My name is Bill. I'm 51 and a married family man. My life is mostly as conventional as you would expect. But this is a story about something exciting that happened to me.
It's a long story and may not mean very much to you. In fact, most people would find it pretty boring. But for a guy like me who usually plays by the rules and doesn't get much excitement, it was something that I'll always remember.
I'm like millions of other people. I grew up in a suburb you've never heard of, outside a big city no one cares about. I was a happy kid with a good family, but bored. High school was four years of feeling everyone else was having more fun than me. We were religious, but I won't get much into that for this story, except that it didn't exactly help the idea that I was missing out on all the real fun.
My wife and I grew up together and we basically drifted into a relationship and marriage at a young age. I love her but we have really grown in different directions and our marriage has struggled for a few reasons beyond the usual strains of life and kids. I might say more about that in a different story. I love her and am committed to her. But I always find myself thinking what I missed out on as a young man, and how things might have turned out differently. I realize most middle-aged guys feel that way, but it consumes me more and more - this feeling that I somehow missed out on all the fun.
I wasn't the smartest kid in class, but I did all right and got into a good college program. This led me into a career in a fairly specialized field and industry. Chances are you don't know much about my industry, which is pretty small and not at all glamorous. I've done pretty well for myself, becoming a partner in a successful firm. But even in an industry that already has a boring reputation, I have a reputation for being a straight arrow. As with everything else, I somehow chose the safe path rather than the fun one. So I'm a good guy who follows the rules, whose life is an open book, and who always does the right thing. I guess I should be grateful for all this, and I am. But more and more it grates on me. Always being the responsible one can get pretty boring. That's why what happened in this story was so exciting for me.
Our industry has an annual convention. I used to find it really interesting with all the seminars and display booths and people to meet. Now I mostly go because that's what a senior partner should do. I do a lot of networking and stuff which is okay but feels pretty repetitive, since it's mostly the same people year after year. So most of it is pretty boring, like everything else in my life it seems.
The one thing that makes it still interesting is that for a few years I've had what I call a "conference wife."
I didn't have a name for this for a long time, but it made instant sense when I came across it somewhere. No hanky-panky involved. Her name is Diane and she's almost my age. We've known each other for many years, back when we used to work at the same place.
Now we live a thousand miles apart, working for different firms with our own lives and families. But we both go to the conference year after year, and we have a lot of the same professional interests and similar personalities. So if neither of us has anyone else in particular to be with, we look around for each other, sit together, etc. It works pretty good. So..."conference wife."
I sometimes wonder if people have noticed and been curious about Diane and me. There's nothing else going on. But I have to admit I like the mystery, even if it's just in my head. Our industry is mostly guys - maybe twenty percent of all the people at this conference are women. I know Diane doesn't hang out with me because I'm a hot stud. More the opposite. In a place with so much guys, some of them not known for their progressive attitudes, I'm somebody "safe" for her. Kind of neutered, really. Still, my life is so boring that it's a perpetual ego boost to have this woman walking around with me.
I won't deny I've had impure thoughts about Diane. A lot, in fact. She is an attractive 40ish mom - nothing special to you maybe, but I think she's hot. She has dark shoulder-length hair, a medium build and an expressive smile. So it's definitely nice to have this woman with me lighting up the room at boring dinners even though there's nothing to it. And I often go back alone to my hotel room afterward and entertain all kinds of thoughts about Diane with her clothes off. But between our friendship, our marriages and our professional reputations, I would never think of doing anything more. All guys have sex fantasies and Diane isn't the only woman I fantasize about. But I keep it in all in my head (or my little head...) and that's where it stayed. Until recently.
The Convention
This year looked much like the others. The convention was in a city I'd been to a few times and knew well. It stretches out over four nights and five days, starting with an evening reception, three full days of displays, presentations and stuff, and a final morning of meetings. There was only one small difference this year. We had a larger than usual group going from my firm, and had only a limited number of rooms blocked in the main convention center hotel, where I normally stay. So I volunteered to stay at a backup hotel. It was a twenty minute walk away but I figured I could get some exercise. Everything else was the same as always.
I flew out in the afternoon and headed straight for the convention center to register before going to my hotel. I was standing around with some others from the company when I heard a familiar sound. "Hello there."
I recognized Diane's voice and turned. I was happy to see her. We inevitably met up like this without even arranging it. She looked much the same as always, professionally attired in a conservative black skirt and white blouse - no pantsuits for her, or deep cleavage like some women. She smiled back at me and we exchanged a bit of home and office news. Then I asked her where she was staying.
"Oh, I was too slow to book anything good. I've been banished to a place nowhere near here." She named my hotel.
"No kidding," I said. "Guess where I am."
"The same?"
"Yep."
She smiled. "Well, that's one nice thing. We can travel back and forth together." I was excited. As you know by now, I just like being with Diane. We talked some more and agreed to shuttle over to the hotel together. We put our things in a cab outside and kept talking the whole way.
We were still talking as we got to the hotel check-in. I let her go first and she gave her name to the clerk. He checked the computer but seemed to take a while. He even began scratching his head. He asked Diane for her name again. He called over another employee. We both got a sinking feeling.
"I'm sorry, we don't have anything under your name." Diane isn't the type to swear, but she looked pissed. She argued she had a reservation. They asked for a confirmation number and she just stared at them. She took out her phone and scrolled around looking for the right email, but no success, still arguing with them. Eventually she threw up her hands and said "just give me a room!"
"I'm sorry, ma'am. We're fully booked tonight." She gave the stare again. Frankly, it was kind of sexy, though I felt her frustration.
Diane turned to me, suddenly changing to a look of helpless adrift. So I turned on my executive confidence and told her it would be sorted out. The manager arrived but we had a fruitless conversation. I was getting frustrated myself and finally decided the best thing to do was get my own room, put down our stuff, and then figure out where she could stay. My own reservation was fine and soon we were moving up the elevator. Diane was still alternating from fuming to helpless as we pushed into my room. But her face changed as she walked in.
"Wow, this is so nice!" I looked around. It was better than I expected. The decor was very modern and cool, with two double beds. Diane walked into the bathroom and started to giggle.
"Hey, is this the honeymoon suite?"
I stuck my head in and understood. There was a large walk-in shower, all glass and definitely fitting more than one person. It looked a bit odd since the room had two double beds, but the counter was marble and also really nice. Perhaps this was the standard hotel shower? I swear I hadn't known all this when I booked the place and told Diane that. She giggled again. "Yeah, right," she said. She knew I was easy to tease.
I suggested we start figuring out her options. I called down to confirm there was still nothing in the hotel. The main conference hotel was also sold out, of course. We surfed travel sites and made some calls but nothing was available except some dodgy-sounding places or hotels far away from downtown.
Diane was mulling over her crummy choices and suddenly looked at me. "Bill, can I just stay here?"
Now I'll admit I had certainly thought of that option but there was no way I was going to mention it. The obvious thing to do was to be a gentleman and give up the room entirely, taking one of the crappy options. I was ready to do that. But the idea of being sharing my room with Diane was electrifying, even though I knew it didn't mean...well...anything.
I carefully answered, "Well, sure. But only if you think that's the best choice." I left it hanging a bit.
Please say yes
, I thought.
She answered: "Sorry, you're right. That was totally weird. Forget I asked."
Nooo
, I thought. I went for the save. "No, I mean, it's totally fine with me. I mean, yeah, it's a little weird, but...it's okay with me."
