Marrying You Was a Mistae

[If you're looking for a story with descriptive sex in it, look somewhere else. This story is about sex, about honesty and about promises.]

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"Marrying you was a mistake."

She didn't even say it loudly. She didn't look me in the eyes when she said it. She sat across from me in our living room. I'd been home a week. Unlike some of my friends who had been gone over a year, I'd been gone only eight months. Iraq.

"Did you hear me?" She asked.

"Yes. I figured if I waited you'd tell me what you mean by that. Would you rather I get angry and yell? Maybe, I should ask all the questions flashing through my mind."

"You should do something besides just sitting there."

"Ok. Why was it a mistake?"

"You're always gone. Then, you come back and it isn't you. You're different."

"You had friends who married military. Didn't you know men get changed by war?"

"Not everyone changes like you did."

"Got it! On the day you and I got married, did you love me?"

"Yes! And I'll still love you if you go back to being the man I married."

"How much did you weigh on the day we got married?"

"My weight has nothing to do with this!" She stiffened, looked angry that I would say anything about her weight. I knew she didn't wear the same size she did when we got married.

"I didn't say it did. I asked a question. How much did you weigh on your wedding day?"

"One thirty."

"And now?"

"A few pounds more."

"So, you changed. You're not the same as you were when we got married."

"So? That's just weight. Before you left you were kinder, more romantic. You treated me better. You asked please more. I could lose the weight in a few weeks. Will you change?"

I waited before continuing.

"You started this by saying marrying me was a mistake. Can it be repaired?"

"If you change."

"Are you willing to change too?"

"What's wrong with me?" She almost screamed. This wasn't going as she had planned.

"I didn't say anything was wrong with you. I want to know what you're willing to do to repair our marriage."

"I'll quit my job, stay home and take care of the house and you."

"So the house will be spotless, meals home cooked and on time, laundry and ironing done and you'll take care of me like my hot girl-friend too?"

"Wait! I'm not gonna be your slut! You've been home a week. We've done It three times already."

"So, what are you promising, exactly?"

"Normal people have sex once or maybe twice a week. I can live with that."

"Does that count oral?"

"If you cum, it counts."

"I pay all the bills, I get a clean house, clean clothes, missionary sex twice a week, breakfast and dinner everyday. You'll do the grocery shopping and go with me to social events, family gatherings, picnics and whatever?"

"Yeah."

"Before I left I introduced you to my friends. Remember the cookout we had here so you could meet them?"

"I remember."

"I heard them volunteer to include you in their circle while I was gone. Did they?"

"I got a few calls inviting me to different things. Whatever they invited me to didn't sound too great so I didn't go."

"Have you spent any time with any of them?"

"No."

"You didn't ever call anyone? Why?"

"They're your friends. When you're here we can be with them, if you want."

"You were new to the area. You could have gotten to know people, found the good places to buy clothes and things, gone dancing. They reached out to you and you shut them down."

"So, call them up. We can go do something now."

"My wife has told my friends she doesn't like them. In eight months you didn't make a single call to a single one of my friends. Damn."

"I don't think they're upset. Only one of them ever came by."

"Oh? Who?"

"Miguel. He and his wife came by to see if I needed help with the yard."

"That's his business. He does landscaping."

"I know. I saw his truck. He and his wife looked like they belonged on a rancho in Mexico not in my yard in Los Angeles."

"You gave him the job, didn't you?"

"No. I wanted him to come on Thursdays and he said his Thursdays were already booked, so I got someone else."

"You had to have Thursdays? No other day would do?"

"I wanted Thursdays. What's the big deal?"

""No big deal. Just an insult from my wife to my friends. The worst part is you don't even see it."

"I didn't marry all your friends. I don't have to be nice to them because you guys went to high school together. Grow up. Get friends who are adults."

