Anita's Affair

Anita looked at her phone with dismay. Instead of a loving conversation that she always had with her husband when he was out of town, she had received a curt text message: "I'm not feeling too well right now. I'll talk to you tomorrow." A wave of fear went through her as the thought that Tom had somehow found out about her "fun" affair with Bill. Was there cause to be concerned, or was it just her heavily burdened conscience reading more into it than was there? Sleep was hard to come by that night.

The following day, she called Char at work and asked her to come over that evening because she had a problem. When she arrived at the house, Char looked at her and knowingly commented, "I assume that this problem has to do with Tom! Did he find out?"

"I don't know how he could have, but something just doesn't feel right. He left for his meeting the way he always does and everything was fine. We talked on the phone that night and he was very loving and we were talking about how wonderful it was going to be to relive our honeymoon in Bermuda. I...I felt funny about discussing that because Bill was here. Ok, I really felt guilty sharing that very personal moment when Bill could hear me!

"Anyway, when I hung up everything was fine. That was Wednesday night. Thursday night I was expecting the usual call at 11:00, but it didn't come. I got worried and about 11:30 I called him. Instead of answering, he sent me a text. Here it is, look. 'I'm not feeling too well right now. I'll talk to you tomorrow.'"

"Wow, I see what you mean. That certainly is terse, not what you would send to a loving wife. It certainly doesn't sound like Tom."

"No matter how he felt or what problems he had, he has always called me! He...he always said that talking to me was the highlight of his day when he was out of town. Now he brushed me off with a two sentence text!"

Char's face was troubled. "Nita, dear, I'm afraid that you may have a real problem. As I said, that is not the message you would send to a loving, faithful wife, but it is one you might send if you discovered that your wife was cheating!"

"But how on earth could he have found out? Everything was fine Wednesday night and he wasn't even here Thursday. What could possibly have happened?"

"God knows! Maybe nothing. Maybe he simply didn't feel well enough to talk on the phone or to write a longer and more loving text. We'll just have to pray that there is some non-catastrophic reason and you are off the hook. If it's that, I hope to god that you are frightened enough to see that your fun isn't worth the unbelievable risk you are taking."

The conversation went on and on, but there was no solution and no answer to the question, "Does he know?" The one thing that came out of it was a firm decision by Anita that the affair had to end. She had decided that before, but, when facing Bill, her determination to end it was washed away by that feeling of wicked excitement that took over. This time, it had to end - but was she scared enough?

The following day, Friday, was very bleak in Chicago. Tom came down for breakfast with several of his managers and they were shocked by his haggard face. They were all concerned, offering to cancel the day's meeting if he was as sick as he appeared. He said that he was all right and that he must have eaten something that upset him and that he hadn't slept well that night. The latter was certainly true. Actually, he improved during the day as he became involved with the work. That night, however, gloom descended on him again as he stared at his laptop, fearing what he would see if he made the connection.

He couldn't put it off, however, so, reluctantly, around 10:00 PM he looked at the previous night's video which, of course, was actually early Friday morning. This time it certainly was not the blank screen that would represent no movement in the bedroom after 1:00 AM. There was plenty of movement - all Anita! It was obvious that she had had a sleepless night, much as he had had. The important thing was that she was alone in bed! After watching the recording of her restless night, he called her and assured her that he felt better and would see her tomorrow. Before he flew home, he checked again, and while Anita was still not sleeping well, she was still alone!

Nonetheless, he couldn't dismiss the picture of that man in their bed with her. Consequently, when Anita greeted him with a kiss and hug as he came into the house, there was an invisible wall between them. "Oh, Tom, you look awful! Why didn't you come home yesterday! I think that you should see a doctor!" It was obvious that the love and concern in her words and actions were real, but that man was still there between them. Neither one, for the first time in their relationship, was comfortable with the other. The proverbial elephant was in the room!

