I'm telling you this so that you don't get all twisted up at the first mention of anything interracial, because this is not a story about people having interracial sex. It is a story about what happens to the husband of a wife who becomes obsessed about it.
A Final Twist of the Knife.
As the door to the hotel room was closed behind me, only a supreme strength of will prevented me from collapsing onto the floor.
Rather than return home, I booked a room in the same hotel, deliberately on another floor to wait for the call that would tell me that my wife was waiting for me to collect her. During my time in that room, although I slept through part of the night I also spent time reflect on why I had allowed the woman I loved to have this period of separation from me.
There was no doubt that for fifteen years, Audrey and I had a good marriage. Mainly by choice we had no children. Almost certainly because of our unhappy upbringing, both of us being raised within the mantle of local authority care. Then, like me when Audrey was eighteen she left their care determined to make her way in the world in order to achieve a wealthy independence.
After ten years I was starting to achieve my goal. Then I met and married Audrey, all within a year. Give or take a few months we were the same age and like me she was on her way to achieving her goal. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever met but I also like to think we were both attracted to each other because of the similarity of our upbringings and that we both had the same goal.
As I reflected on the fifteen years of our marriage I had no complaints. Audrey was a good, loving, faithful wife, just as I thought I had been a good, loving and I knew, faithful husband.
Now, at the ages of forty-three we were both on the cusp of achieving our goals. So why was I pacing about in a hotel room waiting for another man to tell me that my wife was ready for me to collect her?
I believe it all started about a month ago after my wife told me about a chance meeting she had with Beverley, a woman who works in her office.
"Audrey, fancy finding you here?"
I turned on hearing a very familiar voice and saw Beverly standing right beside me. "Oh my God, Beverley?"
Instinctively, we air kissed each other.
"After what, five years working together and this is the first time we've met outside the office," Beverley stated.
I was still surprised to see her in my local supermarket. "You never told me you lived here?"
"I moved here when my husband became director of manufacturing at Duncan's Engineering. Oh, here he is now."
As she spoke a man came up behind me and put a couple of six packs of beer into her trolley.
"Travis, this is my colleague Audrey I've told you about."
As I turned to him I was amazed how dark brown he was.
"Audrey, this is my husband, Travis. He's American," she added as if that explained everything.
I don't know what I expected when I took the hand he offered me. Although it was huge it felt so soft and gentle. "Well now," he drawled. "Nice to meet you at last."
"You too," I managed to respond while wondering why Beverley had never told me her husband was coloured.
I had been on my way to the check out and didn't have time for any more chat. "Sorry, I have to go," I said. "You'll have to tell me all about your husband lunch time on Monday," I told Beverley as I pushed my trolley away. As I unloaded my stuff onto the checkout I realised that Beverly was the first person I knew who was married to a coloured man.
About a year ago I had seen a celebrity magazine on a newsagent's rack. I'd never been interested in celebrities and their lifestyles. What prompted me to buy it was the wedding picture cover of a white woman and a black man. Inside were more pictures of the couple and of bimbo starlets hanging on the arms of coloured men. I read everything about every inter-racial celebrity couple they published. Since then I have read every celebrity magazine I can, just to find pictures and stories about interracial couples.
Now I actually knew someone married to a coloured man.
What I couldn't understand was why Beverly's husband was so intriguing to me. Well, he was a bit of a hunk, and his hands were so big and soft. I felt my body shiver at the memory.
When I told Gordon about my meeting with Beverley and her husband, Gordon was also curious why Beverly had never told me about his colour. We both agreed that it was probably because she didn't think it was important enough. Rather guiltily I deliberately didn't tell Gordon that Beverley and I were going to talk about her husband over lunch tomorrow.
Gordon's hands weren't nearly as big as Travis's, but that night they felt very soft and loving as he caressingly explored my body before we made love.
When Beverly sat at my table in the small coffee shop near to where we worked I already had a coffee and her favourite egg and cress sandwich waiting for her.
We had a short girls talk. Then after we both dank some coffee, Beverly suddenly asked. "You want to know why I never told you my husband was coloured?"
I was a little taken aback by her bluntness. "Yes, I suppose I do," I replied.
She smiled and took a sip of her coffee. "I think you know why," she said, with a questioning look.
I didn't want to admit to anything so I asked her how long they had been married. "Eleven years, I was living in America and working as a researcher for a recruitment company," she replied, smiling at some memory or other before she took a bite of her sandwich and studied my face.