Once again, you'd be well advised to read the earlier parts of this story, particularly Chapter 5 which is referred to below.
It's been several months since I wrote here but I thought you might like to know what happened after that crazy night when three couples went totally around the bend and experienced that which would have been previously unimaginable.
The Monday after 'The Event', I invited Charlotte and Caroline over for coffee. Our husbands were back at work and we were free to discuss the aftermaths. Once we were all seated around my kitchen table, I got the ball rolling. "So. How's everything on the home front? Any divorce papers being filed as we speak?"
Charlotte and Caroline both giggled. "Hardly," said Charlotte. "David woke up yesterday morning, shook his head, laughed, and climbed all over me. I don't think I've seen him so fired up since our honeymoon."
"Will wanted to talk first," stated Caroline. "He was curious about how we made the decision to broach the topic and then he wanted more details about how you and I had become . . . entangled, Emily. So, I told the story slowly, with details, and let's just say, it had quite the effect on him." She smiled and pretended to fan herself as if overcome with the vapors.
I was happy for my two friends because I really had been worried. When Richard woke up on Sunday morning, I had already been lying there with worrisome thoughts coursing through my brain. Richard was fun-loving and adventurous but I couldn't help thinking that he might reconsider his willingness to engage in open, sexual activities with friends β female
and male
β two of whom he really didn't know at all well. Plus, now that we were alone, would he admit to me that the thought of his wife making love to another woman (make that
two
other
women
) was more than he could bear? I was basically freaking out, much as I had been in that New York hotel room when Caroline and I were just embarking on our adventure.
I watched Richard stir and as his eyes opened, I looked for signs of how he was feeling. Through hooded eyes, he turned toward me and whispered, "Morning, Baby."
I leaned across to his pillow and kissed him as I whispered back, "I love you." Richard slowly began to wake up and I waited for some sort of sign that he even remembered what had occurred a mere eight hours earlier. It took a moment but finally, he pursed his lips, shook his head a bit, and softly exhaled a barely audible whistle. "Jesus. What a night."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he answered. "I think so." I let him take his time and eventually he continued, "Never in a million years." Another pause and a head shake. "I woke up a few hours ago and laid here thinking about it. I . . . I don't know." He had been avoided eye contact as he spoke, but now he turned and looked me in the eye. "Em. We're not in trouble here, are we?"
My heart truly skipped a beat as I focused on the fact that I might have brought pain to this man, the love of my life. "Oh, God, no, Richard. No, no, no . . . I love you more than ever. Please don't be angry at me. This whole thing . . . it just happened and I'll stop, I swear, I'll stop right now." My voice was a bit frantic, I could detect that, but I rambled on, pretty much begging him to forgive me.
"Calm down, Love. Really. I'm okay. Actually, I'm a lot better than I expected to be considering . . . everything. Last night, hell, that was just drunken craziness and I can live with it." He smiled. "I don't see myself becoming a danger in the locker room at the golf club, hunting down unsuspecting male prey, but really, that's all over. The more important thing is you and Caroline. And you and Charlotte. I need to come to grips with that."
All I could do was stare at him. I'd never in my life felt so guilty to have caused this darling man discomfort. My eyes welled up and I began to blubber my promises that I would never again . . .
But he interrupted me. "Emily. No, no really. I've thought about it and I'm okay with it, really. It's weird, but I'm not nearly as bothered by it as I thought I'd be, or maybe as I
should
be. Trust me, if it was another guy, I'd feel totally different, but, for some reason, this just seems to me to be the absolute definition of pure fun . . . recreational sex. I don't know." He shook his head. "I don't think I care to hear about it, but I'm glad you decided to tell us and . . . if you want to continue, if it really brings you pleasure, just . . . be discreet and make sure nobody finds out about it who shouldn't. Okay?"
What a man I married.
I continued to tell him I wouldn't and I believed it when I said it but within minutes, I knew that I might not have the strength to deal with this new found addiction. The good news was that Richard had dealt with it and had let me know he still loved me and trusted me to behave.
And that, dear readers, is pretty much exactly as I related it to Charlotte and Caroline at my kitchen table. Their reactions matched mine.