Just Once: Conclusion

Just Once -- Conclusion 2

Another attempt at realism

On 4/18/21

Literotica

published an open ended story by Kalimaxos entitled, "Just Once . . . If You Don't Mind."

He challenged his readers to write an ending, stating that they needed no further permission from him to do so.

On 4/28/21 my attempt at a conclusion was published.

It caused a lot of heartburn, especially among the family Anonymous.

So I have purchased stock in the Tums corporation and have taken my computer in hand to try a different ending with the hopes that I will raise the corporate profits of the company of which I am now a part owner.

I believe I have included some twists and turns not yet explored by other authors, which, I believe, justifies its publication.

Enjoy -- or not.

-Wut

"So Rick, what do we do?" she asked.

"What a great question!" I responded. "I wish I would have thought of that! Now don't let that last statement get you bent out of shape. It was a desperate attempt at gallows humor under the circumstances. What I'm really going to have to do is to give this present circumstance and my entire life a bunch of thought. I'm not prepared for what you just told me and what I just read.

"If this was the type of emergency where I would have to act or react immediately, I'd do something rather than be paralyzed by the situation. But I do not see a need to do something immediately, so I want to give this a lot of thought. Maybe, eventually, I will want to run my thoughts by you or by Vincent or by both of you. But now is too soon for that. So I guess I would like you to take your bottle of wine (what's left of it) back home with you to save for a day or two, and then I'll get back to you.

"Just, please, don't take this as a rejection of you, personally. You are indeed a very attractive woman and I feel honored that you would offer yourself to me. I hope over the next hours and days that you will see that I act worthy of the honor you have extended to me. But for right now please go home and give me some time to think, and I promise you that within a few days I will get back to you. Is that okay?"

"I understand completely," said Leslie. "I was expecting that Marcy would have explained everything to you before she left for Columbia. You've just been blindsided. If I were in your shoes, I think I would be much more angry than you appear to be right now."

"When in a stressful situation, emotions such as anger can cloud the thinking process. I'm angry, to be sure. But I've set that aside for the time being so that I can see clearly and think logically. There may come a time when I will need to vent my anger, but by then I hope to have it under control so that my anger will be a powerful force that drives me to do what is good, right and constructive in solving the problems before me."

"I wish I was that self-disciplined," said Leslie. "I wish you well. Keep in touch."

"I will." With that Leslie left and I was left to my own thoughts. Where to begin? I decided to go way back -- to the times of my grandparents. As a child, I had occasion to sit in a corner of the living room and listen to my grandparents talk with their visiting brothers and sisters about what life was like in the old days. We lived in a northern state and in the winter time sitting there and listening to them was more fun for me than going outside in the cold. I found their conversations fascinating. I never said a word. I was the proverbial fly on the wall. The people I was listening to were working class white Anglo-Saxon protestants.

The word protestant is used somewhat lightly in my case. Certainly my family and I were raised with a strong protestant work ethic. But we were not the type of family that went to church every Sunday. I understand that for some hard core protestants, (they probably would not use that term to describe themselves, but you know what I mean) if the Bible says it, that's what they believe. In particular, considering what I was thinking about at the time, if the Bible said. "Thou shalt," they did it and if the Bible said "Thou shalt not," they tried hard not to do it. If they messed up they called it a sin and they also believed that God forgave sin -- that old ". . .and forgive us our trespasses. . ." line from the Lord's Prayer.

But to my way of thinking, if the "Thou shalts," made sense to me, I could embrace them, as in, "Thou shalt not steal." But if there was a, "Thou shalt," that did not make sense to me I felt I could question it to see if it was a "Thou shalt," that may have made sense at one time but that is irrelevant today.

From what I heard them say, I was not alone in being willing to lay aside time honored "Thou shalts," and "Thous shalt nots." For instance, when my grandparents were young and, indeed all through the 1900's until the 1960's, when people got married, most often both the bride and the groom were virgins. There were exceptions to that, of course, but they were the exceptions and relatively rare. People did not live together before marriage. That was practically unheard of before the 1960's.

"Well, the world certainly has changed since then," I said to myself as I compared that with what happens today. Having sex begins for many couples after just a few dates. When people get married today relatively few of them are virgins. Many people would not think of getting married until they had lived together for a while to see if they are really compatible. "And the world hasn't fallen apart," I concluded. Sexual standards have changed -- maybe for the better -- maybe for the worse -- but they certainly have changed over time at least in the area of premarital sex.

And if they have changed concerning premarital sex, maybe it is appropriate for sexual standards to change for marriage as well, I thought. In fact, thinking about the conversations I heard as a child, I realize that they have changed. A much larger percentage of marriages today end in divorce compared to marriages that were performed prior to 1960. Likewise it is more common today for children to come from broken homes and to be raised by single parents than it was prior to 1960.

