There ain't nothing better in a man's life to have a woman to love, but there's nothing worse when that woman tells you that she doesn't love you anymore. I'll never forget the day when my lovely wife Catherine told me that she was leaving me for someone else. It went something like this, although my recollection may not be completely accurate for obvious reasons.
On Friday the 5th March 2005 at five pm in the evening, I arrived home from work just like any other day. I was surprised to see Catherine's car in the driveway loaded with suitcases, for I wasn't aware that she was going on any trips. It was only when I entered our house that I realised something was wrong, the look on Catherine's face was something I'll not forget. She asked me to sit down and then told me that she was leaving me. I sat stupefied as Catherine told me that she'd been having an affair for the past three months, and her love for the new man in her life was such that she was going to move in with him. When I asked who the new man was, I was told it was her new manager in the real estate company she worked for. With tears running down my face, I asked and then begged her to stay. And then with tears in her eyes, she whispered sorry and walked out of the door and my life.
I had no idea that Catherine was having an affair, sure she worked late at nights and put extra hours in during the weekends, but that's what real estate people do. I thought our marriage was bullet proof, we had the same up and downs as any marriage, but never anything major. Catherine was a rock of woman, attractive, strong and confident with a wicked sense of humour. The sight of her Amazonian curved body still made me hard after twenty years of marriage, and our love making was something else. There wasn't anything that Catherine wouldn't try between husband and wife. But to be told that Jimmy Keller, Catherine's manager now had her forever and I didn't, was simply unthinkable.
I don't know how long I sat in the lounge pondering my life without Catherine, I must have cried for hours, for it was dark when I eventually came to my senses. I can remember at the time, the horrible image of Jimmy between her legs, and the mounting desperation to bring her home for me to love and cherish was paramount. I would do anything, anything at all to have her back; I would forgive her without question. All I needed to do was to talk to her and surely she would see reason. I just had to act.
I tracked down Jimmy's address in the phonebook, and soon found myself outside his house. Sure enough, Catherine's Toyota was parked in the driveway beside a new Ford. With my heart in my mouth, I walked up to the footpath towards the front door. It was one of those flashy houses where you walk past large gardens and lounge windows to get to the front door; but the sight through the partially closed curtains stopped me dead. There in the lounge sat Catherine and Jimmy, their embrace passionate and strong.
I stepped from the path and into the garden close to the window to get a better view, the lights inside the room shielding me from my dark hiding place. I watched with a crying heart as Jimmy's hands stole under my wife's dress and slowly removed her panties. I watched as my lovely Catherine positioned herself on the couch and opened her legs wide for another man. I watched as Jimmy removed his clothes and slipped between her legs. And I watched as Catherine reached hold of his large erection and placed it between her submissive thighs. My heart died as Catherine wrapped her lovely legs around Jimmy, and then kissed him deeply. And only then, could I no longer watch anymore, for I knew in heart my Catherine was now gone from my life forever.
I'd never been much of a drinker, but sometime later I lay in the bath with an empty bourbon bottle between my legs, I think it had been half full when I started. In my hand was a loaded small frame Smith & Wesson handgun. Three times, the short barrel had been in my mouth and my finger on the trigger, and three times I had decided on one more swig of bourbon before I did the unthinkable. It was hard to fathom that my life had turned from damn near perfect to suicidal in a few short hours. But now the bottle was empty, and there was no excuse left for me on which to ponder. I closed my eyes and placed the now warm barrel into my mouth. I took the first pressure of the trigger and let my mind wander back through my life, and was just about to apply the final squeeze to end my misery, when the phone rang. The shrill ringing brought me to my senses, and for some unknown reason, I climbed from the bath and answered the hallway phone.
It was my good friends John and Susan that saved my life that night, for when they heard my uncontrollable weeping; they arrived at my house within a minute. Susan ignored my nakedness and covered me with towel before consoling me. As for John, well he picked up the Smith & Wesson and emptied the cartridges into his left pocket before putting the handgun in the right; I never ever saw it again.
Now its times like these when you find out who your real friends are. For the next two days, I was not left alone for a single minute. The suicide watch made sure that I didn't get one chance to harm myself. Even people who I thought were more Catherine's friends than mine, volunteered their help and support, and for that I will be eternally grateful. With their help, I began the long road to rebuilding my life without Catherine; and to be honest it wasn't without a few mistakes along the way, namely the use of call girls. It took a while for me to come to the conclusion that sex without emotion is little satisfaction. The journey back to some sort of normality was hard and painful, the sleepless nights, the lack of concentration and the feeling of loss and hopelessness. I would only have to see a happy couple laughing or holding hands, and I would fall slowly into a state of depression. But gradually and day by day, I lifted my head above the gloom and despondency.
