There was a time in my life when some relevant questions tormented me. I wasn't sure that I'd ever answer them completely to my satisfaction, let alone to the satisfaction of others, but I had hope. I regularly wondered how I got to the position where these questions had used up more of my brain power than I would have liked them to. I hoped that I would ultimately get satisfactory answers before my head exploded.
The four diabolical questions that vexed me were:
1) Can one have a long-term physically satisfying sexual relationship with someone that you don't like -- perhaps even detest?
2) Does having a sexual relationship outside of marriage with someone that you don't like necessarily mean that you don't really love or respect your spouse?
3) Can having regular sexual liaisons with someone you don't like allow you to "blow off steam" so that you're a better worker, lover, spouse, and/or parent than you otherwise would be?
4) Can you still honestly believe, maybe even know, that you are not disrespecting someone you hold in high regard and still fuck their detestable spouse?
That these four questions bothered me came to fore only once my wife Cindy and I moved to a new area for me to start a new, great, job.
When I, Mason Burns, got married to Cindy, the love of my life, nine years ago when I was twenty four, I couldn't postulate that any of these four questions would ever confront me.
When I went to work for Malcolm West, the president of TTX, Inc., a large international corporation three years ago in my dream job I would have laughed if any one of these four questions was hypothesized to me; I would have bet my entire life savings that they would never have any relevance to me.
Just months before the seminal part of this story I was figuratively fat, dumb, and happy. Then I came to question many things in my life.
***********
I met Malcolm West's wife Melody shortly after I started working for him. I was hired by Malcolm because I had a very broad set of skills that were important to him. Malcolm had trouble walking so he often rode in a wheelchair. Because of my size and strength I had the ability to physically help him in any situation, including even carrying him in his wheelchair a short distance or over a barrier. I also had an MBA and understood his business so that not only was I a helper and body guard but I could intelligently discuss and help implement many sophisticated business plans, and I understood the business of TTX almost as well as anyone else in the company except for Malcolm. Malcolm had told me many times that I was indispensable to him and I believed him since he made me the third highest paid employee of TTX.
When I first met Melody I was surprised that Malcolm was married to her. There are many reasons for this.
One, Melody was probably my age of 33 when I write this story; maybe a year or two older, but about twenty years younger than Malcolm.
Two, Melody did not seem very sophisticated although Malcolm is one of the most sophisticated people I have ever met.
Three, Melody seemed most comfortable in organizing, attending, or participating in physical activities, whereas Malcolm seemed to treasure intellectual and artistic activities.
Four, Melody has a sharp tongue and while Malcolm is no-nonsense in business and has a strong character he never verbally abuses anyone in any way.
Melody has one feature that provides a rational reason that Malcolm married her. She is very good looking, with a sultry aura.
While my impressions of Melody were not favorable the first few times that we interacted, my wife Cindy was not as harsh in her view of Melody. In any event since initially I didn't have to deal with Melody on a regular basis, and since Malcolm seemed to be relatively happy in his marriage, I just stuffed my views in the back of my mind and didn't let them occupy any of my brain cells.
Then there came a first problematic event. For some reason Melody accompanied Malcolm and me during a business trip to Stockholm. I think that there were a number of well-known shopping areas there that she wanted to scope out.
Malcolm, Melody and I were leaving a high-class Stockholm restaurant where Melody had had too much to drink, although she wasn't actually drunk. Our plan was to walk back to our hotel with me pushing Malcolm's wheelchair. The plan was delayed when Melody stumbled -- probably in part due to her alcohol consumption, and in part due to her four inch spiked heels -- into a young man on the street. If she had just apologized we could have been on our way.
Unfortunately not only did Melody not apologize but she let loose a string of invectives normally reserved for drill Sergeants or prison guards. The wronged young man responded in kind.
Melody and the young male -- who spoke good English (as it seems that everyone in Sweden does) -- were soon in each other's faces while exchanging vile swearwords. I could tell that Malcolm was uncomfortable and I asked him if I should intervene and he enthusiastically indicated "Yes."
I walked between spitfire Melody and the young man and calmly said to him "I'm sorry if we've offended you. We're unaccustomed to the customs of your country and I hope that you could excuse us."
This irritated Melody and she snapped "He's the asshole here, I haven't done anything rude," as she pushed me to try to get to the guy. I turned to her and said "Please calm down, Mrs. West; let's just stroll to the hotel."
"Not until this little shit apologizes," she snarled. Then she swung her purse at him, around my body, and it connected. He then swung at her and caught her a glancing blow. That now meant that I had to intervene physically.
I grabbed the young man by the collar, lifted him off the ground, and walked him ten steps away up against the brick front of the restaurant. I mumbled to him "I know that she's acting like a bitch but you don't ever hit a woman. Now just turn and walk away; we're going south, you go north."
"You can't tell me what to do," he snarled.
I put my hand on his throat and squeezed. In a low voice I continued "I don't want to hurt you but you must realize by now -- since you can't move, talk, or do anything with my hand crushing your larynx -- that I'm fully capable of hurting you. Walk away now. If after I release you to save your pride you need to yell some swearwords at me, feel free to do so. But walk away or you will get hurt badly."
Not being able to breathe for a while apparently gave the guy religion because he nodded his head "Yes," I released him, and as we both walked away, me south, him north, he did yell some swearwords at me although not very loudly because he still didn't yet have fully functional vocal cords.
While I had been roughing the guy up apparently Malcolm had calmed Melody down some because she seemed ready to walk back to the hotel. At that point, however, both she and I were doing a slow burn; me because not only was she initially at fault but because her feisty personality had intensified the situation; she because I didn't just take her side and punch the guy out.
Neither she nor I said much as we walked back to the hotel. After I delivered Malcolm to his and Melody's suite I went directly to mine, which was on the same floor. I had undressed, took a shower, and put on a robe when there was a strident knock on my door. I opened it and Melody pushed past me into my suite.
At the restaurant she had on a business suit with a relatively short skirt and jacket and what appeared to be a flimsy but elegant blouse, along with her four inch heels. Now in my room she had removed her jacket (revealing just how flimsy her blouse was) and had flats on her feet.
With her eyes shooting out laser beams and her breath smelling of recently consumed Scotch Melody verbally attacked me. "You dumb fucking lout, why did you take that asshole's side and not just kick the shit out of him?"
"Because it seemed like you were not only in the wrong but you were intensifying the situation beyond reason. How could you get into an altercation on the street in Stockholm? Why didn't you just walk away? I'm not your fucking nursemaid or bodyguard."
"How dare you talk to me like that, you asshole; I'll have Malcolm fire you."
"Listen bitch, you don't want to tell Malcolm it's you or me because you will get shit-canned before I do. He needs me for many reasons; he doesn't need a bitch like you for anything aside from sex."
The argument escalated. During it she pushed me a couple of times and I moved slightly backward with each push just to keep her out of my face. Unrecognized by me, however, was that her pushes dislodged the cloth belt of my robe exposing my naked male equipment.