Her Problem Ch 05

I was sitting on one side of our dining room table while my beautiful wife Marizona and my in-laws sat on the other trying not to lose control of the anger I felt beginning to build inside of me. The fact that Mare was not sitting beside me was part of the reason for my anger and the feeling that my solution to Mare's possible pregnancy wasn't going to be what she and her parents wanted was part of it also.

"No Joe, don't feel that way. There aren't any sides for anybody to be on in this situation. We don't even now that I'm pregnant yet. Let's try and work this out together as a family. Please Joe; can you do that for me?" Mare asked me with the whiny tone that she had learned to use whenever she wanted the exact opposite from what I wanted and which usually caused me to give in and let her have her way.

"If there are no sides, why are you sitting over there with Roberto and Selena while I'm over here by myself? If you want to work this out as a "family", why are we having this discussion with them still here? Our family consists of you and me, Mare, not you, me, and your parents." I said as the anger I was struggling with caused my voice to get louder than I meant for it to.

I took a couple of deep breaths to give myself time to get myself back under control as I watched Roberto's face and neck begin to redden as his anger began to build while Selena and Mare both cringed from the my outburst. I saw Selena grab her husband's hand and squeeze it in what I assumed was an attempt to get him to control himself before he said the wrong thing.

"Yes and no, Joe." Mare said to me after the four of us had gained some control over our emotions. "Yes, you and I are a family, but we both are part of a bigger family, my family; which you were welcomed into with open arms and that I had thought you accepted as well. They are a part of this because, if I'm pregnant, it's their grandchild I'm carrying. Like it or not, they have as much at stake if I'm pregnant as we have, Joe.

"You knew I was an only child, you knew how much they've wanted us to have a baby so they are still here because they have a right to be here."

"Joe, please believe me when I tell you we had no idea of what was going on when we came here today. Mare called her mother in a panic when she couldn't get a hold of you yesterday worried that something bad had happened to you. When your friends Mark and Angie wouldn't tell her whether they'd seen or heard from you yesterday, she assumed the worst and her mother and I came to be with her if something had happened to you.

"We didn't know about what Stephanie had done to the both of you until Mare throw her little temper tantrum at me for yelling at you this morning. I'm sorry that this has happened, but I agree with Selena that there can't be an abortion if Mare is pregnant. It is murder as far as we are concerned and I'll do everything I can to see that our little girl doesn't become a murderer." Roberto told me with an edge to his voice that let me know that he was barely containing his anger which only rekindled my own anger.

"I'm sorry you see it that way because it's not the way I see it. To me, it's just another form of birth control, an extreme form of birth control, yes; but still a legal method of birth control." I managed to say without raising my voice.

"Shut up, both of you just shut up." Mare yelled at her father and me as she sprang up from where she was sitting and knocking the chair over.

The sound of it hitting the hardwood floor of the dining room made the three of us still sitting jump a little in surprise and shock. I couldn't remember every seeing Mare look as angry as she looked at that moment.

"If I'm pregnant, which I hope and pray that I'm not, I'll be the one deciding on what happens. It's my body, my baby if there is one, and my decision. I will make the choice if there is one that needs to be made. Part of that decision will come from whether Joe and I are still together or not.

"Joe, I want to remain your wife and I promise that I will do everything I can to prove that to you. I won't make you raise another man's child if I am pregnant, but I can't agree to an abortion right now either. Please Joe, don't worry about whether I'm pregnant or not and concentrate on what I need to do to make this up to you. I love you and I know you still love me.

"Tell me what I need to do for you to move back upstairs into our bedroom and our bed." Mare managed to say after picking up her overturned chair and sitting back down in it.

"No, I won't discuss that with you while your parents are here. I'm sorry I didn't think that they'd be dragged into this mess, but I wasn't exactly thinking very well yesterday for some reason." I said with as light hearted a tone as I could. "They may have a part in your pregnancy if there is one, but they don't have any part in our marriage, Mare.

"If you want to talk to me about staying together, you'll have to wait until they leave. If you all will excuse me, I think I'll go outside by myself for a while.

