Story 5
This is a work of fiction, well some is. My name is Robert, my friends call me Rob. This story is told from my perspective, but parts are filled in based on information that came to me later-on. So don't everyone go getting in a snit about the first-person vs third person switch back and forth when that happens. Otherwise I hope you enjoy the read.
"If you love me, you will let me do this." How many husbands have heard those words come from their wives' mouths?
Those were the words that my wife said to me, over what had started out as a romantic dinner to celebrate our fifth anniversary. And then my world pretty much went to hell.
So how did we get to this point? My very good looking 29-year-old wife has just revealed to me that she wants to have sex with other men outside our marriage. She said it, plain and simple. At least it was plain and simple to me.
I had planned a great dinner-out at one of our favourite restaurants that was a higher-end place with actual white tablecloths and a decent wine list. I even bought her a diamond necklace that I knew she wanted from all the hints that she had dropped since her birthday. I spent almost a thousand dollars on that damn necklace and now I have to get my money back.
During the meal I sensed that she was nervous about something and our normal relaxed conversation was, well...forced to a degree. She looked distracted. She looked nervous about something. Her eyes were darting about the room like she was looking for something or someone. She normally looked me in the eyes when she talked to me but tonight, she was looking at the table, her wine glass, just about anywhere else than at me.
Finally after we had eaten the main course and were having another glass of wine, she got around to what she wanted to really talk about.
"Honey, I need to tell you something that has been bothering me, it's been on my mind for a while now and I need to do something about it."
I stopped and put my wine glass down. What was she talking about? The tone of her voice got low. That was the voice that she used when she wanted to talk about something that she was serious about. What was it that was bothering her?
My brain immediately thought that she might be going to tell me that she was ready to start talking about starting a family. We had talked about it before, several times in fact over the last three years, but had decided to delay having children until we had achieved more success in our professional careers and saved a bigger nest-egg to take care of the cost of having a child. Well we had done that, and I was keen to get on with making us a bigger family. Was she ready? I was sure hoping that this is what she wanted to talk about. But her lack of eye contact told me that maybe that wasn't it. If you want to talk about making babies normally you might have a big foolish grin on your face and make nothing but eye contact. What the hell was going on?
'Honey, I want to do something that I'm not sure that you are going agree with right now, but it is something that I have thought about very carefully and it's kind of important to me."
My wife of five years, Andrea, swallowed and said, " I need to explore my life outside of our relationship. I need to have some freedom to explore who I am and through that I know that it will allow me to be a better wife for you."
Huh, what? To say that I was confused, mystified, upset, angry; well, I was all of those to varying degrees at the same time. What the fuck?
"Dear, what are you talking about?" I put my hands on the table palms down and looked her square in the eyes as I said that. My face had my puzzled look.
She avoided looking at me as she replied, "I need to explore other relationships besides you Rob. I want your agreement beforehand so that you don't get upset and all weird when I do."
My blood pressure was now starting to go up exponentially and I could feel the veins in my neck pushing against my shirt collar. "Just what kind of relationships are you talking about Andrea?"
"Well, I suppose they might be with all kinds of people."
My confusion was increasing every second as my breathing became laboured and my lungs were refusing to take in air. "Could you be a tad more specific please!" I said with a direct tone and as I held my breath.
"Well, I think I might want to see some other men."
"What the fuck are talking about Andrea? You want to have an affair and you want me to agree to it before you run out and have sex with other men? Jesus Christ!"
My voice was going up in volume and some of the other diners at the restaurant could probably hear what I had just said.
"Keep your voice down Honey, there is no need to have everyone hear what we are talking about."
I realized that she wanted to spring this little tidbit of news on me here in a public place so that I wouldn't scream at her. She ambushed me alright. Got me good. I wanted to throw up that expensive supper right than and there. My stomach was in a giant knot. The only thing I could think to say was, "Why?"
"Why do you want to 'see' other men Andrea?"
"Well, I think I need the space to explore myself."
"Explore yourself! What the fuck does that mean Andrea? Are you saying you want to go and have sex with other men? Are you leaving me?"
