Chapter One
Tom's heart started beating faster when he heard Jessica's footsteps coming up the front walk. The click of her boots was unmistakable. Jessica had recently started wearing knee-high black leather boots and when Tom first saw them on her he had been surprised and amused seeing them on his normally straight-laced and conservative wife. Knowing what he knew now, it all made sense.
All part of her new lifestyle
he thought contemptuously.
"Is that her?" asked Colleen. Tom nodded his head. "One final time, you're sure you want this?" she asked. Tom closed his eyes and nodded. "OK, everyone. If you're not committed to helping Tom the way he wants to be helped, you should leave now. Things will probably get pretty ugly." Everyone looked around the room at each other as the sound of the front doorknob was being turned. No one got up to leave.
Jessica entered the living room accompanied by a gush of autumn afternoon air. Her hair, freshly cut, wrapped around her face, momentarily hiding her eyes. Once the door was closed, she put down her shopping bags, brushed back her dark black hair, and looked around wide-eyed at the room. Her expression was one of happy curiosity. "Hey everyone...what's going on? When no one answered her after a moment – Tom noticed that no one even was making eye contact with her – she asked, "How come I wasn't invited to the party?"
Tom made a pained little laugh. Of course it must have looked like a party to her. Her living room was filled with people she knew and everyone was either drinking beer or had a wine glass in their hands. Tom had made sure that everyone was comfortable in that department. He hadn't needed to give much encouragement as everyone in the room seemed a little nervous. "It's not a party Jess," said Tom, "it's more of a gathering".
"OK, so why wasn't I invited to the gathering," responded Jessica, putting the word gathering in quotes. She didn't wait for an answer as she began taking off her light fall blazer, hanging it over the bench near the front door and said, "I could use some of that wine, let me go get a glass." The removal of her blazer had elicited a murmur in the room.
Tom got up and moved to intercept her before she went into the kitchen. "Jess, why don't you have a seat? I'll get you a wine glass and some chardonnay." Tom looked down at the floor clearly agitated, and hurriedly moved into the kitchen.
As Jess sat down in the easy chair that Tom was just occupying she took a chance to look around the room. Everyone was looking down at the floor or into their drinking glasses.
"What's going on here everyone?" Jess asked. There were seven people in her living room: Nick and Sarah Stevens, neighbors of theirs from two houses down in their development, Colleen and Ken Grandowski, Ken being a long-time friend of Tom's, Annette Twilly, Annette's boyfriend Andrew (Jess couldn't remember Andrew's last name), and another man she didn't recognize. Considering that this stranger was standing close to Annette and Andrew, Jess assumed he was a friend of theirs.
Colleen, a woman in her mid-thirties with short brown hair, began slowly and cautiously, seemingly carefully picking her words. "Hello Jess, it's been a while since I've seen you."
"Yes, it has been," said Jess. "Is everything OK? Everyone seems so wrapped tight."
"Everything's fine with us Jess," answered Colleen, slowly speaking her words.
"Then what's with the mood of this party? Has Tom been boring you with his stories?" Jess looked at Nick and Sarah who were seated on the love seat across the room. Tom and Jess had known Nick and Sarah for about five years now. They were a younger couple in their late twenties, with a couple of pre-teen girls at home. Sarah was a soft-spoken, thin blonde with sharp facial features. Jess had always found her to be wrapped pretty tight but otherwise a good friend. Sarah kept her eyes downcast but her husband, Nick, looked up at her.
"Unfortunately, no," he said, "the stories haven't been boring at all." He fixed Jess with a direct look. Tom was an athletic man, nearly six feet tall with short-cropped, sandy-colored hair. Jess found Nick to be very handsome and frequently included him in her sexual fantasies. Like most people, he was handsomest when he smiled, but he wasn't smiling now.
"Oh God, he isn't scaring you by relaying the latest gloomy news, is he?" Jessica smiled, trying to elicit one from Nick, but with no luck. It occurred to Jess in that moment that Tom had seemed more gloomy than usual the past couple of days. It made her suspicious of what was going on inside his head and what this gathering was all about. Getting nothing more from Nick, Jessica turned to Annette who was sitting on the far end of the coach. Her boyfriend Andrew (who didn't like to be called Andy), was sitting closely next to her. The man Jessica didn't know was half-sitting, half-leaning against the couch arm on the other side of Annette.
"Annette, Andrew...Hi," said Jessica, "is this a friend of yours?"
"This is Steve. Steve, this is Tom's wife Jessica," replied Annette.
"Nice to meet you Jessica," said Steve. Seeming to have nothing else to say, Steve busied himself with having another swig from his beer.
"So Annette, how have you been? I haven't seen you in ages. Tom keeps me up to date though. He told me that you and Andrew are thinking of moving in together. Is that true? Are you going to take the next step?" Jessica was trying to be as pleasant as possible but she was growing increasingly uneasy as she felt the vibe of the room close in on her.
