Sue Prescott was to all appearances an ordinary suburban housewife. She was five foot ten and blonde with large full breasts and wide hips. Her legs were long and toned and her waist was trim. Sue worked out four times a week at the local gym and ran every morning to keep her body in shape. She lived in a big duplex with a nice green yard in the center of a very middle class neighborhood. Sue had two kids, drove a mini-van, worked from home as an internal auditor for one of the big companies in the city and was married to a man named Bernie. He drove a pickup truck and worked as foreman on a road construction crew. Her life was fairly idyllic and she and Bernie got along well even after ten years of marriage. Most of the time she was happy with her lot in life, except for the bad times. Sue supposed all marriages had their problems and went through rough times. Unlike so many people she had a name for her bad times.
Football season. From the first kick off of the college season to the last snap of the Super Bowl; Sue was a football widow. Her husband had come by his affliction honestly she supposed. He had been a star halfback in high school and Sue had been a cheerleader; that was how they had met. They had dated all through high school, but after graduation Bernie had been offered a scholarship to play at a university several states away. Sue was going to a local college with an excellent program in accounting and so they had decided to break up after the summer, but remained friends.
Bernie had played for his first year and done very well. The papers were all full of the local boy makes good variety of stories. On his occasional visits home Sue learned that he was having a tough time with classes and had barely kept his eligibility. Fearing that he would flunk out he told her on one of his rare visits home that he planned on going pro after the season, rather than trying to make it through another year of classes. Bernie's dreams of glory ended on a warm night during the fourth quarter. A blitzing linebacker tripped coming through the line and plowed headlong into Bernie's knee. It took three operations and a year of rehab before he could walk without a limp. To this day he suffered great pain on cold mornings and often complained of stiffness.
Bernie returned to their small town after rehab for his knee and got a job with his father's construction company. He went to the Vo-tech school over in Rockland County in the evenings. Sue ran into him at the local hardware store and they started talking again. One evening he showed up on Sue's parent's doorstep with a dozen roses and an engagement ring. Sue accepted his proposal and they were married in the small Catholic Church in town. They moved to the burbs when she graduated and to all appearances it had been the perfect ending. High school sweethearts fall back in love after some adversity. The local paper even ran the touching story on page two.
Only Sue knew the whole of the story. Her first year in school, she had fallen in love with her English Professor. Professor Dominique Williams had been a Haitian ‚migr‚ who was a naturalized citizen. She had been tall and beautiful with a charming accent and outgoing personality. She had captured Sue's heart and introduced her to the joys of lesbian sex. Sue had been totally enchanted with her, from the sultry accent to her off the wall political views. Sue had fought a never-ending battle with her conscious and up bringing and had never really resolved the issue when Dominique died tragically on a visit to see relatives in Haiti. When she found out Sue had suffered a "nervous breakdown" according to the local doctor. Their affair had been clandestine and discreet so no one had any reason to suspect a broken heart caused her depression and listlessness.
The next year she had developed an interest in another student, but Sasha was "out" and she would have nothing to do with anyone who wasn't. Thus it was that Bernie showed up on her doorstep while she was facing the prospect of telling her parent's she was gay and facing the prospect of being ostracized from her community. Sue had never been a strong person and Bernie seemed to be the answer to her prayers. Giving up on her interest in Sasha she had chosen the path of least resistance and had never really regretted it. Except for the long, lonely nights of football season.
Bernie had eight guys in his crowd of football cronies. Four were married and Sue often commiserated with the other wives while their husbands were out at the local sports bar. Saturday, Sunday and Monday she rarely saw her husband. If it weren't for the fact that she knew nothing, not even sex could keep him away from the games she might have suspected he was cheating on her. At least in that she had the advantage over the other wives because Sue understood her husband was a fanatic.
Now that it was playoff time Sue faced the unpleasant burden of preparing for Bernie's annual "Wild Card, Wildness" party. Alana Shepard would get it next week when Herman hosted the party for the divisional playoffs. Andrea Dryer would get it for the championship games. Kate Macintosh and Cindy Coleford split duty on the Super Bowl Bash, each taking an alternating year.
Sue rose early and bundled the children off to their grandparents for their month long annual visit. Bernie wanted young Jonathan to stay and watch the game with "his old man," but Sue forbade it. Bernie and his friends drank cases of beer, cursed and generally acted like men and Sue refused to have her son exposed to that kind of behavior when he was only seven years old. Each year Bernie gave in, but each year it took more to convince him and Sue feared this would be the last year she would be able to shield her son from "the game".
Sue stood on her doorstep, still wrapped in her warm terrycloth robe and sipping a hot cup of coffee as her mother drove off with the kids. She waited until the car was out of sight before turning and padding back into the kitchen. She cleaned up the remnants of breakfast and started the dishwasher before opening the high cabinet and pulling down the platters and trays she used for the party. Bernie was already long gone to pick up "supplies", by which he meant beer. Sue had already bought the soda, bags of chips, dip, pretzels, steaks, ribs, chicken, bar-b-que sauce and condiments.
Heaving a sigh she began to get everything set up, the game was on at four.
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Sue was dressed for the party in a white silk blouse and knee length black skirt with moderate heels. The guys would all be in jeans and sweatshirts with team logos, but as hostess she felt like she had to dress a little nicer. None of the wives ever came to the parties, by silent agreement they each seemed to feel having to deal with one a year was punishment enough.
Around noon the guests began to arrive. Bill and Stan showed up with a cooler between them, even though Bernie had bought enough beer to keep and army post drunk for a week. Herman showed up with baked beans and Don had coleslaw. Mike Weaver arrived with his girl friend and a bucket of fried chicken. Ace and LD, two of the black guys on Bernie's crew at work, showed up with their girlfriends in tow and several bottles of cheap wine. Chad Coleford arrived with a cake and some cookies Cindy had baked.
Sue was in the kitchen when the doorbell rang again. All of the regulars were already here and she poked her head out to see who this might be. Bernie let three people into the house and turned around. Seeing Sue he grabbed her hand and almost dragged her into the living room.
"Sue, this is Don Bowers," he said indicating a tall bear of a man in khaki slacks and a button down shirt. Sue recognized the name; Don was her husband's boss.
"Pleased to meet you," Sue said.
"Likewise,"
"This is Carl Von Otheson," Bernie said indicating another tall man with unruly blonde hair.