That led me to think about the many tours of duty I went on leaving Marcy to be, in many respects, a single parent mom. Marcy is a smart woman and a capable woman and had good health. But looking back on the times when I was away and she bore full responsibility for raising our children I realized that she deserves much more credit and appreciation than I have shown her. I honestly don't think that most single parents can do the job she did. I need to let her know how much I appreciate her for the outstanding job she did with the children. And that's true no matter what she is doing now. That is true whether we stay married after this mess or wind up getting a divorce.

So even though I put my wife in the position of being a single parent, as I thought about it, there was a lot of good common sense in having a solid marriage while raising a family. A solid husband and wife relationship seems to be best for providing a nurturing father and mother who can raise their children to adulthood. Children need both male and female role models. A father bonds with his children in a different way than does a mother. I think it is best for children to have both. I'm thankful for the time that I was home with them and was able to be a father to them. So, to my mind, cheating and extra-marital relationships are not good during the child rearing years. But even though I do not like the changes that have come to so many sexual relationships during the child rearing years, I have to admit that things have changed and changed quite drastically.

This brought me to thinking about the empty nest years and beyond. Maybe there is room or even need for change in sexual relationships once the kids are gone. Women hit menopause. From what I hear the change in hormones causes some women to lose interest in sex. For others, the freedom from getting pregnant increases their desire for sex. Likewise, as men get older their testosterone levels decrease and some lose interest in sex. Some men develop prostate problems which may influence their drive or desire for sex. Other men continue to desire frequent sex in spite of their biological age.

So perhaps sexual standards need to be reconsidered for people once their children have been raised. I haven't seen it happening, but maybe it should. Marriage before the 1960's was, and to a certain extent still is a formalized permission to have a sexual relationship. But if a woman hits menopause and it kills her sex drive, why should that deprive her husband of sex if he is still very desirous of a sexual relationship? Yet I know that happens. And I've heard that it happens the other way around -- a woman wants sex and the husband does not give it to her. That doesn't seem right.

The couple gets married with the full knowledge that now, in the eyes of the church and of the state the two of them may have a sexual relationship. There is nothing in the marriage vows that says that once the children are grown a person in the marriage with low libido has the right to deprive his or her spouse from having sex. That's totally contrary to the purpose of marriage and contrary to most standard marriage vows.

Now, putting that understanding together with my present circumstances, it was good for Marcy to not have an affair while I was gone on active duty. Likewise it was good for me to not have an affair while on active duty. That would have been detrimental to the family and to the raising of our children. It was good that even though I suspected her of having an affair that I did not divorce her but kept the family together for the sake of the children.

But now, children and family are not involved. If Vincent and Leslie do not have children and if Leslie is on birth control or I use a condom, and even then, pull out before ejaculating so as not to get Leslie pregnant, there shouldn't be anything wrong with my getting together with Leslie for sex as long as Vincent and Marcy approve -- which they do. If Marcy did not approve she would be depriving me of sex for six weeks. That's contrary to what married people are supposed to do.

Following this same line of reasoning, there should be nothing wrong with Marcy having sex with Dr. Slimeball as long as he is not in the midst of raising a family and has his wife's approval -- if he's married -- AND IF MARCY HAS MY APPROVAL

That's the sticking point, I guess. If we would have talked about this before she went and we both would have thought the way I am thinking now, logically, I would have said, "Why should your marriage to me deprive you of sex for six weeks? It shouldn't. Marriage is a license to have sex. So just make sure that you are protected, and have fun."

But we didn't have that conversation. It was a unilateral decision made without my knowledge or consent and done behind my back. That destroys trust between marriage partners and trust is a foundation stone upon which a marriage is built. Furthermore, she is spending her time with Dr. Slimeball who I do not like and so when I think of her with him it fills me with disgust.

Some people might disagree with my reasoning. It is only tentative and deserves more thought. But sexual standards have changed for premarital relationships and have changed for people raising children. I personally know some guys who have been cut off by their wives. It is not right. Maybe it is high time for the standards for sexual relationships for empty nesters to be revisited.

Which brings me back to Leslie's question: What do I do?

The first thing I decided to do was to phone the hospital administrator first thing the next morning and let him know what is going on in Bogota. I will not come off being angry or demanding. I will just tell him that I think he needs to know what is happening so that he is not blindsided by this information when he hears it from somebody else. Rather than sound like I am going over his head, I will make it clear to him that I will let him talk to the Doctors Without Borders people so that they are informed, also. I will leave it up to him and the DWB people to do their own investigation into the matter and to take appropriate action according to their own policies and procedures.

Having taken care of that much, I went to bed. Having sorted a few things out in my head, and exhausted from the stress of not hearing from Marcy, then the stress of the phone call, then the stress of the letter, I slept better that night than I did the previous two nights.

In the morning I called the hospital and tried to get the administrator. I hoped that I could have done it anonymously, but his secretary wanted to know who I was before she would put me through. He recognized my name and asked whether I had heard from Marcy, and assuming that I had, immediately asked me how she was doing.

His question made it easy for me to express my concern about what was going on down there. I admitted that I was too close to the situation, and was probably not able to be completely objective, but just to protect the reputation of the hospital and of Doctors Without Borders, he might want to make a few discreet inquiries about the living arrangements of the team and how they were spending their spare time.

