Irresistible Impulse

Techsan very kindly sorted out my editing – as he did with the original story.

*

Many years ago, I knew of two couples who were best friends and the two families spent much of their free time together. I actually met all four adults socially and the pen portraits in the story are based on the real individuals. Suddenly one husband left his wife and moved in with the other couple. Initially it was generally believed that he was only lodging there temporarily until he could sort out alternative accommodation but he stayed. There was a lot of unsubstantiated rumour and then, a little more than a year later, the wife became pregnant. Some months after the birth the husband moved out, leaving his home and wife in the possession of the interloper.

I only ever knew the bones of the situation but Irresistible Impulse was my attempt at writing a fictional scenario to fit the known facts. My intention was to show that when a man fails to make a stand at the first opportunity then his subsequent slide is inexorable. The tale as originally posted was complete but it has attracted such ire that I now feel obliged to add a happier ending.

I walked out without speaking, fumed all afternoon and immediately on arriving home I stormed into the kitchen where I knew Louise would be. "What is all this rubbish about you having a baby?" I yelled.

My wife looked up from stirring the gravy completely unconcerned. "I have been getting a bit broody lately," she said.

My heart sank at her casual confirmation of what I feared.

I turned and walked away feeling total dejection. There had been many almost intolerable moments before but now I suddenly saw with absolute clarity how events were certain to progress. Jerry would deliberately prolong the impregnation process and then, when his seed had done its job, some reason would be found why I still could not have penetrative sex with my wife. The restriction would be described as applying equally to him but it wouldn't and the connecting door would start being closed to prevent me realising. Then by the time of the birth, a campaign of ever increasing humiliation from him would have started, with the design of driving me from the home completely. Although still hidden, the reality was that I had almost completely lost Louise to my erstwhile friend.

I heard myself say 'No' and then I repeated it far louder as I turned to face my wife.

"What do you mean 'No'?" she asked in the same almost absent-minded manner.

"No, I don't want Jerry to make you pregnant. If you really want another child then I have got to be its father."

"You've had a vasectomy, remember?"

"I know that but vasectomies can be reversed."

My wife suddenly gave me her full attention. "But isn't that meant to be very painful and it doesn't always work."

"I don't care – I just don't want that fucking sod siring a bastard half brother for our kids," I spat back at her.

For a moment my wife seemed shocked by the venom in my voice but then she reached out to touch me, saying, "Don't worry, I wasn't really serious about being broody. Jerry has been talking a lot about having another child and I admit that I rather liked the thought of having a new baby to fuss over but I'm rather too old to be starting all that again." She paused and then confided, "The real temptation of getting pregnant again was the hope it might give me a break from the constant attention from both of you."

Relief flooded over me and I started to relax but then the import of her last words prompted to me push for more. "I don't want to live like this any more," I said. "I want him to leave."

My wife shook her head. "You've left it too late, love," she said sadly.

For what seemed a long time we stood in silence facing each other and then she explained softly, "Toby, I wish it had never started but it's far too late to change anything now. You should have made Jerry leave the day he proposed that you share me with him."

Now I was puzzled. "But you said it would be better if I agreed."

"I know I did but at that moment I was confused. I desperately did want to keep having sex with him and there was the big temptation of that being possible without losing you but deep down I knew it was wrong and hoped that you would be strong for both of us."

"I thought I had a straight choice of either agreeing to share or losing you completely. Jerry seemed so confident that you would go with him if he left – and you seemed to confirm that. I accepted what I thought was the only real option."

"He was wrong," Louise said firmly. "I would not have left you that easily and I certainly wouldn't have abandoned the children just to be with him."

"I've been a bloody fool but now he's going to go," I stated with new determination.

For a moment my wife's face lit up with hope but then her shoulders slumped. "It's no use. There's no point simply telling him to leave because he'll just laugh and totally ignore any ultimatum. Jerry's big advantage is that I don't think you are physically capable of ejecting him from the house so without a gun or something to balance the odds, there isn't much we can do."

"I could get the police to do it. All I would have to do is tell them that he has outstayed his welcome but refuses to leave."

To me this seemed the obvious answer but the idea very obviously made my wife extremely uncomfortable. "You can try that but please don't bank on me to back you up," she said unhappily. "The police are bound to ask me if I also want him out of the house and, with Jerry standing close by looking at me, I'm not sure I can say 'Yes'. The bloody man has got a hold on me. I'm like a drug addict – I love the high but I hate the need. I've known from the start that Jerry isn't a very nice person but I crave the pleasure he gives me. What you are asking is very like wanting a crack addict to turn in his only source of supply."

Her words cut the ground from under me and the disappointment must have shown on my face because, saying how sorry she was, Louise stepped forward to embrace me with tears running down her face. It would have been so easy to just give up and sink into the warm solace of her arms but I resisted the path of least resistance that I had followed for so long.

Instead my mind started working in overdrive. I asked myself if there was any difference between Jerry in the house with me asking the police to remove him and the alternate scenario of Jerry outside the house with him asking the law to help him get back in. My conclusion was that there was every difference in the world. I quickly formulated a plan but did not tell my wife because I did not want her pointing out some obvious flaw right at the start. For my own pride and peace of mind I had to try, whether I succeeded or failed.