Annette was a short woman, with short curly blond hair. A former girlfriend of Tom's, she was pushing forty but had kept herself fit. She had also managed to keep herself single despite a long series of relationships that never seemed to last more than a year or two. Jessica had always mildly suspected that Annette still carried a torch for Tom and was waiting out Tom's marriage to Jessica, expecting that it wouldn't last forever. Jessica found Annette to be cynical, sharp-tongue, and smart. She always seemed to be paying attention, never drifting off into a daydream as most other people sometimes did. Jessica never had any suspicion that Annette had ever tried to undermine her marriage, but she felt she should be careful around Annette just the same. She often reminded herself that her suspicions were all in her mind, and made her best efforts to be friendly whenever Annette came around. It had been at least two years since her last visit.
"Ahh, I don't know," said Annette in response to Jessica's questions. "Andrew's got to prove he can handle me."
"Yeah, OK," said Andrew, rolling his eyes. Andrew was a burly weight-lifter with thick muscled arms. Jessica and Tom both suspected that he was a steroid-user. He had short dark hair, and dark Italian skin. Although Jessica couldn't remember his last name, she knew it wasn't a typical Italian name ending in a vowel. He either was Italian on his mother's side or he had been adopted, guessed Tom and Jessica after first meeting him.
Quickly changing the subject, Annette asked, "So where you've been Jess, we've been waiting for you for a while now?"
"Really?" replied Jessica, raising her eyebrows. "I had no idea you were waiting for me. I was just out doing some shopping." She paused but it looked like Annette wanted something more from her. Jessica cast her eyes around the room again. "You know, this is kind of a strange gathering of people. Not strange people, mind you, just an odd combination, I guess I mean."
Annette ignored Jessica's comment and said, "Is it just me, or have you gotten yourself a new wardrobe? I don't remember ever seeing you in boots, a skirt like that, and certainly not a top like that one. Not to be offensive or anything but I remember you dressing fairly fuddy-duddy."
"I take no offense Annette," answered Jess. "You're right, I did dress fuddy-duddy. But I got sick of fuddy-duddy. You like?" Jessica stood up, turned to the right, put her hands on her hips and bent one knee, a classic model pose. She had on her black leather knee-high boots, over her legs were subtlety lacy stockings that ascended under a mid-thigh length deep-red skirt. On top she wore a thin-strapped halter that hugged snuggly to her breasts. The top, made of some synthetic material, not only enhanced her cleavage but the small triangles of cloth at the top of the garment did not completely cover her breasts. The sides of her breasts peeked out from under the halter, which, Jessica noticed, was eliciting casual but regular peeks from Annette's friend Steve.
"Lightly dressed for such a cold fall day," assessed Annette.
"Was it?" replied Jessica, fluttering her eyelashes and smiling. "I thought it was a beautiful day today." It was late October and the afternoon was quickly darkening. Another gust of wind rattled the leaves on the maple tree in their front yard.
Just then, Tom returned from the kitchen with Jessica's glass of wine. He handed it to her and stood next to the easy chair not sure what to do next.
"Why don't I take over now," said Colleen standing up. "Jessica would mind sitting on the open end of the couch?" Jessica wrinkled her brow.
She got up and slowly drew out the syllables. "
Ooooo-Kaaaay..."
As Jessica sat down to the left of Andrew, Tom sat back down in his easy chair. He took a sip of his beer as Colleen began. "Jessica, we're gathering here this evening as concerned friends of both you and Tom. We care about you Jessica and..."
Jessica interrupted, "Oh my God! Is this a fucking intervention? Are you kidding?" She looked around the room with amusement on her face. She looked at her husband. "Is this about my one glass of wine a few times a week? I was told that it's supposed to be good for you! What the fuck?" She raised her shoulders to indicate bewilderment. Since she was looking at him, Tom took the opportunity to respond.
"No, it's not like that Jess," he explained. "We know you don't have a problem with drugs or alcohol."
Continuing to have an incredulous look on her face, Jessica said excitedly, "Is it shopping then? Am I shopaholic? Is this about my new clothes?" She shook her head and took a long sip of her wine. k
"No, it's not that either," answered Tom.
"Then what?" she asked after swallowing her wine.
"Tom has told us what's been going on," said Colleen, attempting to get back into the conversation.
"And what's that?" Jessica asked, tilting her head, her bewilderment at the idea of being intervened upon starting to turn into annoyance.
"You've been cheating on me," said Tom, answering for Colleen.
"Tom, you said you'd let me facilitate this," Colleen said.
"I just don't think we should beat around the bush," said Tom. "My wife's been fucking other guys behind my back." Tom looked at Jess, who had painted her face flabbergasted.
"What?!" exclaimed Jessica. She was about to say more but Tom quickly interjected.
