I thankfully pulled up in front of my house after a wasted three hour drive back from Scotland, the same house that I had departed from that morning. Everything seemed exactly the same and yet, even though the earth hadn't switched polarity and there had been no other global calamity, my life had inexorably changed. The previous evening, my lovely wife Erika and I had skipped TV to spend the whole evening happily discussing our long planned holiday in Antigua, now less than a fortnight away and that morning she had sent me off with a prolonged and very loving kiss, but as I operated the remote control, the rising garage door revealed another car parked in the place where mine ought to be. It was the same make and year as my own BMW but a radically different colour.
I was not yet really suspicious but definitely on my guard until, on quietly entering the house, my ears were assailed by loud playing music, music of a type that neither Erika nor I particularly cared for. Now concerned, I moved cautiously forward and pushed open the living room door but was quite unprepared for the sight which met my eyes. A strange shirtless man was reclining, eyes confidently, closed, in my armchair, with my wife on his knee, sprawled across him with her face buried against the side of his neck. At first sight she seemed fully dressed in blouse and skirt and that seemed slightly reassuring but as she changed position it became obvious that he had his hand between her thighs with his fingers deeply embedded in her cunt. They were still unaware of my presence and I had time to observe that her blouse was actually unbuttoned and that her bra had been pushed above her tits.
I've read stories of husbands in a similar invidious position. Some crept away quietly and kept their knowledge secret but others, although also making a quick exit, confronted their errant wives later. A third category chose to stand and watch, actually gaining arousal from the scene while some husbands with a different temperament rushed forward angrily, voicing expletives and shouting words that included 'divorce'. I was actually frozen, unable to quite believe the scene before my eyes and in that moment of indecision all my options except the last were snatched away. I don't think that I made any sound so they probably both instinctively and simultaneously became aware of my presence, because I suddenly found myself the focus of two pairs of startled and rather shocked eyes.
For the last three years, as part of a select six person administrative committee, I've spent one weekend every month at a meeting in Edinburgh, driving up there first thing on the Friday morning and getting home early evening the following Monday. I can mention nothing about the topics we discussed at this meeting, except to say that this had nothing to do with my real career but I had official leave of absence to attend. It may seem that giving up almost one in every four weekends is too much of a sacrifice were it not that the generous remuneration from these weekends provided the extra income which made our well above average standard of life possible. On my arrival in Edinburgh earlier in the day, I had been met with the dire news that one of our number had perished in a car accident on his way there. The result was that after dining and milling about indecisively for most part of the afternoon, we decided to scrap the whole meeting as a mark of respect to our dead colleague. I was still so stunned that the thought of informing my wife of my early return never even entered my mind.
'Mouth watering' was the expression that I used when once asked my opinion of Erika; this back when the possibility of ending up married to her seemed an impossible dream. To my mind she is perfection in both figure and face and her inner character is the same, with a generosity of spirit being foremost among her many attributes. At 5' 6" she is slim with nicely rounded breasts and pert behind, with an exceptionally narrow waist which nicely accentuates those assets. I also need to say that she has the kind of legs that stiletto heels were designed for. Without making her sound unintelligent, (because she is actually rather clever in her sphere), she does have a certain simplicity of thought which at times I have found very endearing. I do however regard myself as the thinking half of the marriage.
We 'met' in the rest room of a further education college, although at that time I had been admiring her from afar for almost a whole term. Then I had the good fortune to be able to help her with a project and asked for a date on the strength of that. We've now been together for ten years, (married for eight). She was just twenty two at that time while I was approaching my quarter century. We have no children by choice as yet but did eventually want a family, so were not unaware that the biological clock was now ticking. Rows are a constant factor of life for a great many marriages but I can honestly say that there were not even seriously raised voices between us during all the time since we met. I loved her with all my heart, was totally contented and I always believed that she felt exactly the same about me.
Erika immediately jumped to her feet, the natural look of shock on her face at my sudden appearance quickly replaced by one of determination. Taking two quick steps to stand between me and her lover, she said, "I'm sorry," but then, lest her apology should seem too open ended, she qualified with the words, "I'm so terribly sorry that you should find out like this. I never wanted to hurt you."
The guy had also quickly risen to his feet. He was white, looked possibly a few years older than me and had recognisably Scottish features. Apart from his missing shirt he was still fully dressed but I suspect that his fly was probably unzipped. His face didn't show the panic that I would have felt if caught in such a compromising situation but he certainly looked very uncomfortable. He had no fear of violence from me, quite apart from my pacifist nature. At around 6' 2" tall he was at least four inches taller then me, more heavily built and showing evidence of the same hours spent in the gym which were top of my list of unfulfilled intentions. It was very evident that he didn't know what to do but Erika solved his dilemma by hissing over her shoulder, "Dave, you go upstairs and wait."
Immediately and without question, he almost gratefully did as she said. I still hadn't spoken but you mustn't get the impression that I was just standing there nonplussed because in actual time very few seconds had passed. People talk about moments when time seems to pass in slow motion and this was certainly one of those. "How long has this been going on?" I asked calmly.
"Six months, at least this was going to be the sixth time if you hadn't come home," my wife told me truthfully.
"Why is whatever-his-name-is still in the house, I know that if I were in his position I'd want to be out of here?"
"He's called Dave and he's got nowhere else to go, he lives in Glasgow but was expecting to spend the night with me," my wife said simply. "Tomorrow night as well."
It may seem that I was unrealistically calm but I think that I was numb more than anything, "Why?" I asked, "I thought we were happy together."
"We are happy; this has nothing to do with that."
"Then what has it got to do with?"
Erika shook her head helplessly, "I can't tell you, I wouldn't be able to find the words and I'm afraid that if I did try, I might hurt you more than I have already, quite unnecessarily."