Anita mostly convinced herself that Tom actually had been sick and that caused his aberrant behavior. She managed to put her concerns about that brief curt text message behind her and by Monday was feeling pretty good about their relationship. For Tom, however, things didn't improve. His heart was telling him that the man in bed was just some weird technical cross-connection glitch and that the man really hadn't been there. Unfortunately, his brain was not so gullible - the picture was lousy, but that was his bedroom, his bed and his wife! He had to know the truth!

Consequently, Monday afternoon he managed to buy a high definition camera that was an upgrade option to replace the low quality original equipment in the bedroom. He plugged it in place and changed the time setting on the control panel to 6:00 PM to 2:00 AM. If anything was to be going on in the bedroom in the evening through early morning, he would see it!

Then, for the first time in their married life, he lied to Anita and said that he had an overnight troubleshooting trip to Toledo, leaving early Wednesday and returning Thursday morning. That would leave plenty of time to pack for Bermuda. It wasn't a complete lie because the particular store he chose was having trouble, but there was really no need for an emergency trip. Still, he did make some improvements in their operations while trying to keep his mind off of his real mission.

Back home, Anita was pretty well convinced that Tom knew nothing and that 'The Sword of Damocles' was not hanging over her head. She called Char and arranged for them to eat out that night, something they hadn't done when Tom was out of town since the affair began.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise! What happened? If thinking that Tom knew what your doing was a false alarm, why are you with me? Is Bill unavailable tonight?"

"Ok, I deserve that. Yes, it appears that Tom was just sick that night and, yes, Bill is available - but I'm here with you. The other night scared me to the depths of my soul! I was really worried about being caught and what it would cost me, but what really got to me was the realization of what it would do to Tom! I know, you tried to get through to me, but reality just hit me. I would want to die to keep from hurting him that much!

"Anyway, as soon as Tom texted me that he was on the plane and they were preparing to take off, I called Bill. Actually, I called him several times before I finally got him at lunch. I just ended it! I told him that I couldn't do it anymore and that our affair was over! I tried to soften the blow by saying that I was sorry, but I just couldn't risk it any more. He took it very well. He said that he was actually surprised that it lasted as long as it had for he knew how much I loved my husband. He said that he loved me himself and hoped that everything would go well for me.

"It's a funny thing. I felt as if the weight of the world came off my shoulders when we hung up. I just felt freer. I didn't know that that weight was there! I think that there was more guilt...and fear...there than I knew. You know I've been trying to get the nerve up to end it and I've finally done it! I still wish that I had had the courage to end it face-to-face, but this was safer - my cussed libido might have intervened again if I was actually with him!"

"Congratulations honey! I can't tell me how happy this makes me! You may get out of this unscathed with Tom never finding out. That certainly would be best for everybody and the only cost will be a very guilty conscience on your part."

"Yeah, I have no idea as to where my conscience has been for the last five months. Tom won't know what a despicable thing I've done, but I will! I'm going to be making it up to him for the rest of my life!"

While this insightful conversation was going on, Tom entered his hotel and fearfully turned on his laptop and made his connection to his computer and the security system. The screen was blank indicating that there had been no movement in the room. He was working on some papers when suddenly the screen lit up and he saw Anita walk into the room around 7:30. She kicked off her shoes, removed her jewelry and began to undress.

It's peculiar how the mind works! He had seen her dress and undress thousands of times, but, somehow, it was different watching her on the laptop screen. It was as if he were peeking at her like a voyeur and his cock actually rose as her blouse and skirt came off. When she began to remove her bra, he stared at her, eager to see her tits. The same thing as he watched her peel down her panties and stand there naked. As she walked around the room his eyes focused on her nipples and her feminine triangle of dark pubic hair which contrasted with her pure white skin. He was suddenly aware that he had a full erection.

The show ended as she put on a light robe and began putting out things she would be packing for Bermuda. She placed a pile of delicate lingerie, including garter belts and hose on the bed. Then, she bent over to a drawer which obviously contained things she really valued and rarely used. Tom suddenly was aware that these were things she had saved from their honeymoon and his erection hardened. The last thing she lifted out of the drawer was the nightgown she had worn on that honeymoon trip to Bermuda. Instead of the usual virginal white, it was a beautiful light blue that brought out the blue of her eyes. Her dark hair and alabaster skin - snow-white and translucent - completed a picture of pure loveliness.

