Later that summer, to give us a break, Laura's parents agreed to visit and babysit while we got a hotel room in the city for some "couples' time," aka, a two-day sex romp.
Late Friday afternoon, after kissing the children goodbye and waving to Laura's parents, we set out on the short walk to the train station. With a few minutes to spare before our train, we stopped at the brew pub for happy hour.
We had barely sipped our craft beers when in walked Darla followed by a tall, good-looking black guy I immediately pegged as Morgan. If I'd had any doubts, Laura's audible gasp at the sight of him dispelled them.
Darla recognized us and came over to say hello. I shook hands with Morgan. He was strikingly handsome but different than I expected. There was something Asiatic about his eyes and high-cheekbones, kind of like the porn star Isiah Maxwell.
They joined us for a drink, their manner lowkey and unassuming. Morgan didn't flirt with Laura, and Darla wasn't insinuating like she was with me that day at the spa. They were just two service employees weary after a long day.
It was only Laura who gave away the underlying sexual tension. Her eyes went glassy, and her cheeks turned rosy. I could swear even her lips seemed to swell with lust. She laughed too loud at things that weren't funny, rambled nervously for long stretches, then lapsed into catatonic silences while gazing at Morgan like a lovestruck teenybopper. To be honest, it was kind of embarrassing.
But neither of them seemed to pay any mind to Laura's flustered behavior. I guess both were used to women drooling over Morgan in public.
After a while, Darla finished her drink and left, wishing us all a good weekend.
Noticing our bags, Morgan asked, "Where ya'll heading?"
"A little getaway to the city," I said. "For the weekend."
"Some alone time. I heard that," he said, sipping his IPA. "That's how a marriage stays strong." He smiled at me. A shudder ran through my body. It was happening.
"You're a city guy," my voice said, quaveringly, my mouth going dry. "Where's a good place to hang out, near the St. Regis?"
Laura kicked me under the table.
"Saint Regis, huh?" He rubbed is chin. "Well, I might say..." He named a trendy bar.
"Cool, uh, well, we might, possibly be there around eight, if you're..."
"Yeah, yeah, maybe I'll see you there." He finished his beer. "But if not, you too have fun now." He stood, flashed us a handsome leer, and left. Had anyone known us in the bar, they wouldn't have understood what just occurred.
When he was gone, Laura hissed, "What was that? We never discussed this."
"Let's discuss it now. If it's a no, all we have to do is not show up."
As we checked into our room, changed for dinner, and were seated at one of the city's best French restaurants, Laura's reluctance to meet Morgan continued to harden.
"What about disease?" she snapped. "Have you thought about that?"
I sipped red wine. "There's a CVS across the street. I'll buy extra-large condoms after dinner."
But it wasn't STDs that worried her, not really. It was the fear of flouting society's cherished norms, something she'd spent a lifetime dreading. By dessert she was practically in tears.
"Please don't ask me to do this," she implored. "I just can't. It's too much. On so many levels. It's just too much."
I reached across the table and clasped her hand. "Laura, I've known you for 17 years. I can say for certain that a part of you really wants this. And I know that terrifies you. But for once in your life do something for yourself, without caring what the world thinks. Don't you deserve it? Haven't you been the good Catholic, the good wife, the good mother, the good everything?"
Her expression told me I'd hit a nerve.
"I accept that you can lust for other people. You think I don't lust for other women sometimes? But lust isn't the same as love. And you must believe me when I say I'll never stop loving you no matter what happens tonight."
"And you're not embarrassed? For wanting this?"
"Well, I wouldn't say I'd want the whole world to know. But embarrassed? No. More like excited. It's an adventure."
She shook her head and looked away. "We might be opening a Pandora's box here."
I squeezed her hand. "There's risk in every aspect of life. I'll be there. I won't let anything bad happen to you. Now and forever."
"I'm not promising anything," Laura warned. "Just one drink."
"That's all I ask," I assured her.
Morgan had not steered us wrong. His recommended meeting spot was upscale, tastefully lit and crowed with mostly 30- and 40-somethings. We took seats at the bar.
When he made his entrance, he'd transformed from the weary spa employee of a few hours before. Every female head in the place turned to check him out. Sporting a form-fitting white, short-sleeved, band-collared dress shirt, tight charcoal slacks, tan dress shoes and a wide gold belt that drew attention to his bulging crotch, he looked exactly like what he was: a hot young guy on the prowl for pussy.
He greeted us like old friends, kissing and hugging Laura, complimenting her one-piece, blue and white stripped dress.
I could see my wife again reacting not only the attractive face and magnificent body but now also to the ego-flattering fact that, of all the many beautiful women in the bar, he was there to meet
her
--and they knew it.