He asked if I wanted to stray...
My husband is a great guy. He provides without complaint. He helps around the house. He is respected by his friends. He's nice looking, though really rather average in height, build and weight, but with a substantial package hanging between his legs.
I'm a housewife. I work hard to keep our "castle" in order. We've no kids though we've tried and we've tested. Doc seems to think it will happen as there's no reason not to. But until that day, well, I keep the home and he provides.
We met in high school. I'd moved to his town from another state and didn't really cotton to the idea of trying to fit in. I figured, sooner or later all the strange faces would start to be familiar and eventually I'd find a group I could identify with. At least, that's what I thought would happen.
But one day, as I was walking to my locker, this cute young man did an obvious double take as I passed. I couldn't help it and turned around as his behavior was so obvious.
When I saw him, he had his head bowed and his brow furrowed, like he was trying to place me. I stepped a bit closer to him.
"Excuse me," I said.
"Huh," he responded, obviously coming out of deep thought.
"I said excuse me."
"Oh. Why?"
"I knocked you down."
"Huh?"
"Just kidding. I said excuse me," I explained, "just to interrupt your deep thoughts."
"Oh, yeah." He thought for a second, then; "Why?"
"Because, silly, you did a double take when you passed me. Do you know me?"
"No. Should I?"
"Well then, why the double take."
"You looked familiar."
"Oh boy. Here we go."
"No, no. Not like in a come-on. I think you look like someone I used to know. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you."
"Embarrass me, why would you think that?"
"I don't know. It happened so fast, I guess I just did the most natural thing without thinking."
"Oh. That's disappointing."
"Huh?"
"You say Huh a lot."
"Huh?"
"See."
"Oh, yeah, huh."
"There, you said it again."
"Oh god. Now this is embarrassing."
"Why?"
"Because, I'm shy."
"Really?"
"Yes. Really. I'm sorry," he started to turn, "if I embarrassed you and I'll be going now."
"NO! Wait."
He turned back. "Huh?"
I cocked my head to the side.
"Oops. There I go again."
He looked at me as a smile began to breakout from my eyes down. Then I couldn't help it. I mocked him.
"Huh?"
"Oh, now you're going to make fun of me. That's just great. Make my day, why don't you."
"What's your name?"
"Edmund."
"Like the famous mountain climber."
"Huh?"
I burst out laughing. When I settled down, I extended my hand.
"I'm Rene. It's nice to meet you Sir Edmund."
"Oh... the mountain climber. Was he a king?"
"No. I think he was knighted or something for climbing Everest."
"Oh, that guy."
"Yeah. Anyway, like I was saying, my name's Rene and if you don't have a date for the dance on Friday Night, I'd like to take you."
"Huh?"
"Sir Edmund. Please be my date for Friday night."
"I've never had a date," he admitted, casting his eyes down and looking at his shoes.
"Well then. That makes us even. I've never had a date either so I guess I was meant to knock you down after all," I said laughing.
"Huh?"
I was the only one of the two of us who got the joke.
We eventually agreed on how we would meet up on that Friday, and as one thing led to another, we've been together ever since.
Don't ask me how we knew, but we knew. I've read all kinds of journal articles (remember, I'm a housewife with lots of time on my hands) with many plausible explanations, but none of them make any more sense than the others. We just knew.
We knew when we danced our first dance.
We knew when we kissed the first time (boy, was that awkward).
We knew when we met each other's parents and we knew the first time we fooled around.
A special bond developed between us; a bond born of friendship, common desire, heritage, and most importantly a bond made more secure each year as we learned about the world together.
We slept together the first time on Spring break, our freshman year of college. We went to the beach down at Panama City and really did nothing but have sex for five straight days. I walked bow-legged for a week.
From that time on, we were ardent students of all things sexual.
We explored fetishes.
We tried golden showers.
We loved oral sex and occasionally I would open my ass for him.
