This is the fourth episode in the Financial Planner saga. The first three episodes were told from the points of view of 1) the client/lover, 2) the planner/wife, and 3) the cuckolded husband of the planner. This episode is told from the point of view of the client's wife, the last one to learn the facts in the whole matter, and then was driven by revenge into the middle of it.
*
Dear Ann,
I met your husband today. He came to my house on the pretense of beginning piano lessons. He wound up cumming in his pants on my piano bench. It was interesting to watch in a pitiful sort of way. He then tried to seduce me while I helped him clean up and get into a pair of my husbands pants. Funny, now I know you both have been in my husband's pants.
I thought fucking your husband in return would get me some measure of satisfaction. Actually I barely noticed his little dick in me, so it did nothing. I do understand why you went looking for someone new!
I have some reservations about the investments my husband made with your help. However I'm a bit afraid to speak directly to you about them, since I'm not sure I could contain my rage about what you've done to my life. Don't worry though, I'll just call your office and speak with the sales manager. I'm sure he'll understand why I am by passing his representatives and going directly to him.
Have a nice day.
Nan
*
Dear Jon,
As I write this, you are sitting on the front doorstep locked out of the house. I guess the impact of your actions is hitting you. We are no longer a couple. My family now consists of two kids away at school, and one here at home with me. You are no longer welcome. I will pack your things and leave them outside the garage door. I will send an e-mail to your blackberry whenever something is ready, please pick them up promptly, but after dark so we don't have to see you. Don't bother to call or respond to these e-mails, I won't answer. You can reach me through Jeff, my lawyer. Yes, I've already talked to your brother, he is so pissed that you treated me like this, he agreed to handle my side of the divorce for free.
I never want to see you again.
Nan
*
Dear Mike,
Thank you for your eventual honesty today. I realize you were driven by revenge and don't hold that against you. I felt the same way when I let you feel like you were seducing me. I suspected something was amiss with my marriage when Jon started meeting your wife and told me I didn't need to come along. That was so out of character for us, we always shared everything.
I don't regret our tryst this morning, but I also do not want to repeat it. I would like to call on you as a witness for my divorce proceedings. Jon and I had a pre-nuptial agreement that includes a clause giving everything uncontested to the victim if one of us starts cheating.
Sincerely,
Nan
*
As soon as I finished typing my third e-mail, I heard a knock at the back door. I guess Jon had read my message on his blackberry, as he was now pleading to talk to me. He begged to work something out. I went to the desk drawer in the den, took out his brother's business card, and taped it to the window of the deck door, so he could read it. I was happy I had called Jeff and Ann's boss Ed before I sat down to let the principals in this affair know how I felt.
Jeff had been so upset when I told him what was going on. He has always liked me, and on many occasions told me he would do anything for me. He never said that in a sleazy way though. There was never any sexual undertone in those offers. He was so in love with his wife, I could never suspect him of any intent that was less than pure. That was a characteristic of Jon's family.
Their home lives were remarkably stable. His grandparents had celebrated heir 60th wedding anniversary the year after we had married. They were always so sweet together, and bent over backwards to make sure each other was happy. Even in their 80's, every Sunday afternoon, Grandpa would get a twinkle in his eye, and insist Grandma go up and "take a little nap." We all knew there was no napping going on, even though they were discreet and quiet as mice. I remember how lucky I thought they were to have found true love, as Grandpa gently escorted her up the stairs. I always felt a warmth in my heart, hearing them pad down the hall to their room, and then hearing the quiet click of the door being prudently locked. After a while, they'd come downstairs again, smiling the smiles of lovers who had just shared each other's bliss.
Jon's parents too were inseparable. They did everything as a couple. They shared household chores as well as pastimes, finished each other's sentences, read each others minds, and even had come to dress alike, although quite subconsciously. Jon's two brothers had learned from their parents and grandparents, and were both amazing husbands and fathers. When Jon's mom had passed away last year, Dad had been inconsolable, and his devotion to his wife had continued beyond her life, as he went to visit her gravesite several times a week, always with fresh roses. I thought I had struck the jackpot when I married into that atmosphere of love and devotion.
Jon had strayed though. Jeff felt somewhat ashamed of Jon when I called. This just wasn't how they were raised, he told me. They were better than that, and he wanted represent me as a way of restoring family dignity, and because he loved me like a sister.
