I Understand

I have read several stories about the subject of wives taking a Hall Pass or needing to have one final tryst with another man before setting down as an older woman or grandmother. I was surprised at the large number of these stories until I read the Literotica Loving Wives Author's Agreement that required each one of us to write at least one story on the subject.

I sat down to write my story on the subject but had a difficult time forming a story from the ideas I had outlined. I finally realized I had three different stories on the same subject. I UNDERSTAND, is the first and maybe only one of those stories to make it to the finish line.

I thank detroitdave for once again making this story readable. His ability to make my writing comprehensible is amazing.

I hope you enjoy and as always I look forward to your comments.

I UNDERSTAND

When his wife paused and looked at him, John answered, "I understand."

John thought he had been saying 'I understand' a lot these days and he was really getting tired of saying those words.

He wondered how he and Diane, his wife, had ever reached this point. They had been married for over 22 years with two great kids both in college. They lived in a wonderful old house Diane had inherited from her grandmother. Together they had updated the home while adding a pool and detached garage. The older home now had the 'open concept' floor plan and a beautifully updated kitchen. He was proud of the home and thought it rivaled anything they had seen on HGTV.

They also had a great beach house in Hatteras, NC. He had resisted making any changes in the traditional beach home he had inherited, preferring to leave it exactly as he remembered it as a child. It had been the site of so many wonderful family memories.

John Simon Thomas was now a senior vice president at Central Logistics and he was enjoying the fruits of years of hard work.

Diane Anderson Thomas was also excelling in her career. She was a senior accounts manager for the securities firm of Richards and Son, having worked there for the past twenty years.

He thought they had the perfect home, nearly-perfect children, wonderful careers, and a happy marriage until.....

He had been saying 'I understand' a lot but he knew that he truly didn't understand what was happening to his life.

John realized Diane had stopped talking again and was looking at him. "Do you understand what I am trying to say," she said.

"I understand," he replied. He hoped she didn't see the mark he made on the sheet of paper in front of him. He looked at the paper, 32 marks. He had said 'I understand' to his wife 32 times in the past two days. It was time to end this debate.

"So we finally agree," Diane said, "I'm going to go outside our marriage one time to experience...

She stopped as she saw John shaking his head.

John looked Diane in the eye and replied, "I would never cheat on you and I will not agree to you cheating on me."

"I have never cheated on you," Diane exclaimed.

John continued, "I am willing to forgive you for the cheating you have done up to this point. But it stops now."

"I have never cheated on you," Diane defiantly answered.

"Yes, you have, at least in my mind, and if you're honest in your mind, you have. You have had several lunches alone with him. He has met you several times at your 'Girls Night Out' and turned those evenings into de facto dates. You have carried on an extensive texting conversation with him, especially on the weekends." John paused and looked deep into her eyes causing Diane to lower her head.

Continuing John stated, "Now he has a reservation for an upscale room at the Jefferson Hotel and two reservations for their Sunday brunch. His intentions are obvious."

"You have a daring new dress hidden in the back of your closet. A bag from Victoria Secret filled with new lingerie; I assume for his eyes only since you have hidden it from me. Your intentions are also obvious."

John stopped and waited on a reply that never came.

He continued, "I'm going to make this real simple, I going to make sure we both understand what is going to happen. I'm giving you two options. This Saturday morning, I'm going to the beach house. I'll stop at the Virginia Diner for breakfast, then go to the beach. I would love for you to come with me. We can spend the weekend talking about our issues and seeing if we can rescue our marriage. It would be nice if you returned the lingerie you purchased for him and picked up something for us to have fun with.

John paused trying to gauge Diane's response. Once again he couldn't read her, something he never had problems with until recently. "Your other option is to go ahead with your plans for Saturday. Go meet David Summers at the Jefferson Hotel, have a nice romantic dinner at the Bookbinders Restaurant, dance at the Tobacco Company club, and return to the Jefferson to consummate your affair."

John told Diane, "I need you to look at me."

She slowly lifted her head.

"You can go ahead with your plans; you will not need my permission because the moment I back out of our driveway without you Saturday morning, our marriage ends.

Diane looked at John dumbfounded, how did he know about their plans for the weekend? She slowly started to speak.

Before she could utter a word John said, "In case you're wondering, I have friends where you work. You have friends at work who are concerned about you, and lastly, David Summers has no true friends at all."

Diane paused as what John had told her sank in. She then attempted to go on the offense, "I have been a faithful wife and partner to you for 22 years....

John interrupted her, "No, you were a faithful wife for 21 years and 10 months. You have been cheating on me since your first lunch with David Summers."

"I have never cheated on you, "Diane plead.

"You have already had sex with him..." John started to say.

Diane stood up and interrupted him this time, "I HAVE NEVER CHEATED ON YOU."

With a sadness that surprised Diane, John continued, "Yes you have, I've seen it in your eyes. The eyes that always locked on to mine as we made love. The eyes that are now closed, the face that turns away from my gaze in bed. How many times have you been with him when we made love?"

John laughed sadly and said, "We used to fantasize about a threesome with another woman or another man. I guess you have been able to live out that fantasy now. You have had a crowded bed for these past few months. Now I'm done talking about this, do you understand?"

