I noticed Paul and Kay's return address as I opened the envelope. I hadn't heard from them since a Christmas card last winter. It was a birth announcement. They had a new son and had named him Tom. I was flattered they had named him after me and happy for them as I knew they would be delighted to have a brother for their daughter.
It was all pretty amazing. A hundred different things could have kept it from working out the way it did. Let me back up and explain what happened.
One day Kay visited my store and I waved her over to my counter to say hi. I was a pharmacist in one of the remaining independent pharmacies in 2003. I hadn't seen her in a few years and it was great to see her again. As we visited I noticed she looked uncomfortable and asked what the problem was. She sheepishly asked what I would recommend for female cramps. I made a recommendation and commented that she should check with her doctor as most young women don't get cramps these days. I noticed that Kay was a little teary eyed and I asked if anything else was wrong. At that point she broke down even more and got very choked up. As I rung up her purchase I told her I would like to buy her lunch tomorrow if she wanted to talk and that my number was on the receipt.
I was a little surprised when Kay called the next day and we arranged to meet at a pizza shop we had gone to often when I was her softball coach eight years earlier. We ended up talking for nearly three hours. I had been to Kay's wedding two years ago but hadn't seen her much since. Kay had grown up in my neighborhood and I had coached the local girls' softball team for a number of years and we had gotten pretty close. Kay was a gangly young teenager when I first coached her but she matured into a lovely young woman and a very competent pitcher when she played her last season at 18. She was also one of those young women that you occasionally need to remind yourself is only slightly older than your kids and you might not want to be caught staring at her too much. A few years later she was a beautiful 24 year old bride with a handsome husband and a promising future as a teacher and coach at the local junior high school. Now she was a stressed-out emotional mess as we visited.
To make a long story not so long, the first year of her marriage had gone fine but things deteriorated in the second year and a few months ago she caught her drunken husband doing the dirty with an old girlfriend. Kay returned early from a rained out ballgame to witness her husband with cock pumping in and out of a naked woman's mouth as she lay on Kay and Paul's marriage bed. It took Kay a few moments for the scene in front of her to sink in and when it did she screamed an unnatural string of obscenities as the two scurried for their clothes. The very nervous, busty, naked brunette woman scrambled to find her clothes. Sliding on her shorts and blouse she quickly exited leaving her bra and panties littering the bedroom floor. Paul scurried to find his briefs and stumbled in his drunken condition to climb into his shorts and tuck his very hard wet cock in his shorts.
Over the ensuing several days, the heated and tearful confrontations ended up in accusations of Kay being a cold bore in the bedroom which created frustrations that had lead to a few too many drinks and giving in to temptation. Paul said he was sorry and pleaded for forgiveness. But Kay was far from being able to forgive so quickly. As the painful next days passed, bitterness set in and things deteriorated. Paul began to harbor uncertainty as to the future of their relationship. A few very tense weeks led to his decision to take a six month overseas assignment for the oil exploration company he worked for to give them both some time to cool off and reflect.
Kay was both crushed and furious. She was very much in love and stunned with both the fact that Paul had cheated and with the fact that he had put some of the blame on her for not fully satisfying him in the bedroom. She was in tears from the hurt but also seething to extract revenge. I remembered just how much of a competitor Kay was when she played softball.
After hours of detailing the full situation Kay looked at me with her bloodshot eyes and said, "Coach, how should I play this?"
I started with some questions and told her to think about them and we would get together in a few days. I asked Kay if the relationship was worth saving, if she would ever be able to trust Paul again, and, if she was willing to commit herself to make changes to fix the problem.
Kay and I met the following week to visit. She had exchanged a few emails with Paul about financial matters and family but the subject of their relationship had not been broached. She had had several sleepless nights thinking about my questions. She had some answers. Yes, the relationship was worth saving as she was convinced they still both loved each other and that Paul had no interest in the other woman other than for sex. She wasn't sure if she could ever trust Paul again, that would take time to determine. And finally, yes, she was willing to do what she could to make things right but she wasn't sure what that might mean and wasn't sure she had done anything wrong.
She turned and asked, "So coach, what do I need to do now?" I told Kay we needed to talk in an even more private location so we left the restaurant and walked toward her car. As we walked I told Kay that the only evidence I had as to what was wrong was her comments and Paul's behaviors suggesting that their sex life might have been a disappointment to him. I continued, "You are obviously very attractive and in good shape so that shouldn't be the issue. The other thing I know is that you weren't on the pill and I presume you were monkeying around with condoms or an IUD of something -- that could have contributed to the lack of spontaneity and his frustrations.
As I looked at Kay she was slightly flush but I pushed her to talk about it. I questioned if there were medical or religious reasons for not being on the pill or birth control shots. I told her that there were any choices and dosages and a strong safety profile. Kay simply said it was a decision from years ago at her mother's urging and she would take care of it. We scheduled a visit for the following Friday evening.