When Ellen, my wife of twenty-three years, returned home from a business trip to Chicago, there was something different about her, something strange. She just wasn't acting like herself. I found out why after supper that night when she handed me a glass of Scotch and told me that there was something she needed to tell me.
"Something happened at Vickie's."
Vickie was Ellen's life long best friend. She lived in Chicago, so Ellen had stayed with Vickie and her husband while there. "Okay" I said.
"I never thought I'd ever have to tell you something like this, or that I would ever do what I did, gezzz, honey, I'm so very sorry." Her eyes welled up and tears began streaming down her face.
I went to her and hugged her and said in my most consoling voice, "It's okay. Don't torture yourself. Just tell me and get it over with."
"I was unfaithful." And she burst out bawling uncontrollably.
Of course, by that time, I knew it had to be something like that. I couldn't think of anything else that would have her so upset. I didn't really have time to think about it. Ellen, my wife, the woman I loved, and my best friend for so many years needed me to remain calm and help her through what she was feeling. There would be plenty of time for me to be hurt and upset later.
I handed her my glass and instead that she take a drink. "You met someone and things just a little carried away. Is that what happened?" I asked her after she'd calmed down a little.
She didn't answer other than with a shake of her head, so I asked "What then?"
"With Vickie and Carl . . ."
"I see." I lied. Actually, I didn't see at all. My mind was whirling in an attempt to find some meaning to her words.
Of course, to understand my inability to comprehend what she was trying to tell me, you need to know that Ellen is one of the most sexually conservative women I've ever known. She was a virgin when we got married. It had taken almost three years before she had learned to relax enough to enjoy receiving oral sex. It was another two years before she got me off with her mouth, and even then, she pulled away and didn't get even a taste of my cum. That was the extent of our sexual variety, even on the day she was making that startling confession.
I took a deep breath and did what any level-headed man who loves and adores his wife would do. I said "Dear, I want you to finish that drink—all of it. It will help you calm down. And then I want you to go up and take a shower. When you're finished and calmed down, you can tell me what happened. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be feeling right now, but I'm glad you told me. I'm sure we can get through this if we do it together."
"I love you so much." She said as she started to cry again.
"I know you do, and I love you. Now drink up and go take a shower."
"Okay." She sobbed.
* * *
I was sitting in the swing on the back patio when Ellen appeared. I was a little surprised to see a full glass of Scotch in her hand. She rarely drank, and when she did, it was usually a mild screwdriver. "Feeling better?"
"A little." She said as she sat down beside me in the swing.
"Do you think you can tell me about it now?"
"Yes, I need to. I need to tell you everything."
"Okay, whenever you're ready, take your time and start from the beginning."
I didn't look at her, but could see her out of the corner of my eye as she tipped up the glass and took a big drink of Scotch. Then, after she'd finished shuddering and was able, she began:
"It was my first night there. Jackie and I were just sitting in their backyard having an after-dinner glass of wine, and then another and then another. We were just talking about old times and laughing. Carl was out bowling. He's on a league. Anyway, I lost track of how many glasses of wine I'd had.
By the time Carl got home, I was very tipsy. It just snuck up on me, I guess. The next thing I knew, we were drinking Margaritas. I should have known better. I'm such an idiot."
"So you got drunk. You've never been able to drink."
"I know, that's why I should have known better. Anyway, Jackie suggested that we go for a swim. I told her I didn't have a suit and asked her if she had one I could borrow. We're close enough to the same size. But Vickie and Carl both just laughed and said that they never wore swimsuits. They preferred skinny-dipping."
"I can't see you doing that."
"Me either, and I told them that. So they just took off their clothes right there in front of me and went for a swim. I should have gone inside and went to bed right then, but I couldn't. I was . . . I just couldn't. I just sat there, watching them, and sipping more Margarita like a total idiot.
Every few minutes, one or both of them would get out of the water and walk right up to the table and take a drink from their glass, standing naked right there in front of me like it was nothing. Carl didn't even try to hide his . . . he was turned on."
"Hrm, I see."
"Yeah, so did I." She let out a little chuckle, which told me that the Scotch was calming her down—way down."
"They kept teasing me for being too shy to join them, telling me I was just being silly and that I should loosen up and have some fun. Of course, there was no way I was going to do that. I was really tipsy, but not totally smashed—not enough to do that. But watching them like that was having a strange effect on me. I started feeling really turned on, especially when they were standing in front of me like that.
I must have had two or three more Margaritas, and then finally, one time when Carl was still in the pool and Vickie was standing at the table insisting that I join them, I did. I can't believe I did it, but I did."
"So, you took off your clothes and went swimming with them?"
"Yes. But we weren't doing anything, just swimming and splashing each other like kids—just having fun. But after a while, it didn't bother me anymore—being naked in front of them. I mean, they were naked too, so it didn't seem like such a big deal after a while.
Before long, I didn't think anything about getting out of the water to go for another sip of my drink, and then even later, all three of us were just sitting at the table drinking more."
"And you were still naked?"
