After 15 years of married life, my wife and I had settled into a dull routine with our sex life. We both recognized this common aliment suffered by many couples who allow the adventure to slip away. We do not have children to use as an excuse so we drifted apart in the same bed. One day my wife came home from work and I knew that something was on her mind.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Do you think we can save our marriage?"
The question hit me like a ton of bricks. I looked at her but couldn't give her an answer.
"The reason I ask is that we haven't done anything for months, no sex, no talking, and no going out, nothing. I thought for a while that you might have something on the side but you weren't acting odd or staying out late so I dismissed that idea. But then I started looking at me rather than you and realized that I have been just as blah about us as you have."
Celeste, my wife, wasn't being mean or vindictive she was simply stating a fact. I guess that I had failed to pick up on the subtle signs but Celeste was always quicker than me to see through a situation and attack it head on. "I don't think we need to start calling lawyers just yet" I replied. "I agree that we haven't been very attentive lately but I put it down to spending too much time at work and our schedules have been going in two directions. I didn't realize that it had gotten this serious."
Celeste sighed and sat down at the kitchen table. The look of frustration was very evident and she seemed close to crying. "Did something happen at work to day?" I asked. She looked at me and nodded. "What?" I enquired. Celeste then told me about someone at work who had gone home at lunch to find her husband packed and gone. All he left was a note telling her it was over and that he would arrange to get his things as soon as he could. This started her thinking and of course she settled on the worst of our past few months. By the time she drove home she had convinced herself that we were on the fast track to a messy divorce.
I smiled at her but this seemed to make her angry. "Don't laugh at me, you ass. I think we have a serious problem and we need to talk." There goes the evening I said to myself. Whenever something is bothering Celeste I end up trapped in a night of never ending discussion until we are both so exhausted that we agree to 'finish it later'.
Hoping to preempt the start of a long and painful evening I launched a counter offensive. "I've been thinking about this for a while myself and I was going to talk to you this weekend but now seems like a good time. I was thinking about going on a bit of a vacation, perhaps to the Caribbean or the south of Spain. I want a break from work and would like to spend some time on the beach and do a little golfing. So what do you think, are you interested in a little winter get away?"
It was as if a beam of light suddenly shone through a dark and cloudy sky. Her face brightened and she said that this was exactly what we should do. To celebrate our decision, and my superb tactical maneuver, we went out to our favorite restaurant and had a very pleasant evening. When we got home we were both tired but content and slept fitfully until the alarm sounded to begin another day.
We hurried off to our respective jobs, arranged for two weeks of vacation time and met back at home to plan our trip. Celeste wanted to go to the Caribbean so we checked the net for last minute deals and found a great all inclusive package to Jamaica. The only problem was that it was leaving at 6 AM tomorrow and of course Celeste needed to go shopping. I wasn't spared the experience and she dragged me to the mall to help her pick out a new swimsuit and some beach clothes. We looked in a few shops but Celeste didn't see anything she liked. This is going to be a long and painful day I thought but the next place we looked was a winner. Celeste loved the selection and she spent an hour trying on different outfits. Finally she settled on a rather revealing two piece and some nice shorts and tops. She wouldn't let me see her in the bikini but I didn't press the matter. As we left the store we passed a lingerie shop and I asked her if she wanted to get something nice for evening entertainment.
"What did you have in mind?"
"I don't know" I replied, "How about something lacy and white so it shows off your tan. With that new bikini you won't have much of a tan line."
"I'll buy what ever you want, but you have to pick it out"
Now I've been in lingerie shops before but in the past I was there just to carry the shopping bags. Celeste took me straight to the back where the matching bra and panty outfits were displayed on the wall. There were all kinds to choose from but I spotted the perfect set almost immediately. The bra was really only designed to add some support because there was not way it was reaching above the nipple. The panty was almost sheer and the back consisted of a thin strip of material forming a tiny triangle at the waist.
"No need to look and anything else, I want you to get this one."
Celeste looked at it and turning to me she said "I don't know...it seems a bit flimsy. I will need to do some yard work." Yard work was her little phrase for trimming her pubic hair. "Alright, I need to clean things up for the swimsuit anyway."
As she made her way to the cash she stopped at the panty table to look at what was displayed. They were having a two for one special and Celeste can never pass up a sale. "What do you like here?" she asked. Celeste never asks for my opinion about her underwear but I was more than willing to oblige. The thought of seeing her in the new bra and panty set had me more than just a little aroused.
"Are you looking for everyday stuff or something for the trip?"
"I want new stuff to take with me."