Probably one of the biggest things that helped was exercise, for I took up running with a vengeance, something I hadn't done since high school. But the euphoria of beating a previous time and distance was like a medicine for my pain, and as the months passed by, I thankfully thought less and less about Catherine. In saying that, I have to confess to the odd tearful lapse, something hard for a grown man to admit. My social life was well organised for me, and there was never a weekend that I didn't receive an invite from friends, although the opportunities to meet the opposite sex was limited and probably unwanted on my part. The thought of another relationship was still too hard to bear.
I couldn't tell you when Kelsey and Adam moved into the house next door. One day the old neighbours were there, and the next thing I knew, there were foreigners living there. In those days, I don't think I was particularly sociable and apart from the odd wave and distant hello while mowing the lawns or the frequent coming and goings, there wasn't too much interaction between us. That all changed one Saturday, when Kelsey approached me as I was returning from my morning run and asked if she could join me sometimes. She told me that she liked to run, but didn't like to do so by herself, our neighbourhood was generally pretty safe, but there'd been the odd problem with lone women joggers receiving unwanted attention. As much as I wanted to say no, it was kind of difficult to do so. So I smiled and replied that would be okay, but later cursing as the last thing I wanted was to be slowed down by some unfit pretender.
The following day, Kelsey met me at the gate dressed very sensibly in good running shoes, baggy track pants and a loose shirt. Her longish hair had been tied back in a pony tail showing off a pretty but makeup-less face. Within two minutes, I realised that I'd made a serious mistake, for Kelsey set out at a quick pace and then settled down into an effortless gait which I had trouble keeping up with. After the first fifteen minutes, I had to ask Kelsey to slow down before I busted a boiler. I wasn't surprised to learn that she'd been a competitive long distance runner, good enough to be once considered for selection for the Olympics, but not good enough to be chosen. Over the following months, Kelsey pushed and coached me in both style and stamina, and had me achieving distances that I'd never considered possible.
During our runs, we gradually became friends and got to know more about each other. I told her about Catherine and what had happened, even about the suicide attempt. I was surprised at her reaction; she just stopped running and looked at me for a few seconds with big sad eyes, then gave me a little smile and my arm a little squeeze before setting off again. In turn, Kelsey told me about herself and Adam. She inferred that they had left their previous town because of trouble; I would later find out that Adam had witnessed a drive by shooting, and they were now in the witness protection scheme to avoid retribution by the gang who committed the crime. As time went on, we talked about our interests, things like movies and music. Kelsey implied that they didn't go out too much and pretty much kept to themselves.
On one of our excursions, Kelsey mentioned in passing that their computer had died, and since I worked in the industry, I offered my services. Later that afternoon, I went over to their house to diagnose and replace a failed power supply. My simple favour was repaid with an invitation for a meal, and it was at that time that I got to know Adam a little better.
We had lots in common, sport and fast cars; we disagreed on politics and spent many an hour in so-called debate on that particular subject. Stupid thing was that we were both too stubborn to be swayed by the other's argument, but it was still good fun. My failed marriage came up a couple of times, Adam already knew about my suicide attempt from Kelsey, which didn't surprise me at all. He put his arm around me and told me that nothing is worth that, and that every time I laughed since then was proof. Looking back, I never thought about the fact that Kelsey and Adam were kind of mismatched; he was a little older and carried around a substantial paunch from eating and drinking too much. On the other hand, Kelsey was one of those people who cared about her appearance and health. But not once did I ever see or hear her nag Adam about his extravagant intake. I was usually invited for a meal a couple of times a week, which I accepted but ensured I never outstayed my welcome.
It was a Wednesday night invite that things took a strange turn. We'd finished eating and the three of us remained at the table socialising over a rather nice red wine when Adam turned to me and grinned.
"What do think of my Kelsey?"
"She runs too fast." I replied with some humour.
"Do you think she's attractive?"
"Doesn't look too good in the mornings, the old track suit pants she wear's makes her arse look big. I'm usually behind her and its all I get to see." I replied.
Kelsey kicked me under the table and glared at me.
Her husband laughed when I pulled a face and rubbed my injured leg.
"So, you don't think my wife is attractive?"
I looked over at Kelsey and was surprised to see a nervous look on her pretty face instead of the sarcastic grin I was expecting. Where was this going I asked myself?
"Yes, she's attractive." I replied.
"How about desirable?" Adam asked. "Do you find my wife desirable?"
I placed my glass on the table and looked at them in turn, "I don't think I can remember what desirable is. Can you tell me what this is all about?"
Adam sighed and sat back in his chair, "I've got a problem with the old waterworks." he confessed. "Seems the old prostate ain't in good condition, the drugs I'm taking have rendered me useless in the old erection department. Pretty serious I'm advised; the doctors told me that I won't be able to perform the old humpty dumpty for a while."
"How does this affect me?" I asked.
"Be patient, I'm getting there." Adam suggested. "Thing is, that Kelsey loves sex, and I ain't going to be able to do it, well for a while anyway. What we're wondering is, whether you'd help out so to speak."
