The door slammed behind him as he left and the sound of their shouting voices was replaced with the cry of the baby. Susan went upstairs and settled her, soothing her back to sleep, before returning to the empty room downstairs.
She sat in the half-light, tears trickling down her cheeks as she relived their latest argument. It seemed that every day of the two months since Amy's birth had included an argument or tension between herself and Pete. Never about the same thing, but usually ending in a shouting match and more recently with him storming out of the house to the local pub. Life should be so much better she thought, particularly following the birth of the baby they both had so much wanted.
Things had been so good in the past she thought and in her mind recalled the happy times of their past.
Susan had always been a quiet and shy girl right through her teenage years and into her early twenties. She had a few close friends but her shyness tended to scare off potential boyfriends in her younger years. Her friends assured her she was pretty but she rarely had the courage to accept the offer of a date with a boy or to get up to the intimacies that some of her friends confided in her about.
She was past her nineteenth birthday before she actually dated a guy. She smiled as she reminisced. Andy, she recalled, gentle and understanding. The poor guy had to wait until their fourth date before she let him kiss her. After six dates he hadn't called her again - she could hardly blame him.
When she turned twenty she realised that it was time to grow up and behave like a more normal girl. This was partly due to the fact that with all her friends dating she was spending more and more nights at home alone. It was at her friend Jenny's 21st party that she drank more than she normally would and let herself accept an offer to dance with Jenny's older brother Jim. When they had danced for a bit and Jim led her to a chair in a dark corner she let him kiss her passionately, enjoying his roughness and probing tongue. When he whispered to her to come upstairs to his room something inside her told her that it was something she needed to do to overcome her inhibitions.
In Jim's room, with the lights still off, they kissed deeply and she felt a thrill of anticipation when his hand fondled her breasts through her sweater. She hadn't thought ahead to how far things would go but she had, when dressing for the party made up her mind that it was time that she shared her 36c breasts with a man. Her nipples hardened and Jim sat back, both hands massaging her as he looked into her face. She blushed, unsure of the next move then watched his face as he began to pull the sweater over her head. Once her top was off his fingers fumbled with the clasp at the front of her bra before it opened and his cool hands moved on to her naked breasts. She lay back as he explored and caressed them, kissing her lips and then her white breasts in turn.
She was aware of his excitement pressing against her leg as he fondled her, conscious of him rubbing against her. Tentatively she reached down to feel his hardness through his pants. He felt big and swollen and he pushed urgently against her hand as sucked at her breasts. Then he moaned deeply and Susan was aware of a warmth and wetness against her hand. It took her a few moments to realise that he had come in his pants. He was embarrassed, as was she, and while he cleaned up and changed his pants she dressed herself. They returned to the party and to her relief he made no attempt to try to see her again or repeat the experience.
Six months later Susan met Pete, like herself a shy quiet person. They got on well. They dated and respected their limits and while Susan enjoyed his kisses and petting she had no desire to let herself go as she had with Jim.
Two years later they married. It was a beautiful big wedding and Susan was so happy. That night when they went up to their hotel room she dressed in the bathroom in a black silk negligee and walked confidently to join her husband in their wedding bed. They made love for the first time, a little awkwardly at first as they became accustomed to each other. The next morning after long leisurely sex Susan lay in bed, happy and content.
The next 11 years passed quickly. life was good and their sex life remained good without being earth shattering. They knew what each other liked and their was a sense of security in their familiar routine.
When Susan became pregnant they were both delighted but Susan sensed from an early stage a change in Pete. He seemed moodier and less attentive towards her. She guessed as her body swelled that he found her less attractive and hoped things would revert to normal after the birth.
As she sat alone in the dark room Susan mused that things hadn't improved. The birth had been routine and she had already regained her figure, thanks to plenty of exercise. She felt that at 34 she still looked good, eeven better than her younger years. She had a definite confidence in herself and in her size 12 figure. Her deep brown eyes were set in a pretty face under her short jet black hair. Her breasts were still swollen and heavy as she was feeding the baby herself but her waist was back to its original size. Her bum while not fat, still needed a bit of work she thought.
Not that Pete noticed she thought, and in her mind she counted back the months, estimating that it was now a full ten months since they had last made love.
A couple of days later Susan received news of the death of the mother of a close friend of hers. The funeral was quite a distance away and she was grateful when Wendy and Nick, friends of hers, offered to give her a lift. She arranged for the baby to be minded by her mother and filled enough bottles with her milk to cover the full day and more.
On the morning of the funeral Wendy phoned to say she couldn't go, one of her children was sick, but if it was OK that Nick would still drive her.
Nick collected her shortly afterwards and they headed off down the country. While he was the husband of one of her friends she didn't know him that well but conversation came easily as they drove and she found herself relaxed and comfortable. They stopped on the way, for lunch, and she found herself enjoying his company and his gentle manner. He was reasonably good looking, taller than her with light brown hair. His deep brown eyes matched hers and while slightly overweight he was by no means fat.
They reached the funeral and went through the normal routine of the church and the consoling exchanges afterwards. After a cup of tea with the family it was time to hit the road again.
The conversation as it grew dark on the way home started to get a bit deeper and Susan found herself confiding in Nick some of the difficulties in her marriage. Similarly he told her of his own problems, his knowledge of a previous affair of Wendy's and of the difficulties in his marriage.
Again they stopped for something to eat, this time in an isolated country pub. They had to run across the dark car park as night had closed in and a strong wind blew heavy rain across them. Inside in the warmth they ate and chatted and it seemed a pity when the meal was finished and it was time to dash back through the rain to the car.
Once in the car they giggled at each others windswept appearance and Nick leaned over to brush her hair back off her face. His hand hesitated and stroked gently across her cheek. Susan froze and watched his face moving closer to hers before she closed her eyes as his lips met hers. She didn't move, just sat feeling the touch of his cold lips on hers as his fingers moved over her face.
His tongue moved gently over her lips, wet and warm. It probed between them, moving over her teeth, before with a gentle moan she opened her mouth letting his tongue move inside the warm depths of her mouth.
It felt good to be kissed, to feel attractive to a man again and he responded to her welcome by moving closer to her and increasing the passion of their kiss. Their mouths were moving together and his hand slid under her coat, around her waist, pulling her closer to him. They moved together, his hands stroking her hair, roaming over her back as they kissed.