I sat, thinking, for a while, then I said, "I'm so glad you brought this up. You have helped me clear my thinking." I looked at my watch. "Right now I need to shower and get dressed. I have places to go and things to get done before tonight. I'll be back at around six-thirty."

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"I've been back for days. I've spent them with you. My friends know I'm due back. I need to go see them. See what's cooking, where we can go and have some fun."

Ok. Have a good day. We talked about a deal. Do we have a deal?"

"It's Wednesday. Let's take the deal for a test run until Sunday. You are already on vacation from your job, so you can act like a full-time wife. I'm on leave for two more weeks, so we'll see how it goes until Sunday."

"Deal." She stayed on the couch. I got up and went to shower. In the bedroom I saw my digital camera on the dresser and had an idea. I took pictures of the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. She was still in the living room. Carefully I took two shots of the living room without her seeing me do it.

I showered, shaved, and dressed. By ten-thirty I was out the door. I went to the library and did some research. I made some phone calls and met some friends at The Hat for lunch. As if the conversation that morning wasn't enough of a revelation the rest of the day was more revealing.

When I got home at six-twenty Misty was sitting two feet from where she had been sitting when I left. She was no longer in the big t-shirt she wore as a night gown the night before. She was in black slacks and a yellow and black top. She was barefoot but low heels were close at hand. Her hair was done, make-up on and her purse was beside her on the couch.

"Hi. Did you miss me?"

"Sure. I wondered where all you went. I wondered why you didn't invite me to go along."

"When I told you where I was going you didn't say, can I go? You said have a nice day. Ok. I gave you some time to get the things done around here that needed doing. By the way, what's for dinner?"

"I thought we were going out. We've been out every night since you got back."

"This morning you agreed to clean, cook and take care of the house and me. Did you clean the house while I was gone?"

She hesitated. "I didn't clean everything."

"Did you cook?"

"No. I figured we were going out."

"What did you do?"

"I got dressed up for you."

"Oh, did you call me and ask what I wanted you to wear or what I wanted for dinner?"

"No. I figured..."

I interrupted, "No, you didn't figure. You thought about what you wanted. What you want is not taking care of me. The evidence I see is that you want me to take care of you, not the other way around. As I see it, between ten-thirty this morning and six-thirty this evening is eight hours. In that eight hours you did nothing to show me you were willing to change. You did nothing to take care of the house or me. So, the deal is off."

She came off the couch like a shot, swinging. I ducked and gave her a soft shove back onto the couch. She sputtered and said, "What the hell do you mean, the deal's off?"

"Did I miss something? What part of what you promised did you do in the eight hours? What?"

"I agreed to do it between this morning and Sunday! You didn't say I had to do anything today."

"Correct me if my memory is wrong but you agreed to keep the house clean, not have it clean by Sunday. You agreed to cook breakfast and dinner for me. Did you think that was once a week? You agreed to take care of me. Wouldn't that mean finding out what I'd like, what I'd want for dinner, what I'd like you to wear? I have eighteen year old troops in my command and they make promises. The instant the promise is made they are in action to live up to their promises."

"I'm not one of your troops!"

"I can see that. Why should I expect that they live inside their promises and you don't?"

"I'm your wife, not a soldier!"

"Why should I expect that they live inside their promises and you don't?"

"My promises are different."

"Right! That explains it all. Wait right there for a minute or two, would you?" I walked into the bedroom and picked up the phone. Three calls later I came back to Misty.

She was at one end of the couch. I sat next to her and said, "Since there is no dinner made and since you're dressed to go out, I think we should. We're going to the beach for dinner. You like Italian food, as I remember?"

"I do. Let's go!" She was on her feet and slipping into her heels in seconds. She hooked my arm as we walked out of the house and smiled all the way to my car. Half an hour later we walked into a small quiet Italian restaurant overlooking the beach.

I told the young woman my name and she smiled, "Right this way Sergeant!"

Misty looked at me and asked, "Does she know you?"

