HAREM SCAREM
Sam and Janet Knight were hosting their monthly bridge evening. There were two tables, as there had been for about three years. Sam and Janet were playing with Norman and Joan White. It was their turn to play with these partners. Sam heartily disliked Norman. He and Joan had taken the place of a couple who had moved away to San Diego. Norman was a software salesman. He was a big guy, blond, about thirty-five. In fact, all the players were in their thirties. Sam and Janet were thirty-four. Joan was thirty-two. Harry and Cybil Blaine were both thirty-six. Jonny Stuart and his wife Mary were thirty-three and thirty-two.
Sam had married Janet when he was twenty-eight, just out of the Army. They met when he was stationed at Fort Blinter, and she taught school nearby. They hit it off, and he courted her. Sam was a bland looking guy, 5'10", 165 pounds. He was brown on brown, and still sported his short army cut. Janet was a striking brunette, 5' 7", slim. The couple had no children, but had decided to try for that soon.
When Sam decided to leave the service, he had computer skills that allowed him to start his own consulting firm, selling to the government. The couple moved to a Scottsburg, an upscale suburb near Washington. There they were invited to join a bridge group that formed in the neighborhood. Later Norman and Joan were invited. That development meant that Sam did not enjoy the bridge evenings as much as he had.
Since Norman and Joan joined, Sam had noticed an increasing tension on bridge evenings. He put that down to Norman, who was loud, brash and thoroughly annoying to Sam. He also tended to drink too much, which only increased his obnoxious behavior. When Sam and Janet hosted, Sam watered down Norman's drinks, if he could. But it really didn't do much good.
Janet turned away from Sam's suggestion that the group find another couple to replace Norman and Joan. She and Joan had become very good friends, and the four women in the group seemed to have a lot in common. For about the last year and a half, the four had started doing a monthly girls' night out. Janet always attended. Sam thought it was good for her. She always seemed happy when she came in from those, usually about midnight.
Since it was a Sam and Janet evening, Sam had been serving Norman watered drinks. But Norman was in high form, anyway. He was flirting openly with the three women married to others. He was especially flirting with Janet. Everyone else seemed uncomfortable, but no one said anything. Finally, when Norman put his hand on Janet's thigh, Sam had had enough.
He said, "Cut that shit out, Norman. That's my wife. You're in my house. You've crossed the line."
"Fuck you," Norman slurred. "I've fucked every woman in this room, you idiot, including your precious wife."
Sam looked quickly at Janet. Janet was looking down at the table. Sam looked at the others in the room, first Joan, and then those at the other table. None of the women would look at him. What's more, Sam noticed, neither of the men would look at him either.
Sam had no doubt that Norman had, in fact, fucked Janet. He also knew that all the other people in the room were involved. He slowly stood up.
Janet seemed shaken by the developments. She knew her husband, and what he had done in the service.
"Sammy, Sammy, please. Don't do anything to him." She pleaded with her husband.
"He can try to do whatever he wants. I'll fuck him up. I'm tired of tiptoeing around when he's present. He needs to get with the program." Norman was snarling. He had stood up. Sam and he were standing, facing each other over the card table. Norman was looming over Sam and the two women.
Sam didn't say anything. He hit Norman in the throat, quick and hard. Norman fell back, clutching his throat. He went to his knees. Sam was around the table. He kicked Norman in the balls, very hard. Norman fell straight back. He didn't move. Sam turned to Janet.
"You better have some explanation, bitch."
The other four were now standing. Harry held his hands out in a placating gesture to Sam. "Sam, just take it easy. Take it easy."
Sam looked at the four, Harry especially. "That asshole said he'd fucked your wife, and Jonny's wife, too. What do you have to say about that? Would you like to give him a quick kick? I don't mind."
No one responded.
Sam moved to a strategic location. They were in a room off the main hall. There was one entrance, a double sliding door. Sam was in front of it.
Sam spoke to Janet, "What do you have to say?"
"Please Sam. I....can explain. But we should call an ambulance for Norman."
"Nope. He gets no help. No one reaches for their phone. I noticed that when asshole sounded off, not a single one of you said anything, and none of you would look at me. I'm gonna need some explanation, or things could go very badly for all of you."
Jonny was a lawyer, with courtroom experience. He decided that he needed to take charge here, and make the best explanation he could.
"We...all of us here except you, have had an arrangement for a while. You need to understand, we would have invited you, but Janet said...."
Janet screamed, "Shut the fuck up, you fool. Keep your stupid mouth shut. You Have no idea what he can....."
Sam, took a glass off the table to his right. He threw it across the room, where it shattered into a dozen pieces on the mirror above the mantle.
Mary spoke up. "Sam, we girls were restless. We had our girls' night out. We'd go dancing sometimes. But even if we got all worked up dancing, we couldn't do anything else -- not with strangers. So, I thought, we could.....do things with our husbands. With the other husbands. Not ours. And I said that. Joan and Sybil were interested. They thought that their husbands would go for it. I thought Johnny would go for it. He's always flirting with.....well.... Janet."
Janet now seemed in a state of pure dread. She didn't speak. She stared at Sam. She'd never seen Sam look so implacable, yet angry. When she first met him, he'd had nightmares. He gave her a short explanation. She was recalling that explanation now. She had told the other women about it. About the rages against the heavy bag in the cellar. About the army.
Cybil said, "But Janet told us that you would never go along with it. She said she'd never even ask. That left the three of us. We made an arrangement with our husbands. On girls' night out, we'd meet up at one of our houses and switch husbands."
Sam looked at her. "What about Janet? She always went to girls' night out."
Jonny said, "She said she'd like to come and watch. She couldn't do anything. She had no man to put into the pot."
"But that didn't seem fair to the rest of us. It was you who were the big stumbling block. Janet would have joined in. So....we invited her. Each month, one guy would have two women."