We had a decent porn collection and really enjoyed the Japanese costume play and the bukkake videos. I don't know why, but I didn't find it humiliating for the women. Somehow, the ability to swallow litres of semen or be bathed by dozens of men spraying their ejaculate all over the beautiful faces of the porn actresses and then, their smiling for the camera afterwards, made me realize the infantile drive of the male that needs to be satisfied sexually. I understood and once I understood, I didn't fight it.
During the first year after college, "Sir" Edmund and I decided I should stay home. I didn't much like working in the office I'd landed a job at, and I was not only okay with keeping the "castle" in tip-top shape, I very much liked doing so. I even learned to sew.
I took cooking classes, massage therapy classes, I learned two computer-accounting systems to manage our finances and looked at my role as that of an equal partner. I fulfilled my half of the bargain. I even managed our investment portfolio and it grew steadily.
We had friends and our families all lived close, so invariably, two to three times each month, we'd be at one or another social function with people we knew. But twice a month, we'd go out of town, thinking the change of scenery might unlock my cervix and let at least one Sir Edmund's little spermatozoa find its way home. But even that failed to get me, oops, us, pregnant. Neither of us fretted too much about it and life moved forward.
My husband had one very pronounced quirk. He was constantly trying to help people. Though not a gregarious salesman type, he was always welcome at Church charity functions because, though we both would pitch in, he seemed to thrive when helping people and everyone knew it. He was generous to a fault.
When there was a death in our circle, he would ask me to investigate the likes of the survivors and we'd prepare dish after dish to offer during their grief times.
If someone's car wasn't working, we'd provide transportation.
Once, a friend of ours missed her plane, a puddle jumper that only flew once a day, so we drove her 140 miles to her destination. It wasn't all charity as we stayed at a lake resort nearby for a couple of days before we picked her up and headed home.
Well that's the way our life went from day to day, and truthfully, not only had I never been one to complain, I really had nothing to complain about.
One weekend we'd gone to New Orleans to listen to jazz (we were dedicated live music fans) and eat 'til we couldn't walk. But, of course, we walked all over the city. Maybe that's why we never gained weight.
We walked at the drop of a hat. Most the time, we'd hold hands and be lost in our own little world, but we'd walk just the same, sometimes for three or four hours straight.
We'd found a little café with a jazz trio after our dinner on Saturday night. It was cozy, and gave us a feeling of actually being a part of the show.
As every entertainer will tell you, being on stage is only on half of the show. The other half of the show, the audience, is off stage. That's it. Nothing beats live music in a venue that is a proper size for the performer. Nothing.
After about a half hour of listening to the music, I noticed a change in Edmund's demeanor.
In school, he'd played drums in every band he could get to let him sit in. He was steady, not spectacular. Whenever we took in live music, he would lightly tap on the table with one of his hands. When I first met him, he would bang on everything in time with the music, but as he played less and less frequently, he took to lightly tapping to the rhythm of the piece. But not tonight.
When we got back to our room, I asked him if something were bothering him. He said no. However, when we made love, I felt he was somehow not in the moment. But, I knew my husband well enough to know, if something was bothering him, he'd get round to telling me in a day or two. But nothing ever was said and I forgot about it.
For a few months our routine stayed pretty much the same. We were a half year older and no closer to starting a family. But still, we were young enough that the free time on weekends was precious to us and we used it to go places or, if the occasion arose, to help whoever needed help. It was a very comfortable and fulfilling life.
One weekend, we drove up to Nashville to hear some good old C and W music. That's when his behavior changed again, and changed similar to the way it had changed in New Orleans.
During the band's break, I asked him if we could go outside for a breath of air. He asked me if I was all right and I told him I was okay. I just needed some air.
When we got outside, there were people milling about, smoking and talking loud, the way people talk when they've had a few drinks. We got our hands stamped and walked down away from the smokers.
"Are you okay?" Edmund asked me.
"I was just about to ask you the same thing," I replied.
"Huh?"
He never did break the habit.
"You remember New Orleans?"
"Of course."
"Do you remember when I asked you if everything was okay?"
"I think so. Was it 'cause I had too much to drink."
"No you silly goof. That night when we went to the jazz club, you didn't drum on the table."
"I didn't?"
"No. Not that night and not tonight either."