got to the house he had been filled in on the happenings of the last week and arrangements were made for a meeting with Jon. Julie and Mark were in the group disembarking at 8:45. Mark even had time for a leisurely walk-through to check that everything he wanted had been moved to his new apartment. No problem!

Julie didn't know those things, of course, but it was, in her mind, just one more mystery which bedeviled her. He couldn't have been on the ship - he was not on the passenger list - yet everything else pointed to him being there. These pictures obviously had been taken in their suite so they had to have been brought here this morning. How? Those questions and a myriad of others tumbled around in her brain, but suddenly her focus moved from those horrendous pictures to the pile of papers beside them. On top of them she suddenly saw a typed message from Mark.

"Dear Julie,

Please believe me when I say that I did not leave those pictures out just to humiliate or embarrass you. I thought that it would be best if we immediately - and graphically - remove any question of what your recent cruise involved. Those actions plus the spiteful and callous cancellation of our own cruise last month explain my turning to divorce and why I expect you to acquiesce in my decision. Since I was completely ignorant of all the legal requirements for divorce, I assume the same is true of you so I will spell out the procedures.

In Pennsylvania there are two major types of divorce. The first is a 'fault' divorce in which the plaintiff (me in our case) has grounds and is, in effect, suing the defendant (you) for the divorce. In this case the grounds would be adultery which, of course, I can prove with the pictures here on the table.

However, I'm sure that we both of would prefer a less acrimonious and confrontational case. The second option is a 'mutual consent' or 'no fault' divorce. The form on the table is that type and was prepared by my lawyer. In addition to that form, we each have to prepare and sign an affidavit in which we declare that our relationship is 'irretrievably broken.' You will find an affidavit that my lawyer has prepared for you to sign. If you want changes in it, please contact him. Otherwise, just sign it and the divorce petition and mail it to him in the envelope he provided. He will take them to the Court of Common Pleas in our region and handle everything without us personally getting involved.

We also need to have an agreement on the distribution of our assets, few as they are. I have paid all of our outstanding bills, including credit cards. I split our checking and savings accounts and kept half. The records of that split are there for you to check. I put your half into our joint checking account, but you need to get an account in your own name and cancel the joint account. You can keep your 401k. My lawyer included a note that our financial arrangements are mutually acceptable. If you agree, please initial the note and put it in the envelope.

I have taken the things - furniture, kitchen stuff, etc. - that I need for my apartment. If I took something that you really want, let my lawyer know and I'll return it. The lease on the house runs to the end of September and you can renew it or find another place by October 1. The rest of the furniture and everything left in the house is yours to keep or dispose of.

I don't think that I have to tell you that I am horribly disappointed the way things have gone for us. I honestly believed that we would have many anniversaries after the fifth one but things don't always work out the way we want. Things just went too far, the gulf between us too wide, to stay together. It was a wonderful nine years with you, especially the last five, and I will always be thankful that we had them.

If you need to send a message to me you can do so through my lawyer. If you wish, we can arrange a meeting, in person or telephone, but I will not initiate it. Regardless, I wish you the absolute best in the future, both in your career and your life.

Mark."

It goes without saying that reading that message led to a new outburst of tears which just didn't want to stop flowing. Julie walked through the house in which they had been so happy. There wasn't a sign of Mark left in it. The movers had taken everything and left the house immaculate but, to Julie, they also had also removed its heart. Without Mark, it was just a shell with Julie lost in it. It was no longer a home.

She was supposed to return to work the following day, but just couldn't do it. She called in and said that something had upset her system. It didn't seem right after missing a full week, but she just couldn't stop breaking into tears occasionally and her hands were actually quivering when she tried to write. She longed to see Mark or, at least, talk to him, but she just didn't have the nerve to do so. Her behavior had been so contemptible and her actions so unforgivable that it seemed that an apology would be meaningless. Finally she was able to compose a short letter to Mark and put it in a separate envelope addressed it to him and put it in the larger envelope with the divorce papers - which she very reluctantly had signed.

