(This continues a story first written by Capecodmercury. He left his tale open ended and suggested a continuation by anyone who wanted to take a shot at it. His story intrigued me and I asked his permission to continue it. I have also left my tale open ended and would be curious to see how another would pick up this thread. I do suggest that you read his first - this will then make more sense .)
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My name is Donald Prescott. I think that my wife is cheating on me and I'm not sure what to do. I'm not sure if this is the first time, or if she has cheated on me throughout our marriage.
My wife's name is Margaret but everyone calls her Marge. She is 39 years old and still has a terrific figure. I don't really know her measurements but she fills out a bathing suit very nicely. We have been married for 16 years and have, for the most part, been happy - or so I thought.
We have two children: Brad is 14 and Sarah is 12. They are both good, normal kids and I love them very much. Since their mother is a physical education teacher they are heavily into sports. Brad is a soccer fanatic and Sarah is into gymnastics. I don't get a chance to see the events in which they participate too often as the hours I put into my job prevents a lot of that. I am an office manager. Not too exciting, but my income along with Marge's pay as a teacher, keep us living well.
I met Marge while on a canoeing outing. She had conned herself a spot in our group by claiming to be experienced. They paired her up with me and it soon became obvious that she had no idea what she was doing. Fortunately, she was fit and with my guidance soon developed enough skill to to do the job.
Our relationship developed and we eventually married. To many it seemed an unlikely pairing. Marge was outgoing and extroverted. She excelled in all types of sports and participated whenever possible. I was a real klutz when it came to organized sports. I had never played a sport growing up and had never really had any interest.
It's not that I am a couch potato. I developed a passion for hiking kayaking, white water rafting and anything to do with the wilderness. Participating in this activity kept me very trim and fit. People do not notice me usually, as I tend to be a bit shy and withdrawn. I am of average height, thin and wiry. I may not look very strong, but people would be surprised at the power behind my muscles. Muscles developed hiking, rock climbing,etc. I also jog regularly and I watch my weight.
I thought that Marge and I had a strong marriage. I know that I loved her and I imagined that she loved me also. Our early years together were good. We both worked and did not have many money problems. Sex between us was good, even though we were both relatively inexperienced. I was intimate with only a few girls before Marge, and she indicated that her partners were few and her experience limited. I had no reason to doubt her
Our sex life began to suffer a little with the birth of Brad. Between my long hours at work and Marge's time divided between the baby and her other activities, we found ourselves too tired at night to do much beyond a kiss and a hug before falling asleep. When we did have the opportunity to have sex, it was usually quick with little foreplay. We both did enjoy the intimacy and closeness after having our orgasms. I never complained because it was evident to me that Marge wasn't all that interested in sex. While she seemed to enjoy it occasionally, it wasn't something that really turned her on. I guess that I just resigned myself to a life and marriage whereby sex between us was secondary.
The first real problem in our marriage occurred when Marge was pregnant with Sarah. For some reason, she became cold and withdrawn. Of course there was no sex anyway because of her pregnancy, but even the caresses and kisses stopped. I put this down to her pregnancy, but it was a very cold and chilly time in our household. More than once I asked her why she was acting the way she was, but that just seemed to anger her all the more. I was truly fearful of our marriage. I knew that I couldn't stand a marriage that wasn't loving, and it seemed that we were headed for divorce. I think that the only thing that kept me from leaving was the imminent birth of our daughter.
I tried to be as understanding as I could. I did everything I could think of to make her happy. I was a kind and considerate husband, but that didn't seem to impress Marge. It was quite awhile until she began to treat me not as a pariah, but as her loving husband. I never did comprehend why she had fallen into such depression.
One of my male friends, in response to my complaints about how chilly my home had become, indicated that Marge may have found out about the bachelor party. I reminded him that I did not participate in any of the shenanigans that night. In fact, I left early with another of the guys and we spent the next hour over a cup of coffee and pie at IHOP. Anyway, Marge never knew how that party had degenerated.
The only other time that I felt that our marriage was in real trouble was when Marge discovered that Barb and I were in her bedroom for over a half hour. Barb was a neighbor who had thrown a going away party as she was moving out of state. She had been recently divorced and kind of leaned on me for support during a difficult time. I like to think that I was of some help to her with my advice and sympathy.
Anyway, a nosy gossip filled Marge's ear about my so called tryst with Barb, indicating that we were closeted for quite awhile in her bedroom during that going away party. What no one ever knew was that Barb was confiding in me. She felt she really wanted to get off her chest the fact that she had also cheated during her marriage and she felt guilty as sin. I tried to console her and give her a shoulder to cry on. It soon became apparent to us that our disappearance may be misconstrued and we should rejoin the others.
Marge was sure that I was having an affair and it was difficult for me to convince her that she was wrong. I had vehemently denied her accusation, but of course I could not tell her the nature of the conversation that Barb and I had. Her story was told to me in confidence and I would honor that. Barb's confession would never leave my lips.
I did notice that during the past few years Marge and I had been steadily drifting apart. She was so wrapped up in her coaching and in her teaching job as well as her other allied activities that she had little time for her husband and partner. I had made numerous attempts to talk to her about her busy schedule, but she tended to minimize my concerns. After awhile, I just gave up and learned to live with the situation.
I also began to notice that there was more than one teacher at her school that came into our conversations. How Frank was so athletic, or how Jake made her laugh, or how whoever was so masculine. These remarks did not go unnoticed and I felt their sting. I don't know if Marge was doing this with the intent of hurting me or whether they were just innocent comments. Comments like those did make me very uneasy. Over the past couple of years, more and more of those comments concerned her boss, Frank Morello. She would drop little remarks about how fit he was, or how muscular he was Then she would complain that he was coming on to her. Then that would stop and she would not mention him at all for awhile. I am not an insensitive man. I began to suspect, if only unconsciously, Marge's fidelity. At least I began to be more observant.
Many Saturdays evenings were fulled with parties thrown by one or another of her co-workers. Every one seemed to enjoy these get-to-gethers, expect me. I always seemed to be the odd man out. I saw how Marge came alive, chatting with one guy and then another. She always seemed to be with one guy or with a small group of guys, seldom with the women there. The guys were always the jocks. They seemed to attract her. She danced with many of them, but I never saw anything untoward occurring. I did notice a brief flash of impatience on Marge's face if I ever attempted to cut in.
It was on one of these parties that I really lost it. I noticed that Marge seemed to be dancing more than occasionally with Morello. Then I saw him, quite blatantly, put his paw on her ass. She did reach back and remove it, but didn't really seem terribly offended. In fact, she quickly looked around her to see if anyone had seen what happened. She didn't notice that I saw, I seemed to be the celophane man.