Somehow, that nightgown had come to epitomize the love they had for each other on their honeymoon. Neither could put into words exactly why that was true, but it was. That night Anita had looked at herself as she stood before a full length mirror and for the first time in her life thought, "I look beautiful!" Like most women, she tended to find flaws that no one else could see, but this time she looked at herself and saw beauty, not just pretty. It seemed that she was floating on a cloud as she, smiling radiantly in complete confidence in hers appearance, presented herself to her new husband.

His reaction was everything she could have desired. He had seen her nude before, they had been sexually intimate before, but this was a new, almost ethereal Anita before him. The gown was diaphanous and flowing, the semi-sheer fabric shifting as she moved, giving a hint of pink nipples and that dark pubic hair as it shifted around her. He was speechless. She had been his pretty girl friend, then his fiancée, but somehow she had morphed into this beautiful woman who was his wife! It was a magic moment for both of them and the way she looked in that gown was a joyful memory for both of them.

It was a very poignant moment as he sat on his hotel bed watching the recording of his wife. He was profoundly touched as he witnessed the reverence and love she obviously felt as she held that gown. She unfolded it and shook it out and found that the soft, semitransparent fabric was unwrinkled despite its long time storage. She actually hugged the gown to herself and, seemingly overcome with emotion, laid it down on the bed and hesitated. Overcoming whatever reservations she had, she quickly removed her robe and, with great care, donned that beautiful gown. The gown and she were both beautiful and Tom's love for her overflowed at that moment as he recalled the first time he saw her in it.

It was at that instant that something heart-wrenching occurred! Anita was turning about, admiring herself and the gown in the mirror when Tom saw another man move into the room and look at her, entranced by the lovely sight. The unknown man quietly moved forward, nuzzled the back of her neck, slid his hands under her arms, apparently grasping her breasts, and affectionately said, "Beautiful!"

In a fraction of a second, Tom went from the high of watching his lovely wife preparing for a second honeymoon to what was an obvious prelude to committing adultery. Instead of looking ready to wear her gown for him, a gown that had meant so much to both of them, she was wearing it for a lover - maybe even to be fucked in it! It was more than he could stand as he collapsed back on the bed, the laptop dropping to the floor and shutting off!

It didn't matter - Tom was in no condition to watch more of the destruction of his life. He didn't throw up this time. Tears flowed, unchecked, from his eyes, once again, not tears of anger but of loss. All the questions from the last time bedeviled him again, particularly "Why?" Of course, he still had no answers.

He lay there, almost comatose, for hours before falling into blackness - more unconscious than sleeping. Once again the 11:00 PM time to talk to Anita passed unnoticed. She tried to get him on the phone and, finally, he forced himself to respond. A text message arrived on her phone and if the previous one had troubled her, this was crushing. With no explanation, it simply read, "I will have to be here two more days. I'll be home Saturday."

It was almost midnight as Anita read the message that marked the end of her marriage as she had known it. She was almost out of her mind. No matter the worries and the concerns, she just wasn't prepared for the reality of her loss. Hardly aware of the time, almost midnight, she called Char. When she heard the groggy "Hello" from the other end, she just cried out, "Oh, Char, he knows! Tom knows. I got a text from him!"

Char was suddenly fully awake and, without hesitation, she replied, "Hold on, dear, I'll be there as soon as I can! The desperation and utter despair in her friend's voice galvanized her and, throwing on her clothes, she broke the speed limit as she hurried to her side. She had a key to the house and, charging up the stairs, she found Anita curled up on the bed, sobbing as if her world had ended - which, in a way, it had!

Char lay on the bed and embraced her, just holding her, not talking. Almost ten minutes passed before Anita recovered enough to gasp out, "He knows! I've killed our marriage and I'm afraid I've killed him! I don't know how, but he knows and I can't believe that I did this to him! How could I have been so cruel? I love him with all my heart but I've destroyed our marriage and hurt my husband!"