"Dearest Mark,

There is no way in which I can apologize for my outlandish behavior during the last several months, much less my adulterous behavior on the cruise. I won't ask you to forgive me because what I have done is really unforgivable. I have no excuse for what I have done and I can't even plead ignorance for my adultery on the cruise. I knew perfectly well what was going to happen but I could see no way out without damaging my career hopes, so I was like Vicky in the Red Shoes, choosing career over love - and I was even worse because she never committed adultery.

I realized that Henry was trying to seduce me and I just didn't have the courage to reject him. On several occasions I went into the office to end things with him, but I just didn't. After the night that I was so indescribably cruel and heartless about cancelling our cruise I was determined the next day to refuse to go on the cruise even if it hurt my chances for promotion, but I chickened out again. After that I was lost.

In any case, I have no intention to ask you forgiveness or to besiege you with pleas to come home. The thing that makes it all worse is that I am the sole cause of killing our marriage and I never will forgive myself, much less asking you to do so. When I look at those pictures I accept that there is no way to salvage our marriage. I have signed the papers and will mail them to your lawyer tomorrow morning.

It may be hard to believe that I still love you from the bottom of my heart and I'm sure that that will never change. You gave me a marriage filled with companionship and love and I perversely killed it. I pray that your next wife gives you the life you deserve.

With deepest love and regret,

Julie."

By Tuesday, she had settled down enough to go to work and found a peculiar atmosphere prevailing. Happily, she was greeted by the staff members with no arched eyebrows or knowing looks. It appeared that her attendance at the cruise conference was seen as just that, not an adulterous tryst. Actually, Julie, unlike Henry, had attended enough meetings and seminars that such a belief was plausible. Of course, there were some comments about what her behavior probably was, but that was harmless teasing.

The real change was in Henry. Julie had wondered what their relationship would be like after returning and she had absolutely no interest in it being sexual. She feared that he might have different ideas, but, instead, he had no conversation with her that was not business related. In addition, he was very tense and short with her and everyone else. Apparently, during the week that they had been gone on the cruise, several officials in different departments had been called into the office of the CEO and decided to accept early retirement or to "resign to seek other opportunities."

Later that afternoon, just before the work day ended, Henry received a message requiring him to join a meeting with the CEO, Sidney Ballard, and members of the board. That was the last time that Julie ever saw Henry Johnstone. The following morning she was called into the office of a new senior vice president who informed her that Mr. Johnstone had joined those other executives who sought those other opportunities and no longer were employees of the bank, i.e. he had been fired!

Julie heard this with dismay, not because of concern for Henry but because she expected to share his fate just as she had shared his bed on the cruise. To her amazement, she was informed that investigations had indicated that she had been virtually running her division as administrative assistant before the cruise. With Mr. Johnstone no longer with them, she would replace him on a probationary basis. It was an awkward position since the head of the asset management division usually was a junior vice president, but she was both too young and inexperienced for a promotion to that rank. She would, however, get a substantial raise immediately and title determined in six months.

Julie had entered the office fearing that she would be fired and came out with a raise and a promotion, even if without the elevated title. She has a sudden surge of gratitude toward Henry for, whatever his motive, he had moved her above more experienced employees. He had, again regardless of his motive, mentored her and gave her the opportunity to prove herself - which she had. However, she guiltily admitted to herself that she was glad that he was gone. She no longer had the problem about his sexual expectations toward her and she had just been given a tremendous boost up the ladder in her career.

She walked out of the office on top of the world, happy with a rosy future open before her. It is startling how quickly euphoria can turn to sorrow! Her first thought as the door closed behind her was, "This is so wonderful! I can't wait to tell Mark!" The thought had barely formed in her mind when reality bore down on her. Mark was gone! The person who always had been there, supporting her, encouraging her and cheering her accomplishments was gone. Others would congratulate her, be happy for her and she would be proud of herself again, but it never would be the same.

Speaking of Mark, he had been well aware of the firings - which is what they actually were - the day after his return. Monday morning he met with his lawyer, Jon Scribner, and got the news. "I told you that we might be able to have everything cleared up before you got back, and we did so. As you know, Jerry had his people working on the case and had no trouble getting the evidence needed. I'll tell you, I find it hard to believe that intelligent men can be so stupid about emails these days! Jerry ended up with over a hundred emails where these clowns described what they did and the women they did it to - bragging. Idiots!

