Author's Notes: First and foremost, Always Faithful is a work of fiction; no characters depict any known persons. To the best of the author's knowledge, there is no women's clothing manufacturer by the name of Business Lady. Five is the next to last chapter and is much shorter than parts three and four. Chapter 4.6 ended with Laura and Greg at their New Years Eve party and Dan at his with Artsy and LF.
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Five -- Turmoil Resolved -- Laura returns home and the rocky road to normalcy
A sound at the door brought Dan's head up. His secretary stood in the opening and spoke softly to him, "It's Laura; do you want to take the call?" Dan picked up his phone - Well hello, so good to hear from you. It has been a while. He recalled with distaste the last time he talked with his wife; it was six weeks ago at Thanksgiving when she told him she was leaving to go skiing with Greg. Laura asked if they could get together for lunch soon. The last few times we have met for lunch have not been my favorite meals. Laura promised no funny business, and she reminded Dan they were still married to one another. Funny you should bring that up Laura, it hasn't seemed that way for the past year, has it?
No, I am not going to call you Baby, and I am damned sure not going to meet you at that place, ever again, never-ever if that is clearer. Dan sighed as Laura tried to reason with him and get an agreeable conversation going. Okay Laura, lunch this afternoon. I will be in front of your office at noon. I haven't bought a new car yet; you should recognize mine. I'll decide the restaurant.
Dan's last words to his secretary before leaving were, "I am going to lunch with Laura. If I am not back by two, you might want to call 911 and file a missing person report. Either that, or tell the police to look for a dead body fitting my description, or hers." She smiled, but reached to touch Dan's forearm as a gesture of support. Fifteen minutes later, he pulled to a stop next to his wife.
One of the VP perks was membership in the best downtown business club. The
maitre de
escorted them to the private table Dan called to request. "You look good Laura; married life must agree with you. You look like you are getting more than your share these days."
"Dan, I didn't call for a long lost dose of sarcasm from my husband. Can we skip that much and just talk?"
"You called me; what's up?"
"Baby, I said I would be with Greg until the end of the year. This is a new year."
"Yes, I seem to remember going to a party, counting down, and kissing my dates. I watched some of the bowl games."
Laura decided she had to push hard to get Dan out of his bitter mood. "Are you telling me you don't want me to come home; should we talk about a divorce instead of coming home?"
"I have a feeling Greg would pick up the lunch tab today if we talked about divorce."
"I'll pay my own damned tab, thank you. I don't need either you or Greg to do that for me."
"Okay, let's try to be civil; I will make a good faith effort."
"Thank you Baby, that's all I am asking for right now. A kiss when we leave would be nice, but I will let you decide when you are ready to kiss me again."
Husband and wife had a long put off, but much necessary, conversation about their status. Laura tried to make a sincere apology for her antics at Thanksgiving, but Dan refused to accept. "Laura, of all the fuck-Dan-over things you have done in the past year, that one may be forever inexcusable."
"Okay, you are right. I will live with I fucked up badly." Laura did her best to negotiate coming home to Dan, but keeping the status quo relatively intact. To Dan, it seemed as though she wanted to move some clothes back home, and decide night-to-night which bed she graced.
Dan reached for the ruby ring on his wife's left hand. "You have some decisions to make. I want you as my wife, with me as your husband. I am even willing to accept that you have Greg as lover, but not the way things are now. Think seriously about what you want for your future. I know you care about me. I know you care about Greg. I don't think you are ready to make the decisions that you need to make today."
"You think I should sleep on it, is that what you are saying?" Dan nodded. "Can we sleep together on it Baby?"
Dan laughed and squeezed her ring to shake it, "No, not with this ring on this hand." Dan looked Laura squarely on with no hint of smile, but no anger also. "We better go; I told my secretary to put out an APB if I wasn't back by two."
"I would gladly take off this ring if you have time to take me home Baby; it's been a long time."
"That's not what I meant; you know that. Beside which, neither you nor I have been doing without for the last seven months. Greg will fuck you tonight. Trust me, male intuition; Greg will fuck you good."
This time Laura laughed, "Who are you fucking tonight?"
"Actually, I have more choices than you, don't I?" Dan relented and kissed his wife as he put her in his car, and again when he dropped her off. "You can come to the ceremony Friday at three if you want. I will be official as VP then."