It was fortunate that this was one of the days that Jerry did not return to the house. I suspected that he knew some woman whose husband regularly spent that night away from home and hopefully his absence would give me all the time that I needed. After eating the meal my wife had prepared, I requested Louise to ring Davina and ask her if she could look after our two children for a couple of days. This attracted a querying glance but I still didn't reveal my plan, instead just saying, "I still intend to make a stand and I don't want them around to witness any unpleasantness."

Davina was pleased to help out. The phone call developed into a long conversation with the two women chatting for well over an hour. Without deliberately eavesdropping, I kept hearing snatches of conversation and gathered that Louise kept having to field questions for which she didn't yet know the answer. In contrast there were other times when my wife greatly lowered her voice when she thought I was near and I guessed she must be revealing details of her extra-marital relationship that she preferred me not to hear.

When our two children were safely in bed, my wife and I went into Jerry's room and together emptied his wardrobe and drawers into the two hold-alls that he had brought when first deposited himself upon us. I find it hard to describe just how exhilarating it felt to be finally fighting back. There was quite a lot of stuff left over and I marvelled at how he had managed to accumulate so much gear in the time he had lived in the house. I explained this exercise to Louise by saying, "On the basis that he will be leaving, it will be a lot quicker and cleaner if he can just grab his things and go. If we allow him to pack himself, you know how he'll procrastinate, all the time working on you until he finishes up staying."

Next day I drove into town early and picked up new door locks together with window locks for all windows that were not already so provided. I also purchased a new supply of black bin bags. The kids had been kept off school and immediately on my return Louise ran them over to Davina's house for a short bonus holiday with their friends.

During her absence I started the job of making the house burglar proof. It took me rather longer than expected but by lunchtime I had ensured that Jerry's house keys were now useless and every window was protected against being opened from the outside. I should say every window but one because the window in Jerry's old bedroom or lair was still untouched – and in addition I had left it temptingly partly open. All that remained to do was throw the remainder of his clothes into bin bags and carry all of his possessions out, to leave on the front step. Then it was just a matter of waiting.

It would have been better had the preparations taken longer because the inaction worked heavily on the nerves. I felt more and more tense as time slowly passed and from the look on my wife's face, she was suffering far worse than I. That was worrying in itself because she had admitted herself that in this situation, she was an unknown quantity. I just knew that I had to do what I needed to do and at the same time try to shield Louise from his pernicious influence.

Eventually the front door bell rang but before I even had chance to stand it was followed by a heavy pounding on the door frame. That left no doubt about who was standing outside. I instructed Louise to wait in the back room with the curtains drawn then quickly ran upstairs and opened the window overlooking the front door. On seeing me he threw something and I automatically ducked back, only to see his obsolete keys arcing through the air towards me. I managed to catch them but was aware that this had cost me the initiative. Looking down I found Jerry grinning up at me.

"You might as well have those back because they seem to be sod all use to me," he said pleasantly. "Okay, you've made your point and I'm impressed that you have finally found some backbone but hadn't you better put a stop to this silliness now before any real harm is done? What say you help me carry this stuff back inside and we'll say no more about it. Later on Louise can assist in putting it away – she does know where it all belongs."

The instinct was to reply but I held my tongue. There was no need to let this degenerate into an argument because that could only be to his advantage. I had managed to deal myself almost all the high cards, so for the moment I was in charge and as long as I could prevent him playing his ace it should stay that way.

Jerry stood looking up expecting a response and when it dawned on him that none was forthcoming he nodded. "I do know what this is all about. You're upset about what I said about borrowing your wife's womb to father a sprog. It was obvious you were pissed at the time but I thought you were bound to realise that it was only a wind-up. I don't know what your wife has said but that's all it was. Now, I can see that it was completely stupid and admit I was completely in the wrong. My trouble is I've got a weird sense of humour and just can't resist pulling your chain – but you've got to believe that it's never meant maliciously."

Again he paused for feedback but then pressed on, "I got it wrong and I've apologised. What more can I do?"

"You could get in your car and drive away," I suggested.

"You don't really mean that," Jerry stated with some confidence. "Why don't you get Louise to put the kettle on and we can discuss the situation round the table in a civilised manner. I get the impression that it is not just my stupid gag that brought this on - there has to be something else bothering you. I'm very willing to renegotiate our arrangement. You always seemed quite happy with the setup and, if that wasn't the case, then you should have spoken up sooner."

Jerry had very obviously expected a quick capitulation and it was very satisfying to watch his frustration mount the longer our confrontation continued. Periodically he needed to turn and walk a few paces away, to wipe the growing sign of irritation from his face and replace it with his usual affable façade. With no response from me, at this point, he switched to reminiscence mode, reminding me of our early days, the laughs we'd shared and the very many happy days spent with our families mixed. His punch-line was, "Our setup is not that unusual between real friends so in reality you've nothing to get upset about. I'll ask you again nicely, how about we all three sit down and talk this thing through?

"There is nothing to talk about. It's over so why don't you just go?" I told him coldly.