"Calm down a bit, honey. Did he say that he knew what was going on?"

"No...no he just sent this text message, but he knows!"

Reading the message, Char was puzzled since it appeared that Tom had simply extended his troubleshooting trip." Then, before Anita could reply, she blurted out, "Oh my god, your Bermuda trip!"

"He never even mentioned it! He texted that he was staying two more days and didn't even say he was sorry or that he had to postpone it! Not even a phone call! We were going to relive our honeymoon and he just sent a cold text!"

"You're right, of course - he knows. Oh, I'm so, so, sorry, dear. I don't know what to say."

"You warned me but I was too enamored with my affair to end it. I was so damn smug! I finally realized what I was doing, what I was risking, and I ended it just too late. I...I sent Bill away this evening, thinking that I had gotten away with my bigtime, wicked affair and that everything would return to normal! It's almost as if something gave it away today because he left this afternoon without any sign that he knew anything. He wasn't quite himself, but he had been sick."

Char suddenly got a worried expression on her face. "You know, something doesn't make sense unless you gave yourself away earlier. He always, for years, called you every time - every single time - he was out of town. Every night around 11:00 for all these years since you were married. Suddenly, last week he texted you instead of phoning because he was sick. Now, tonight, he sends you a text rather than calling, virtually telling you that he knows."

"Oh, good god! Did he find out something that night that made him sick and something else confirmed it tonight? But I didn't do anything tonight!"

"I don't know, honey. It doesn't make any sense, but it seems that he got some kind of message or saw something that gave you away. I have a feeling that your perfect security system broke down and...well, maybe, someone saw something or, maybe, you said something that led to suspicion. I guess that doesn't matter now."

"No, it doesn't. The only question is, 'what now'? Will Tom come home Saturday and demand a divorce? It will kill me but I'll have no defense if he does. Will he rant and rave, call me vicious names - slut, adulterous bitch or other terms that are all too applicable? I doubt it for that's just not his style. On the other hand, he has never been cuckholed by an unfaithful wife before!"

The conversation and the speculating went on and on until complete exhaustion caused Anita to fall asleep, followed by Char shortly afterwards. The tension it that house the following two days was almost unbearable, something like the period in which a category five hurricane is bearing down on a coastline. The potential damage is unmeasurable and all you can do is wait for it to hit.

The tension for Tom was equally pressing, but he couldn't simply sit there waiting for the storm to break. He had to determine his reaction to Anita's obvious adultery. This video was excruciatingly painful, worse by any measure than having seen a vague picture of a man getting into bed with Anita. In high definition he had just seen his beloved wife put on the nightgown that for both of them had been one of the symbols of their lovely honeymoon.

Then, crushingly, he saw a man so familiar with their house that he could calmly and confidently come in and walk into their bedroom as if he belonged there. Then, without hesitating, he walked up behind Anita and began fondling her and there was no shriek of alarm - she knew who it was and welcomed his familiar touch! Tom couldn't bring himself to look at the rest of that recording. Seeing his beloved wife actually being fucked, possibly in that nightgown, would have been impossible for him to take.

Like thousands, possibly millions, before him, he was faced with two difficult questions - why and what now! Why? Their life, up to now, had been as perfect as anyone would want. He had never questioned her love for him and had no reason to do so. Her eyes lit up every time he came home. Their love life was wonderful and love-making was just that - it was not only just sex, it was love!

It wasn't because she was bored by being stuck at home all day. She had her work which she enjoyed. In addition, they had friends and went out together frequently. They had the physical things - money, a beautiful home, anything they really wanted to buy. There was just nothing that he could think that would lead to her having an affair - but the evidence was indisputable! The "why" was completely beyond him.

The "what next" was equally difficult. If you ruled out divorce, the resulting options were severely limited. Why no divorce? Simply he loved her too much. There is always the immediate masculine ego-driven "throw the bitch out" reaction - similar to the feminine "throw the bum out" - but then what? Anita had been the love of his life since his senior year in college. Was her extra-marital activity enough to give her up when he still loved her and honestly believed that she loved him?