"Roberto, Selena, I'm sorry you came all the way up here and got caught up in all of this, but Mare and I need to work out our problems together without any influence from the two of you. I know you were concerned about my well fair and I appreciate it, but I don't appreciate how you both have tried to dictate what will or will not happen when it comes to mine and Mare's situation.

"If Mare and I can't get past this, I promise to be fair when it comes to the terms of the divorce as long as you are, Roberto. Stay and visit with Mare as long as you want, but I need to be alone right now."

I stood up from the table and shook my head no at her when I saw Mare start to stand. I walked around the table on the opposite end from where Mare was sitting and proceeded to my room where I slipped my feet into a pair of sneakers that I'd removed the laces from that I wore when I went outside but wasn't planning on going anywhere else. I went out to the big tree in our backyard, the outdoor table and pair of matching lounge chairs under it, and sat in the one that was still in the shade of the tree.

I sat and thought about everything that had happened in the last few hours. In our nine year marriage, this was the first time Mare's parents had tried to manipulate us in any way. I didn't like the way I was feeling at that moment and was even more confused about the future of mine and Mare's marriage than I was before.

I didn't want my in-laws and particularly my father in-law having influence on mine and Mare's marriage. Divorce seemed to be the only way to keep that from happening if Mare continued listening to them.

The thought of divorce caused me to remember those years of separation we'd went through before and doubt became the foremost emotion inside of me. The loneliness I'd felt without Mare in my life came rushing back and a feeling of dread overwhelmed me. I didn't see how I'd be able to survive without her and I began thinking maybe I could live with Roberto and Selena's occasional interference.

The waffling back and forth in my head must have exhausted me because the next thing I knew, Mare was squatting beside me softly kissing as much of my face as she could reach. I sat up suddenly and gently, but firmly, pushed her away from me.

"Don't." I barked at her. "I've not forgiven you yet so don't."

"But you've always liked it when I awakened you like that in the past. I was only trying to show you that I haven't changed and that I love you more than ever, Joe." Mare struggled to say while fighting not to cry.

"It's too soon for any lovey-dovey, Mare. On top of your cheating on me, the possibility of you being pregnant, and my need to for you to hurt as much as I am; your parents are trying to interfere in our marriage and I don't like it.

"You promised me you'd never get drunk again so that your urge for multiple sex partners wouldn't come back, promised to be mine and only mine when we got married, and promised to have my back against any and everybody, your family included; but you've broken every one of those promises as far as I'm concerned.

"When we discussed the possibly of you being pregnant before, you promised you'd do whatever I wanted you to do about it, but since your parents have put in their two cents on the matter; I'm almost certain that you're going to break that promise too.

"I can't live with your parents interfering in our marriage or you're not taking my side whenever there is a disagreement between me and them.

"I'm seriously thinking that divorce is the only option we have for resolving this mess, Mare. I love you, but I'm not sure that I can live with you any longer. You've broken too many promises and it doesn't look like you're going to be able to stop breaking them so maybe it would be best if we go our separate ways."

"Please Joe, don't say that. This is the first time that you've known of in our marriage that my parents have tried to influence me whenever you and they didn't agree on how we should go when there was a decision to be made in our marriage.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want it to upset you, but they wanted me to take that modeling contract when we were in grad school. I knew you didn't want me to and I didn't want to be separated from you any more than you wanted to be separated from me so I didn't take it.

"Can you honestly tell me of one time that we've made a decision in our marriage that my parents influenced either one of us into making?" Mare pleaded, argued, and asked of me.

"No, I can't; but there's always a first for everything." I answered her, flippantly.

"I thought you could control your drinking if I wasn't around to help you, but the first time I'm not with you, you get drunk; let three men have their way with you so your choosing your parents' side over mine will be another first in the long line of firsts of things you've done this weekend that I never thought you'd do.