"Because what we had was an almost perfect symbiotic arrangement and, as I understood it, all three of us got something out of it. I love having my cock up Louise, she enjoys having it there and if you didn't get pleasure from the arrangement why did you stand tossing off in the doorway watching us fuck? This is quite a special situation and I'm just not willing to let it go without putting up some sort of fight."

"There was only one real winner and that was you."

"Come on, Louise didn't do so badly either, at least I don't remember her ever being dissatisfied. The truth is that all I heard from your wife were cries of passion, not words of complaint."

"Would it surprise you to know that the only reason that Louise seriously considered another pregnancy was the hope that it would give her a break from you for a few months?"

"That I don't fucking believe," he swore. "I'll only believe it if you bring your wife to the window and I hear it from her own lips." There was a long silence and then he laughed. "You can't, can you, because she's not there. I should have known because you would never have dared pull a stunt like this if she was."

I slipped up at this point. It suited me that Jerry should think Louise was not inside the premises but something in my face must have revealed the truth to him because he started grinning. "I'm wrong. She is there, isn't she?" he crowed. "What have you done, tied her up?" You'd have to do something like that because you know full well that I only have to whistle for her to come running. And believe me; I do know how to whistle."

"I am well aware that you have a powerful influence over my wife, which is why she is willingly staying well out of the way until you have gone," I told him coldly.

Jerry seemed unabashed. "Just suppose that you do succeed in getting rid of me. I don't see quite what that achieves. I think I've proved that Louise needs a well-hung man with highly tuned sexual expertise and you don't have either the equipment or the skill. Now that she's had the taste, she will always want a man with a big cock who knows how to use it. Believe me, with me off the scene, she'll be going with one man after another."

"I don't care who she goes with as long as it isn't you," I said bitterly.

"Now I know you're really off your head," he declared triumphantly. "I admit that up to now you haven't put a foot wrong but that really is cock-eyed thinking. Any other man who gets her properly under his control will want her for himself and he'll take her away from you completely. That's an iron cast certainty. I always played fair and made sure that you still got a slice of the cake but I see now that that was probably a big mistake."

"You may be right about other men but I'm still willing to take that chance."

Jerry's shoulders visibly slumped. "You win," he said. "Ignominious defeat, swept from the field, and that is a most unusual experience for me." He gave a mock salute and added, "And although I hate to say it, victory possibly went to the better man."

He bent down, picked up his two hold-alls and started walking towards his car but, after a few paces, he dropped the bags and came back. "This is rather embarrassing..." he began but broke off and walked off, muttering, "No, I can't demean myself," as if talking to himself. However, on reaching the bags, he again turned and walked back, looking as if he was forcing himself to do so.

With an uncertain look on his face he looked up to say, "Toby, old pal, this actually couldn't have happened at a worse time for me. As you probably know, your firm has taken a lot of business from my mob and things are tight, I've already taken one pay cut and there's talk of redundancy." He paused looking for signs of sympathy and ploughed on. "Davina is being very vindictive. She doesn't need the money but she's got a court order forcing me to carry on paying the mortgage and then there's the child support. I'm also being deducted for two kids to different women from ages ago."

"What exactly are you trying to tell me?" I interrupted.

"My credit cards are all maxed out and that is partly your fault. I've spent a bomb over the last few months wining and dining and that was just to stay out of the way while you got your time with Louise. The point is, until I draw my salary at the end of the month I'm completely strapped and I just haven't the cash to pay for a hotel."

"Are you begging for a handout?" I asked mockingly, not even trying to keep the disbelief from my voice.

Jerry's jaw tightened but he controlled his anger and said softly, "Nothing that crude. I am asking that you let me stay on for a couple more days, a week at the most. Just long enough for me to find someone else to put me up. Don't get me wrong. I've conceded defeat over Louise and this is nothing at all to do with that. I won't unpack, I'll sleep downstairs on the couch and I won't even speak to your wife while I'm here. If she even comes near to me I promise that I'll walk away. What do you say? We were good friends once before this sex business started – don't you owe me something, if only for the memory of that?"

"I don't owe you a damn thing, Jerry," I said laughing. "You'll just have to sleep in your car – but somewhere other than where it's parked now if you don't mind."

Without another word Jerry turned on his heel and stalked off but instead of gathering his belongings he began pacing backwards and forward, throwing occasional glances up at the house. Suddenly he disappeared from view so I hurried to the kid's bedroom at the rear to see if he was at the back of the house. I still couldn't see him so on a hunch I quickly ran down to the back room where Louise was waiting with the curtains drawn.

Jerry was obviously standing just outside because he was tapping softly on the window and whispering 'Louise'. My wife was in a chair, curled into a tight foetal position with her hands pressed hard against her ears. As I fully entered the room, in a slightly louder voice, he urged, "Louise, sweetheart, I know you are in there so please look out. Can't you talk some sense into your husband? Toby's thrown a big wobbly. I'm aware that's my fault but everything is one hell of a mess and I know you don't want our thing to end any more than I do. If I thought he was likely to calm down I'd just stay away for a few days but he seems to have a real bee in his bonnet. Have you said anything to upset him?"