He grinned conspiratorially as he continued, "Of course, I have no idea as to how they got those emails and they certainly couldn't have been used in a court case, but they damn sure exposed what was going on when I privately showed them to the CEO, Sidney Ballard. He was absolutely livid! In addition to that evidence, Jerry was able to get the names of almost twenty women who were seduced to keep their jobs or receive promotions. There were seven men involved in these seductions, five very seriously. Four of the five have been fired and Johnstone will be today or tomorrow. The other two were demoted.

"You'll be pleased that your wife's job is secure and, in fact, she'll probably be promoted with a raise in salary since she apparently was very good. They even found an email in which Johnstone admitted that after a few months she knew more than he did about asset management. Ballard guaranteed that she would be treated fairly and her name would not be included in any discussion of the sex scandal. Unfortunately, the other women who were named are to receive financial compensation but, since her name is not on the list, she will not."

"Well, her salary is pretty high and, with a raise, certainly is more than enough for a single person to live well."

"What are you going to do about the divorce?"

"I left the divorce form and the other things on the table in the house with a note asking her to sign them and return them to you. I also told her that, if necessary, to communicate with me through you. If she really wants to talk to me, just give her my cell number. What I'll do next I really don't know. When she went on that cruise I went along to get explicit evidence of her adultery and I certainly got that. On the other hand, I saw behavior that proved that this was anything but a love affair and that Johnstone actually had seduced her and that her remorse was genuine. I know that I still love her and, after what I heard her say, she loves me as much as ever.

"When I came to see you the first time it was the result of some totally reprehensible things she said and the total lack of respect she showed for me. I saw no way I could accept them and stay with her. Those things basically came from her obsessive desire for career success. When not thinking of advancement and Henry Johnstone, she was the same loving person she always had been. Then she would turn into what I called her queen bitch persona. It may very well be that being back in her business environment will resurrect the almost manic, aggressive desire to move up at any cost. That may prove to be the real Julie. If so, that divorce will go through.

"If, on the other hand, the normally hard working but not obsessive Julie, the one who I knew and loved for years, is resuscitated, it most likely will change things. I still have the images of her with Johnstone my mind, and I don't know if I can expunge them form my memories - or, at least, cause them to fade. However, those physical actions are far less important than respect and love and she demonstrated those things for me on the cruise. Regardless, I am not going to act one way or the other until I see how things develop. When you get the divorce forms from her, just hold them. Sooner or later I have to decide on my future with or without her. When she left on the cruise, 'without' seemed certain. I'm surprised, but 'with' is now is a real possibility.

**************************************************************

Almost a full year later it was August again. Julie was sitting at her desk trying to decide whether to go to the library for a little research on a paper she was finishing or, instead, to just go home. Home was winning out when the phone rang. "Hi Judie, it's Margaret.

"Yes, I can see that."

"Oh yeah, I guess caller ID does work, doesn't it. Anyway, I know that you are about to leave, but I've got a problem. I'm at Chauncey's with a possible big time donor and I just got a call from my baby sitter. My daughter fell down and hurt her leg and I have to get home. The guy says that he can come back another day, but I hate to let a live one get away without telling him more about our organization. I hate to ask, but could you come over and give him some background on our program, at least the money side of it?"

"Ok, Margaret, I guess I can spare a few minutes, but you owe me!"

"Wonderful! I'll introduce you and hurry home and you can tell him why we are worth lots of money!"

Five minutes later Julie walked into Chauncey's and saw Margaret sitting at a table talking to a man. Seeing Julie coming toward her, Margaret stood up, saying, "Oh good, here's our financial expert now! The man stood up and turned around, hesitated for a moment and said, simply, "Hello, Julie, this is a surprise."

"Hello Mark, it's been a long time." Julie's eyes filled with unshed tears but she managed to get control of herself before Margaret noticed.

"I gather that you two know each other."

"Yes, Margaret, this is my hus...ex-husband. You hurry on home and check on your daughter. I can tell Mark what he needs to know."

When Margaret was gone, they sat down and just looked at each other without speaking. Finally, Mark broke the awkward silence, saying, "You're looking good Julie."