Ann's boss had been somewhat less elegant when we spoke. He hit the roof. First he refused to believe it from Ann. She was apparently his favorite associate, always getting the job done with class and integrity. The firm was very conservative, and put a great deal of emphasis on its employees to adhering to a strict code of ethics. After some convincing details, he thanked me for my call, and told me he would revoke the contracts my husband had purchased immediately. The company would also take appropriate steps with Ann after a proper investigation.
I could see Jon through the curtains on the back door. He was deep in thought, when suddenly his phone rang. People never realize when they select those cute little ring tones how ridiculous they can make you look if they ring at the wrong time. Somehow "Put On A Happy Face" blaring out of that little cell phone speaker seemed pretty stupid just then. I figured it was Ann calling. Jon walked off the deck into the back yard, but I could read in his very animated gestures that this was not a pleasant call from his lover.
When he finished the call he came back up the steps to the door, and pounded while calling my name. I was sitting right there on the other side of the door of course, although I was a bit worried that the tempered glass on the sliding door might not be able to stand the stress. He alternated between pleading and commanding me to open the door. He was furious that I had made calls before talking to him, and said he needed a chance to explain. I wasn't about to be talked out of anything. I'd been suspicious of his activities lately, and Mike's story earlier that day just gave credibility to those suspicions. I called Jeff, and let him know his brother was going off the deep end. He told me he'd be right over, and since he lived nearby, that really put my mind at ease.
I also called my Mom, asking her to pick up Jack, our youngest son. Jack was still living at home, while my older two were off in college. When I let her know what was going on, she quickly agreed, although she too found the situation hard to believe. Jeff would arrive before her, so I knew Jon would not be able to present any problem.
I went upstairs to see Jack. He looked pretty worried, and wondered why his daddy was so angry. I just told him sometimes grownups have bad days too, but both of us loved him very much. When I asked him if he wanted to go with grandma for a while so Mommy and Daddy could talk, he brightened up. We had him packed in just a few minutes, and he settled in to his favorite video while he waited for my mom.
When I got downstairs, Jeff had already arrived, and was talking to his distraught bother on the deck. Jeff had brought help, as Jon's father was also there. After a while, Jon got up and left with his dad, while Jeff knocked lightly on the glass. I let him in.
He explained to me that Jon would stay with his dad while things were arranged. He went up to our room and I helped him pack a couple of bags. He played with Jack for a bit, and was ready to leave when the doorbell rang. He helped me get Jack squared away with Mom, and stayed to talk when they left.
We spent a couple of hours talking. We talked about what had happened, and what I could expect. He told me I was in the driver's seat, and that we would be able to set me up very well for life after divorce. Then he stopped, and hung his head.
"I need to hang up my lawyer's hat for a minute," he began "and speak like Jon's brother. You too have been too good together for too long to let this tear you apart. I know you are angry, and with good reason. But think about your life, and whether you really want to end this phase of it this way. You and Jon are going to have to speak with each other seriously, as soon as you both can calm down and treat each other like adults."
I considered what Jon had said, and although I was fuming, I recognized the wisdom. There were many issues that would have to be worked through, and we had a long way to go to build back the trust we'd lost. I didn't know if I could see past remaining a couple after today. There would be much to work out whichever path we took.
When Jeff finally left, I thought I would feel better. But alone in that house for a first night in many years, I crumbled. I cried the entire night away. How could he treat me this way? After all we'd been through, the trials and the triumphs; he jumps into bed with someone else. I cried about Jon for hours, and then somehow drifted to sleep.
My subconscious mind wasn't thinking about Jon at all. Someplace deep inside, I was actually worked up about how I had reacted. I didn't wait to talk to Jon. I didn't hunt him down and confront him. I didn't even call a divorce lawyer or investigator to find out what the situation was really about. No, I jumped the bones of the man who Jon had cuckolded. My first reaction hadn't been rational. I hadn't been even trusting enough to talk to Jon about the stories Mike had told me. I just fucked him.
That little snippet of dream brought took the reality of what I had done home. I was awake again now. I was crying again. This time though, I wasn't crying the tears of a wronged wife, I was crying the guilty tears of a cheating wife. The animal lust I felt about Mike when I was getting my revenge melted into shame as I realized I was no better than Jon.
I looked at the clock on my bed table. It was 4:00 AM. I called Jon's cell. He answered on the first ring. I knew he'd be up, unable to sleep.
"Come home," I said. "It's time to talk."
"I'll be right there."