Diane thought this wasn't going as she had planned. She attempted to regain the upper hand. "John, we have a great marriage. I value our relationship and your love more than anything in the world. We have raised two wonderful children together. We have great careers and if we stay the course will be able to retire early and truly enjoy life and each other. I have been faithful to you and I'm ready to be by your side as a loving wife for the rest of the days of our lives. I will give you all the rest of my days, I just need one day for me.

"And one night for him" was John's quick reply.

Diane looked down and shook her head, she looked up at John, "I could have just gone behind your back. I could have lied to you, but I wanted to be upfront and honest with you. I thought after all these years you would understand."

John again quickly responded, "I do understand, and as for lying and going behind my back that is exactly what you have been doing for these past months: you have gone on dates with him disguised as girls nights out. You have had intimate lunches with him, holding hands and allowing his hands to roam to places on your body only I should have access to. And worse of all you have brought him into our bedroom replacing me with thoughts of him. You have allowed him to interfere with our time with hundreds of texts, not to mention the sexting.'

"Diane I know everything and how I came to know everything isn't important. What is important is that you understand what I'm telling you. Do you understand?"

Diane just looked at him with eyes that he no longer understood. He sighed quietly, realizing she didn't understand what she was throwing away.

John got up and walked out of the room. He went to their bedroom, brushed his teeth, and attempted to fall asleep, but he knew sleep would be hard to come by that night.

Diane sat motionless for several minutes. Finally, she moved to the couch, picked up her phone and call her friend Janice. As Janice answered Diane said, "John knows everything. He knows about David and our plans for this weekend."

Janice replied, "That doesn't sound good. Please tell me you are going to call it off."

Diane softly replied, "I don't know how I can. I have promised David and he's spent so much money on this weekend."

Janice quickly answered, "You made promises to John too, if you don't remember, I do. I was your maid of honor. Summers can cancel everything and it won't cost him a penny. Anyway, that's not a good reason to cheat on John."

"I'm not cheating on John," Diane repeated once again.

"Yes, you are," Janice replied. "When I told you about what George and I did, I tried to make sure you understood that I would never have done it without his permission. Also, I told you we picked out the man together and we made sure it was someone we would never see again. I told you we did everything right and we still have issues we are trying to work through."

"You have decided to sleep with a co-worker and you're trying to make excuses for it." Janice now pleaded, "Please forget this plan, stop seeing David and get on your knees and apologize to John."

Diane softly replied, "But I need this. I really need to experience another man just one more time in my life. David is a good guy and the women at work say he is good in bed."

"A good guy wouldn't sleep with a married woman," Janice declared. "Think about what you are risking just to become another notch in his bedpost."

"I won't be another notch in his bedpost. He cares for me," Diane answered.

Janice wanted to scream into the phone, "Don't you understand that is worse. I've met David at our girls' night out. He's a good-looking man but he is nowhere near the man John is. You have to understand that don't you?"

"I understand, "Diane whispered.

Janice pleaded, "Please think long and hard about your decision. It will affect you and the people you love for the rest of your lives."

Diane quietly said, "I thought you would understand. I thought you, of all people, would understand why I need to do this."

Janice attempted to reach her friend one more time, "Diane, the problem isn't that I don't understand. The problem isn't that John doesn't understand. The problem isn't that your children, or your parents, or your friends won't understand. The problem is that you don't understand. I'm begging you not to do this."

Diane answered with a determined voice, "Well, John knows what I have done up to this point and he hasn't stopped me. He won't like it but he will let me do this. He will understand how important this is to me. I'm going to let you go, I need to get some sleep."

As Janice ended the call she turned to her husband George. "She didn't understand a word I told her. I'm so sorry I told her about our experience."

George replied, "I thought we agreed to keep it strictly between us."

Janice reached out for George, "I needed to talk with someone about the problems we were having. I never thought it would give her ideas."

George held Janice and said, "I know and I'm not mad. I have to confess, I talked with John about our issues too."

Janice dropped her head in apparent shame, "You told John, I can imagine how he reacted. Did he suggest kicking me to the curb or branding my forehead with a capital A?"

George answered, "You know John better than that. He asked me a series of questions. My answers to those questions made me think about us. After I finished answering his questions he told me. 'You two went into this together. You made this decision together. It turned out to be a big mistake, but you two made it together and only you two can fix this mistake.' As long as we continue to be together, to work on our relationship together everything will work out. He made me realize that we were in this together and we were both trying to fix our issues. He might be the reason we are still married."

Janice started to cry, she quietly said, "He might be the reason were are still married and we might be the reason he is divorced."

George shook his head as he hugged his wife, "Don't blame yourself if they split up. John is right, if they don't work through this together they don't have a chance."

Diane slipped into bed and realized John was still awake. He turned his back to her and both of them moved to the opposite edges of the bed. They were two feet apart but the distance seemed to be measurable in miles.

They rose with the alarm clock and went through their morning routine without uttering a single word to each other.

After Diane had left for work, John relaxed for a moment and checked the list he had in his hands. He would be taking today and Monday off from work.

