Seemingly like many other writers, George Anderson's "February Sucks" tale struck a nerve with me. It's a great story; one that raises emotions in the reader. But I always had trouble with the premise that a previously loving wife would spontaneously implode her life just because a hot celebrity approached her. I would even have trouble believing a previously loving husband would act in that manner, and most guys would fuck a knothole if they weren't afraid of splinters. I just couldn't see Linda running off with a guy she just met.
So, after resisting the urge to add to this mythos, the need for an explanation finally eroded my resistance. So, without further blather, here's my mercifully short take on what led up to that fateful night.
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"Hi, I'm Marc. Would you like to dance?" He was standing behind Linda's left shoulder, holding his hand out to her.
A rush of desire overwhelmed her as she automatically took his hand and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. She melted into his arms, relishing the feeling of strength and sexuality that rolled off his body. She felt his hard presences, and her loins melted.
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They'd met at the coffee shop, when, talking to Dee on the telephone, she had picked up her order for the office and turned too quickly without looking. All four hot ventis fell over, soaking the man who, admittedly, was standing too close behind her. He yelped as the hot coffee soaked through his shirt.
Linda rushed to get some napkins and began trying to sop up the coffee. The man was trying to pull his shirt away from his body as Linda pressed the napkins against it, unwittingly pushing the hot clothe against his skin. As she did this, she became aware that the body under the shirt felt as hard as stone. She was so used to the softness of Jim's body; she ended up pressing the napkins against his body even after the man told her it was fine. He finally grasped her wrists and gently moved her hands away from his body.
Suddenly aware of what she had been doing, Linda's face blushed a bright red. She stammered an apology, but the man insisted that it was all his fault, that he was standing way too close to her. He signaled the barista to refill her order and to put it on his tab, over Linda's objections.
"Well," she said, "At least let me pay to dry-clean your clothes." She looked up into his face. Looking up made her feel young and foolish, childlike even. So different than with Jim, with whom she was almost eye-to-eye in height. "God, this man looks like a god!" She felt a surge of desire.
"Let me think about it." He smiled at the beautiful woman. "Why don't we sit down while they fill your order, and you can give me your phone number."
That was the beginning of her affair with Marc LaValliere. They arranged to meet for lunch, ostensibly so she could pay for his dry cleaning (which she never did), but they both knew it was really a date. By the third lunch, they would kiss when meeting and when parting, and Linda's kisses became ever more passionate and promising.