"If you're pregnant and decide to have the baby, our marriage is over. I won't quit my job or coaching so we can be together in your father's complex in Mexico during your pregnancy and I won't be separated from you for however long you'd be hiding down there so no one finds out about the pregnancy. I've never tried to force you into doing something I wanted and you didn't and I never will, but I can leave you, divorce you, and do everything in my power to never see you again in person if you're pregnant and won't terminate it.

"If your father comes for me again with some of his goons like he did in Cancun, I'll fight until they either kill me or leave me in such bad shape that I'll never be any good to you or any other woman." I was able to say to her without getting too loud and animated.

"Please Joe; stop worrying about what to do about something we're not even sure about. We need to be worrying about what I need to do to make you forgive me so we can save our marriage. I don't want to sleep alone another night so tell me what I need to do to get you to move back upstairs." Mare begged of me.

"I'm sorry, Mare, but you'll be sleeping alone for I don't know how long. You only think you know how much you've hurt me with your actions, but you can't possibly know because it happened to me and not you." I told her as I felt the pain again and began to tear up.

I turned away from her so she wouldn't see my tears and used the bottom of my t-shirt to wipe my face dry. I turned back to her when I felt her place her hand on my shoulder and heard her try and contain her own sobs of pain. I shook my head no when she held her arms open for a hug even though that was what I wanted as well at that moment.

Mare sat down on the ground beside me before speaking to me again.

"I'm going to the clinic tomorrow to get checked for STD's and, if it's possible this soon, a pregnancy test. I trust Marcia enough to explain to her why I need them done so that no one finds out about them being for me. I don't think I'm good enough at lying to stay in contact with Stephanie, but don't worry, Poppi is going to take care of our revenge on her. We'll never be bothered by Stephanie ever again Joe."

"What is your father planning to do to her, Mare?" I asked.

"I was thinking about setting her up to be used by two or three men, preferably black or Hispanic men; making a video of it and sending it to Billy Bob. As racist as he is, I'm sure that their marriage would be over. If she happened to get pregnant from her encounter, it would be icing on the cake. I wasn't thinking about hurting her physically or making her disappear forever which I'm afraid your father is thinking about doing to her." I explained to Mare as her eyes got bigger with shock from the revenge I'd been thinking about inflicting on Stephanie and the vicious tone of my voice.

"I don't know what he has planned, but I did get him to promise me she wouldn't be hurt too badly and that he'd eventually return her to Birmingham when he was through punishing her. Forget about her and tell me what else I need to do to get you to forgive me. I've loved you since before we ever went out on that first date and I still love you, Joe.

"I knew you weren't like the other boys and men that I dated before I met you from reading your stories. I still have those old notebooks with your writing in them along with the ones you've written in since then. I know you thought they'd gotten lost or thrown away during our many moves, but I've kept them near me all this time and still read them whenever I start feeling overwhelmed with things.

"What happened to that sensitive, caring young man that wrote such wonderful things in those notebooks, Joe? That man wouldn't be demanding me to get an abortion or give up a child I'd borne even if it was another man's." Mare said to me as her in charge voice began to return.

"He got replaced by an older, tougher man that realized that being sensitive was looked upon as being weak by his teammates and coaches. That man might be able to have raised another man's child even though that child would be a constant reminder that his wife cheated on him. I'm not that man anymore, Mare. I promise you I won't lose any sleep worrying about Stephanie, but you may if you find out your father has hurt her or killed her thinking it would make me come around to his and your mother's way of thinking.

"I need to get away from the house for a while so I'm going to go down to the restaurant and watch the Rangers on the TV in the bar. You need to give me my space if you want me to begin forgiving you for what you've done so don't follow me down there or call me every hour wanting to know when I'm coming home. I'll be home when I'm ready.

"One more thing, Mare. Don't be trying to break into my room and moving my stuff back upstairs. If you do that, I promise the next move my stuff makes will be into the back of my truck. I'm sure Mark and Angie will let me use the guest room until I find an apartment to move into.

"The divorce won't be that bad unless you or your father make it that way. The house is a rental, nothing to gain there, both our vehicles are paid for so I keep the truck and you keep your car, even though technically, they were bought with your father's money, so we'll be even there; you make way more than I do with your salaries from the school and your monthly dividend from your share in your father's companies and I could probably get the court to order you to pay me alimony, but I won't do that.