"Never saw her before in my life." My hand went onto her back and I guided her to follow the young woman. She led us to a private room. Four other couples were seated around a large table. I knew three of the men and one of the women. I introduced Misty to all of them. We looked at the menu, ordered, and the process of getting-to-know-each-other again began. Mostly it was handled by the women. Jose, Miguel and Tony knew each other, and knew Maria. Maria's date was new to all of us.

Jose's wife of five years had never met Misty. She was a local girl who had gone to a different high school. We went to Montebello and Veronica went to Roosevelt. Maria had gone to Montebello with us. Miguel's wife, Angela, was from Florida, a Cuban woman with long fine legs. Miguel had been bragging on her ability to Salsa for the four years since they met. One look at her and I knew it was much more than her Salsa that attracted Miguel to her.

Our meals came and the conversation slowed a little. The food was good. Two bottles of good red wine disappeared while we ate.

Coffees and desserts were ordered and I spoke up.

"While we wait for dessert, I'd like to ask a couple questions. Would that be Ok?"

"Sure, but not too personal, please." Miguel said.

We laughed a little and I continued. "Miguel, may I ask your wife a question?"

He nodded. She blushed a little.

"If you made a promise to Miguel this morning to keep the house clean until Sunday and he left the house at ten-thirty this morning promising to be back at six-thirty what would you do all day?"

She smiled. "Easy! I'd clean the house until it shined."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I love Miguel and because I promised."

I turned to Jose's wife, Maria. "Would you answer the same questions, please?"

"I would clean the house. I would do it for the same reasons that Angela gave, I love him and I promised. Why are you asking?"

"This morning my wife, Misty, told me marrying me was a mistake. In our conversation I promised to change and she promised to do certain things for me. One of the things was to keep the house clean until Sunday. I left at ten-thirty and was home just before six-thirty. She didn't cook dinner. She didn't clean the house. She didn't ask me what I wanted, for dinner or for her to wear. She showered, put on these clothes and waited for me to take her to dinner."

"It isn't as bad as he makes it sound!" Misty said.

"I told her my troops did everything they could do to live up to their promises to me. I told her they start immediately after they make the promises. Jose, Miguel, do your wives live up to their promises or is being a wife different?"

They let us know they were proud to say their women did everything they could to make their promises come true.

I turned to Misty and asked, "Can you give me a good reason why the test run that started this morning should last until Sunday?"

"I didn't know you really meant for the promise to start right then!"

"When did you think a promise would begin that was made on Wednesday to end on Sunday?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Ok. My fault. I didn't make it clear in our earlier conversation what I expected. Let me clarify. I expect the house to be clean. You know what it looks like now. If you sleep until eight-thirty in the morning what time will the house be clean?"

"By four in the afternoon." I pulled a piece of paper from my pocket and wrote down, "clean house by 4pm."

"You promised you would make breakfast and dinner for me. Again, if you sleep until eight-thirty what time is breakfast?"

"Nine or maybe nine-fifteen."

"Misty, in the military there is an abbreviation called NLT. It means No Later Than. I'm putting down NLT 0915. Is that your promise?" She nodded.

"What time will you serve dinner?"

"Six." I wrote it down.

"Will you be doing laundry tomorrow?"

"I don't think we need it. The hamper isn't full."

"So, the day it is full you'll do laundry?"

"Ok. Damn, it's like I am one of your troops."

"No, it isn't. If you were one of my troops I wouldn't be asking you, I'd be telling you. You made one other promise, remember?"

"Yes." She blushed.

"You promised you'll take care of me like my hot girl-friend. Right?"

"That's what you asked for."

"Is that what you promised?"

"Yes."

"Have you been taking care of me like my hot girl-friend?"

"Yes! I dressed nice for you. I hung on your arm. I sat next to you during dinner. I had plans for the ride home and when we got home."

