Sara had ended her affair with Daniel. At some point, their meetings changed from hookups to an affair. Sara could not put her finger on when exactly it had changed. Perhaps it was as far back as when Daniel told her he had met a girl in school. Perhaps later. It was definitely an affair when they realized he was dating her daughter. Her emotions had been in turmoil ever since.
She still rejoiced in her discovery of how good sex could be. Every meeting with Daniel had been better than the last one. She still marveled about how she could have gone through her whole life without knowing how sex should be.
However, going behind her daughter's back and having an affair with her boyfriend was unthinkable. She knew that. Daniel knew that. But at the same time, she could not picture herself renouncing sex. She had discovered how good it could be. The genie had escaped, and she could not put it back again. Daniel could see her emotional struggle and had come up with the crazy idea of her meeting his best friend, Darius. She had balked at first, but he had slowly won her over. In the end, he forced her hand. She still blushed every time she remembered having sex with them both, one after the other.
Daniel had been right, and she had found the strength to break up with him. Now, she was on the way to starting a new affair with Darius. It had been three weeks since she had sex with Darius in his apartment.
They had been texting daily since then. In the last week, Darius had been increasingly direct in telling her he would like to meet again. According to her app, she was exiting her fertile phase in a few days. Shyly, she had admitted to herself that she wanted to meet Darius. However, she felt shy about how to label her relationship with him.
One day, Sara went to a mall to look for new lingerie. She felt that having new lingerie would boost her self-confidence meeting him. When she drew home again, she did not know what to feel. She had been in a lingerie store, looking for a new set of bra and panties. Browsing the store, she overheard two attendants' hushed-but-heated argument. One was an older lady in her fifties and looked to be the store manager. The other woman looked to be about thirty years old and good-looking.
Sara could hear bits and pieces of what they said. It was something about another attendant. She had not shown up for work and had said she would never return. Neither woman knew how to fill in the gaps of the missing person. The younger clerk demanded they hire someone new. The older one said it would take time and not solve their immediate problems.
Sara did not know what came over her when she blurted out, "I can take the job!"
The two women stopped talking and turned towards Sara.
"Are you serious?" The older one asked, with a skeptical expression.
Sara blushed, not knowing what to say. "Yes, I am serious. You need someone, and I am looking for a job." Later, thinking back, she remembered when she had been talking to Ellen at a barbeque. Ellen worked in marketing and was married to one of Paul's colleagues. Sara had felt impressed by how strong and independent Ellen seemed to be. She had asked Sara why she did not consider getting a job now that the children were getting older. Somehow, her question must have stuck in Sara's subconscious; it had resurfaced when she overheard the two clerks discussing their predicament.
The older clerk, Megan, took Sara to the side to talk. Megan was initially skeptical. Especially when she understood Sara was a housewife and had zero work experience. Sara somehow convinced Megan it was no problem. She had been raising three children and knew all about taking responsibility and being a fast learner. Megan was surprised when Sara told her that she was forty-three years old.
"Honey, I thought you were not a day over thirty," Megan said, looking her over. "Besides, you have a nice body, and your boobs look great."
Sara blushed at the frank comment, and Megan smiled warmly at her and continued. "Not to be sexist, but it helps sales if you look good." Sara got the feeling she had convinced Megan.
"I know how it is when your children grow up and move away. I have two children who have their own families. I understand you have a very traditional family, but it is good that you try to make your own life now when your children are getting older."
They moved to more specifics. They agreed Sara was going to work part-time, four days a week. Three days in the mornings and one late afternoon until closing at 9:00 pm. Sara felt giddy when they shook hands in agreement.
"But I must talk to my husband. Is it OK if I call you tomorrow and let you know?" Sara asked.
Megan smiled at her. "Honey, you do that. But I think you should make your own decision."
Sara felt giddy later in the evening when she sat at the dinner table with her family. She looked them over. Paul sat, as usual, at the head of the table on her left side. Jennifer sat opposite Sara. She was spending more and more time with Daniel and was often eating out. Soon, they had to tell Paul she had a boyfriend, but they had avoided it so far. Both she and Jennifer knew he was not going to take it well. Robert sat next to Sara. He was finishing high school and moving out in two months when he started university. Lately, it felt like he had mentally already moved. He was focusing all of his attention on the university. William, who was her youngest son, sat on her right side. He was fifteen, and he became more and more like his father every day.
"I got a job today," Sara told the room. There were startled expressions around the table.
"Way to go, Mom!" Jennifer exclaimed.
"What?" Paul blurted out. He did not look pleased.
Robert and William looked puzzled.
"You don't need to work," Paul exclaimed. "Why would you work?"
"I thought it would be a good experience, and I want to try," Sara said. She felt surprised, not expecting such an adverse reaction from her husband.
"Well, I don't like it. Our friends might think that we are having problems."
"Why would they think that?" Sara asked.
"Well, I support us. There is no reason for you to work. None of the other wives work."
"Ellen works," Sara countered.