John walked through every room in the house photographing each room and its contents. He cataloged the contents of each room and noted the items he wanted to keep. He would empty the man cave, Diane hated that room anyway. He copied from the cloud all their wedding and family photos on a thumb drive. He left their wedding photo album on the coffee table, not having the courage to open it himself.

The apartments he had looked at were nice but he knew he would miss this house. He would keep all the wonderful memories, but he would miss being here. He would miss the woman he couldn't stop loving and the life they had built here together.

John drove to his appointment with Sandra Lewis who had come to him highly recommended.

The settlement she proposed was very simple and straightforward. Diane would get the house and her retirement plan and 401k. John would keep the beach house and his retirement plan. They would pay off her car and all their credit cards. Part of their investment accounts would be set aside for college tuition and ten thousand dollars for each child as a fun fund, then they would then split the remaining funds 50/50.

John looked up after reviewing the settlement proposal and simply nodded his head.

Sandra Lewis said, "We can have her served on Wednesday morning."

John once again nodded, stood up, shook her hand, and walked out of the office.

Sandra Lewis realized that her client had said very few words to her since he had retained her for his divorce. All their communication had been done by email. She felt the sadness and resignation in him. Sometimes she wondered why she had chosen family law as her specialty.

John headed to their bank. He set up a separate checking account, transferring half of the old account into his new account. He emailed the form for direct deposit changes to his company's HR department. Later at home, he would change his direct payment accounts to his new bank account.

Next, he went to their investment banker. He confirmed that all accounts and transfers would require both of their signatures. John let him know that his lawyer, Sandra Lewis, would place a freeze on these accounts the day after Diane was served.

John hated the looks of pity and concern on the faces of his long-time advisors. He realized they were just the first of their many acquaintances who would have the same look on their faces when the news got out. The thought of having to tell his children about the divorce almost made him sick.

Diane tried to avoid David Summers as much as possible at work. At lunchtime, they met at Maria's Café, a small restaurant that he liked to call, "their place." She was quiet and refused to hold his hand. John had known their every move, she couldn't shake the feeling she had felt all day that they were being watched.

David Summers was oblivious to Diane's mood. "I'm excited about this weekend. Check-in at the hotel is at 3 pm, do you think we could meet a little earlier than we had planned? Maybe we could have some fun in the room before going to dinner?"

"I don't know," was Diane's subdued reply.

Back at the office, Diane tried to get some work done but she kept looking around the office. She realized that at least one person and most likely several of her co-workers were acting as spies for John. After a couple of fruitless hours, she closed up for the day and left the office. As Diane walked down the hall she said hello to the two new interns in her department. She stopped and looked back at the interns, she couldn't miss the distinctive logo of Central Logistics on the hoodie worn by one of them.

John had completed all the tasks on his list. It was 2 pm and he realized he hadn't eaten all day, so he decided to grab a bite to eat. As he sat down at Maria's Café, Maria the owner came out and greeted him with a hug. John hugged her tight and asked, "How is Ben doing?

Maria smiled, "He is doing great. He made the baseball team as a walk-on; he is so excited. You know James was a great training partner this winter. Your son made all the difference."

"Well James is excited about having his roommate on the team with him," John replied.

Maria sat down with John and said, "They were in here for lunch again today, but all was not well in paradise. Diane was very nervous and of course, Summers was clueless."

"He may be clueless but he's going to sleep with her this weekend," a dejected John replied.

"Don't give up on her yet. She has to be a special woman for you to have been married so long. She will realize her error and I just pray it is earlier and not later," Maria replied. "Now, Maryland Style crab cakes with broccoli for you?"

John smiled for the first time that day, "Sounds perfect, and maybe a beer for a change. Surprise me with one of your pale ales."

Diane came home early and began to put her backup plan in action. She planned to make John's favorite dinner and then try to talk with him again. It was important for him to agree to her one-time tryst. If not agree to it, she needed him to at least accept her actions.

As the crab cakes baked she went upstairs and changed her clothes. She wanted to look nice for him and afterward, she planned on meeting Janice and her other friend Lisa for drinks and one final discussion about her big day on Saturday. She pulled the garment and the Victoria Secret bags out of her closet and walked out to her car, laying them down carefully in the trunk of her car. She didn't want to embarrass John or herself by taking them out in front of him.

John came home at his normal time and was surprised to smell dinner cooking. Diane came into the living room and handed him one of his pale ale beers. "Please take off your coat and tie and have a seat. Dinner will be on the table in a couple of minutes," Diane told him.

John smiled at the meal of Maryland Style crab cakes and steamed broccoli she had brought him. He was glad it was his favorite but realized for the first time that he would prefer to be eating at Maria's Café. He would prefer to be anywhere other than in this house at this moment.

As they ate dinner in silence, Diane decided to attempt to once again make him understand why she needed to do this. "John, I love you and I pray you understand why....

John interrupted her, "I do understand. You look very nice tonight, are you going out?"

Diane answered him, "Yes, I'm going to meet Janice and Lisa for a couple of drinks later tonight. But, I was trying to tell you, I love you and I hope you.....