"No Dear, I'm not leaving you. There are a lot of reasons why I need to do this. But believe me, I love you very much and you are my soulmate. I want us to have a family and grow old together. But right now I need to feel certain things that I'm not feeling right now, and I want your permission to explore those things, that's all. It would only be for a few months and then I would be yours, and only yours Rob, your wife again, I promise."
OK, this was pretty much the worst possible thing that my simple mind could imagine. My wife of five years has announced during our anniversary dinner that she wants to be able to have sex with other men. She wants me to sit idly by and agree to all this and then she promises to resume our marriage at some point when she feels fulfilled, as if nothing has happened; but she will be a better wife for having done that.
I was stunned. Speechless. I had no response. My brain was dead. My lungs could not draw air.
I stood up, carefully put my napkin on the table, picked up my wine glass and drank what was left in it, carefully put the glass down, then turned and walked out of the restaurant.
"Honey, where are you going?"
"I don't know, but I think you need to take a cab home."
I walked out of the restaurant and found my car, started the engine, put it in gear and then just drove. I had no idea where I was going. My head was splitting open as the pain that started in the back of my head seemed to move to just about every part of it. I lost track of time and where I was.
The next morning when I woke up in the car, I didn't recognize the place where I was. I got out of the car and stretched my arms and yawned. I tried to recall what had happened last night thinking that it was all a bad dream.
I needed to take a piss in the worst way and then get a giant cup of coffee. I knew that I needed to figure out what I needed to do before I went home.
I took a piss in the bushes a few yards from my car and then got back in my car, started the engine and took off in search of that coffee that I needed. I found a small diner and got some breakfast to go with the coffee and began thinking about how I was going to approach this problem. I couldn't just let my wife go out and start fucking other men, no, that would be the end of our marriage for sure. Even with what she told me last night I was beginning to think that she wasn't the woman that I thought she was. Maybe she's had a nervous breakdown and was fantasizing some shit that was disconnected from reality. I didn't know, I'm not a psychiatrist. Just a very confused husband.
I checked my cell phone and discovered that I had turned it off at some point last night. When it turned on, I had several text messages and missed phone calls from Andrea. She wanted to know where I was, was I alright and when was I coming home. At this point I figured that I never wanted to go home. But I knew that I had to sometime today. I didn't return her call or text message.
Over several cups of coffee and some eggs and bacon I came up with a rough plan of what I needed to do. Time to go home. When I pulled in the driveway of our house, Andrea opened the front door and came out to meet me.
"Honey, where have you been all night? I was worried sick about you. I thought that you had an accident and might be in a ditch somewhere."
She tried to kiss me, but I pulled away and told her, "Andrea, I'm going to take a shower and get cleaned up and then you and I are going to talk. We need to talk about your plan of 'exploring' yourself as you told me last night."
I pushed past her and went up to the bedroom and got out of the suit that I had spent the night in. I took a long hot shower and reviewed part of what I wanted to tell her. I wasn't sure how it would go but I had to do something to see if I still had a wife or was this her way of saying goodbye. Maybe this was just a test on her part to see what my commitment was to her. I had no idea what was going on in her head.
I thought I loved her. Shit, I married her. She even told me that she loved me. We had a big wedding and took a trip to Europe to celebrate. I don't think about other women and have not cheated on her, never!
But she doesn't seem to want to do the same. No sir. Thankfully we don't have any children. Maybe we wouldn't at all, that would be determined by what would happen in the next days and weeks.
After I got in some clean clothes I went to the kitchen and made myself another cup of coffee and got a notepad and pen. Andrea was in the kitchen sitting at the island. She was watching me closely. I tried to look calm but inside I was a mess. I got my coffee and sat down.
"OK Andrea, tell me again why you want to have relationships outside our marriage."
"Honey, I need to feel validation as a woman. I don't feel like my needs are being met right now. I need to be able to find out what my needs are see if I can find that fulfillment on my own."
"So, are you leaving me, for a while, to find out what it is you want?"