"During dinner Amanda kissed her husband twice. Maria had her hand on her husband's leg when we walked in and it's still there. Veronica has touched her guy often during the two hours we've been here. I put my hand on your thigh twice during dinner and you removed it both times. You haven't touched or kissed me once today. How is your behavior like my hot girl-friend?"

"It isn't, but it will be."

"No, it won't. In our conversation this morning you said you could love me again, if I changed. The message was that you stopped loving me or you never loved me. Either way..."

"I didn't mean that. I meant it would be easier to love you if you changed."

"I still hear that you don't love me. I love you, Misty. Being gone to a war zone helped me clear my head about what's important and what isn't. Loving you isn't enough. I want to be loved too. I want to be loved for who I am, not who you want me to be. I want a woman who wants to take care of me, have kids with me, spend her life with me and wants my affection, my care, my love. You were right this morning, marrying me was a mistake. You win. California makes us wait six months for the divorce to be final, but you can continue acting single again any time you want."

"This is not what I want!" Tears slid down her cheeks.

"No? I thought you and I talked about what you wanted and what you were willing to give to get what you wanted. I thought I heard you say marrying me was a mistake."

"I didn't mean it that way. I just wanted you to change back to how you were."

"I will never be how I was before I went to Iraq. No one who goes is ever the same. You go back to being a virgin and I'll go back to being eighteen. You first."

"I can't and you know it!"

"You go back to never having sex with anyone except me."

"You know you were my first!"

"I also know I was not your only. These people here at the table kept an eye on you while I was gone. Seems they saw you out with Mike, from our high school days. They saw you out with him more than once."

"I danced with him at a club a few times. I didn't know I couldn't go out while you were gone."

"That's all it was? You met him at a club and danced a few times with him?"

"That's it."

"He never came to our home?"

"Never!"

"Jose said he saw you with Mike at the club and saw you leave with him. Jose came and parked across the street all night and saw Mike drop you off after eight the next morning."

"Jose is a liar!"

"Is Maria a liar too?"

"What?"

"Jose called me from his car. While he parked across the street he called me and I sat with him until you got home. The club closed at two, you got home after eight." Maria said.

"He brought me home because my car broke down. He didn't come in."

"Your car was in the driveway when he brought you home." Maria said.

Her hands covered her eyes and she cried. The waiter brought the bill and I paid it. My friends thanked me and I thanked them. They left. I looked at Misty and said, "I'll take you home now, if you're riding with me."

"I came with you. I want to be with you. Not just tonight but always. Mike and I didn't break our vows. I don't want a divorce!"

"To quote my Dad, you don't always get what you want."

I stood and offered her my arm. She stood and took it. Nothing was said on the way back to the car. Ten minutes into the drive home she put my hand on her thigh. I left it there.

At home I went around to her side, opened the door and helped her out. At the door I unlocked it and held it open for her. When I closed the door she faced me and asked, "What now?"

Without a word I went into the bedroom and packed. My duffel held all my military stuff and one suitcase held the rest. She watched.

"It's not what you think." She said as my duffel was packed.

"You don't know what I think."

"I don't love him. I was just lonely."

"You don't love me either. You said it this morning. You said then that you love the guy I used to be. Well, if you can find him, fuck him. If you get lonely, call Mike. You're single now, do whoever you want."

She grabbed me as I walked past her carrying my bags. I walked through the door and she let go when she would have slammed into the door frame. Jose was standing on the porch and saw her following me.

"Check her out, Jose. Does she look like I beat her up, slapped her or hurt her at all?"

"No, man. She looks ready to go out."

"Not with us! Let's go."

She was served divorce papers the next night while she danced with Mike at the club. Lots of witnesses. Jose, Maria and Miguel included. A week later she was arrested at the club for getting into a fight. Seems Mike was married and his wife didn't like sharing him with Misty.

When I went back on active duty I posted a picture of Misty on the bulletin board, along with her phone number. Below the number was the note: "Divorce from Sgt. Evans final 18 November 2009. You want her, go for it."