The Administrator thanked me for my call and said he would look into it. I thanked him and expressed the hope for both his sake and my sake that my concerns were unfounded.

I went to work and tried to concentrate on the work at hand. I was only partially successful. By mid day I determined that I had to discipline myself to get the job done and put my personal problems aside until my work day was complete. I forced myself to do that and cleared my desk before leaving for home.

On the way home I thought about the lovely Leslie. I determined to go over to see the Nielsons after supper. I barely got in the door when the phone started ringing -- the land line. I picked up to find Vincent on the other end of the line, asking me how I liked my steaks done. He and Leslie would have the meal prepared in a half hour to forty-five minutes but I should come over as soon as I was able for a glass of wine before the meal. It was an offer too good to refuse.

I checked my mail and home emails, checked the answering machine, etc., and then went over to the Nielson's. I brought along a six pack of beer although I had the distinct impression that they had all things prepared and ready. I went through the gate into their back yard and saw them both outside standing by their grill. As I approached them they greeted me and we made small talk about the weather and the latest things politicians had done to shoot themselves in the foot and at the same time fail to take care of the American people. When the steaks were done we moved inside to eat around the kitchen table. Besides the steaks Leslie had made a potato salad and a tossed salad. The food was delicious.

As we sat around the table the talk became a little more personal. I found out that Vincent was a foreman at a large manufacturing plant in town. He worked the 11 PM to 7 AM shift and still kept in good physical condition by running to work every night and running back home in the morning. Then he had a set of weights in his basement that he used to maintain his upper body strength. He got the job after having served two tours of duty as part of special forces units that were sent to the Middle East. No wonder Leslie felt safe when Vincent was around.

Leslie, I found out, was a Notary Public and a secretary/receptionist at a large real estate firm. That seemed like a good fit -- especially the receptionist part. She was attractive and a very pleasant person. She was a gracious hostess at our meal.

I got to tell a little about myself and my military career and postings. I also inquired about what they knew about Marcy and our children and when it seemed as though Marcy had not told Leslie much about them I filled them in a little bit about Marcy's career and then told them about our children, remembering to give Marcy a lot of credit for doing a great job while I was stationed away from home on active duty.

After the meal we each brought our plates and utensils to Leslie who loaded them into the dishwasher. It took no time at all and then we went back outside to sit on chairs on their patio. It is there that we talked about the arrangement that Leslie and Marcy had talked about whereby I would be able to fuck Leslie with both Vincent's and Marcy's approval.

The first thing that I learned was that Vincent and Leslie had a very active and satisfying sex life between the two of them. That set my mind at ease. I also found out that Leslie is completely sterile. She seemed to understand why that was so. I'm sure that her gynecologist understood why and probably Marcy would understand if it was explained to her. But the medical complexities went over my head, and I think Vincent had a general idea of what the problem was, but did not thoroughly understand it either. In any case, children were not a problem and would never become a problem. Both Vincent and Leslie seemed to have come to accept that they would not be able to have children and were ready to live their life accordingly -- without regrets.

And then Vincent went on to explain that there came a time in their marriage when, during pillow talk after sex, Vincent had expressed how he thought it would be sexy to be able to step back and see Leslie get fucked. The two of them used porn as part of foreplay. Each of them had used porn before they were married as a stimulus while they masturbated. For Vincent, seeing Leslie fuck was a super pornographic experience.

So they experimented in setting up a camera in the bedroom and videoing their performance. The quality was not that good. They tried hiring a videographer. Amateurs got in the way and produced poor quality videos. They tried hiring a professional once, and she did not do a bad job, but was way to expensive to engage on a regular basis.

That's when they came up with the idea that maybe they should try swinging. After all, there was no way that she could become pregnant. In that way she was made to swing. Vincent could watch her and maybe try taking pictures and videos himself. Then, the arrangement would be that after the partner for the evening would have finished with Leslie, he would quietly excuse himself and Vincent would reclaim her. They were careful about the people they chose to be with Leslie and used precautions and STD testing to keep things safe. So far their experiences were generally positive. The most positive one was when Leslie had the same lover over an extended period of time. If that sort of arrangement would come about between Leslie and myself, that would be even better than one or two times or several times over six weeks. That would have to be evaluated on an ongoing basis. Everybody should be finding the experience to be enjoyable. If that would cease to be the case, then it was hoped that we would stop meeting together, but still remain friends.

This made sense to me and I told them I would like to try it. They were pleased to hear this and asked, "How should we make this happen?"

I had given this some thought and said, "I don't know whether Leslie likes to dance or not, but there was a time in my life when I was forced to take some dance lessons. I've never regretted it. Dancing can be an extended form of mild foreplay. But before I go any further in what I have in mind, I need to know, Leslie, whether you like to dance."

"As a matter of fact," she replied, "if there is a little bit of incompatibility in our marriage it is over dancing. I love to dance. Vincent claims he has two left feet and is unable to dance. So if you're asking me out to dance, I'd love it!"