"The way I look at it, a divorce would be a "win-win" for both of us if that is the way this whole mess ends up going. Truthfully and at this exact moment, Mare; I not sure if I'll ever be able to forgive you for what you've done. I can only promise to try and as long as you leave me alone to get over the pain, anger, and confusion that I'm feeling, I won't leave you like I did the last time this happened."

"What am I supposed to do while you're gone, Joe?" Mare asked me while struggling not to cry.

"Clean the house, do the dirty laundry, go spend some of your money you've been saving; hell Mare I don't know what you're supposed to do while I'm gone. You're the one who has upset our normal routine so you figure out what to do until we can start doing those things together again." I told her before storming into the house.

I threw on some clothes, drove to the Lakeside Restaurant, went into the bar, nursed two club sodas through nine innings of baseball, then wondered around the edge of the lake or sat in the shade of trees growing beside the lake until it was almost dark before returning to the house.

Mare must have cleaned the whole time I was gone because the inside of the house was neater and smelled fresher than it had in a long time. She must have been upstairs because I didn't see her while walking through the downstairs to the kitchen and to my room. I was down to my boxer-briefs when I heard the tentative knock on my door. I saw the sadness on Mare's face when I unlocked the door and opened it and she was standing in front of it.

She had on her sexiest lingerie which caused my cock to react the same way it had always reacted when I'd seen her in it. She tried to smile her most seductive smile at me when she saw my reaction.

"I see a part of you is glad to see me like this, Joe. I'll help you get rid of that if you'll let me. Please Joe, either let me in or, better yet, come back upstairs to our bed and you can make me your woman again." She purred at me.

"Did you go out and get some condoms, Mare? By your reaction I can see you didn't. Don't worry about my hard cock; it'll go back down by itself, eventually. Have you forgotten what I said yesterday? Evidently you did or wasn't I clear enough for you?

"We will not be having unprotected sex until all of your tests for STD's come back clean. If you can get Marcia to prove to me that six months isn't how long that will take, then it will be shorter than that but until she does; six months from now, if we are still together, we can start having bareback sex again and not before.

"You caused this mess so you'll have to get the condoms if you want to have sex with me before then. Good night, Mare. Unlike you, I have to be at school tomorrow and I need to get some sleep." I told her as I saw the dejection and pain on her face before shutting the door and locking it.

The next two days were uneventful as I went through as normal of a routine as I could while working on avoiding Mare when I was at the house.

I let her give me a hug on Wednesday of that week and that must have been all the encouragement she needed. When I returned home that afternoon Mare was waiting on me in an even sluttier lingerie set than the one she'd had on the Sunday before. It must have been new because I'd definitely not seen it before. A sheer red teddy through which I could see her unencumbered small breasts and the already erected nearly inch long nipples that were underneath it made up the top portion of the set.

Mare's right thumb was rubbing her hardened clit through the matching pair of panties that were crotch less and gave her easy access to her sex which was glistening with her juices. She pulled her left hand from behind her back to reveal the box of twelve Trojan condoms she'd been hiding as I'd entered the house.

"Do you like my surprise, Joe? I got these and my attire while I was out today. You've barely touched me since I've been back from Atlanta and I miss that. Please Joe; I need you to fuck me. However you want, whatever you want; I'm yours tonight to use. Please make me your woman again." Mare begged of me as she continued to alternate from rubbing her clit and fingering her pussy.

It had been a week and a half since our last fuck session and except for the bout of phone sex we'd engaged in barely a week ago I hadn't had any sexual release so that the sight of her in the excited state she was in was too much to resist. My cock had hardened on its own; betraying me for a second time in only a short span of time so I gave into to it by unbuckling my belt, undoing my pants, and dropping them to the floor with my right hand while taking a condom packet out of the open box it was in with my left. I used the toe of my left shoe to slip the heel of my right down so I could step out of it then used the toes of my right to do the same to the left.