Thanks to the readers who commented on Part one. I will get better at this with practice and advice.
*****
Finally, a way back came from an outside source. We had friends who had been married almost as long as we, and who were about our age. We had been close friends and companions for over 20 years, and they had visited me almost every day in the hospital. Marty, never Martha, a name she hated, was my chief support and shoulder to cry on other than Dan, and her husband Luke provided an outlet for Dan's fears and frustrations. Their home is right behind ours and the backyards had merged together into a play area for our kids and their three. We often spent time at each other's houses.
Dan told me one day that he had invited them over for dinner the next Friday. I didn't want to have anyone visit, even our best friends, but Dan simply, but somewhat sternly, said that it was a "done deal." I got mad at first; who was he to tell me what to do! But the remaining sane voice in my mind reminded me that he was my loving, suffering husband.
So, on a Friday evening in late May, Marty and Luke came over for some barbeque. I really wasn't a good hostess; I was very passive, and everyone seemed to be infected by that mood. We had switched from beer and wine after dinner to cocktails, but being a bit tipsy didn't seem to lighten the mood at all. Then Dan decided to take the conversation a little bit further than we usually shared and everything changed.
We had talked about almost everything in 20 years, but other than some casual jokes and references to how kids slowed down our love lives, we stayed away from discussing details about personal sex lives. Marty and I had never had a "girls' talk" about our spouses or fantasies. I couldn't be positive about Dan and Luke, but neither seemed the type to sit around and get personal on anything, let alone sex; I was sure Dan wasn't.
On a warm May Friday night, the four of us were relaxing with drinks on our deck after a meal that Dan and I had prepared. Actually, Dan had done most of the work; he is a much better cook than I am. Marty and Luke were a bit more tipsy than I was, but Dan seemed to be staying up with them drink for drink, even after we switched from beer and wine to cocktails. Maybe that's why Dan decided to take the conversation a little bit further than we usually shared.
He started with a somewhat personal question that was still in our comfort zone. "Listen, we all are about the same age, and we've been married a long time. I know that we share a lot of experiences and views, so our problems are probably going to be pretty much the same. So, I have a question. Is there anything that you guys (He called everyone guys.) wish were different in your lives? Something you wish you had done or not done. Something you want to change? Something to stay passionate." When he added passionate, they knew he was talking about sex.
There was silence for longer than usual, and Luke and Marty looked at each other sharing that wordless communication that long time couples have. I watched them, wondering how they would approach the question: Humorously, seriously, as simply the start to a general discussion of life. I knew where Dan was going with the question, and I was a bit nervous, so letting them take the lead was OK with me. It would be interesting to see how each would answer because, like Dan and me, Luke and Marty were a couple who had had a long marriage, a good one, but they were about as different as could be.
Marty was an extrovert, a happy, friendly, social person. She threw herself into new adventures and ideas with excitement; she was willing to try just about anything. While Dan and I travelled to beaches and tourist towns, Marty pushed Luke into river rafting, and sky diving; they visited towns off the tourist list. Sometimes they had a great time, sometimes not. But Marty was always ready for the next adventure. Marty taught at the same school I did, first grade. Her class was always loud, mostly from her. The kids had fun and learned a lot. Parents signed up on a list for her class. She would tell you the truth even when it was inconvenient; she didn't hide her opinion. She could be loud and sometimes just hummed or sang songs.
What made it a bit strange was that Marty is an itty-bitty woman. She is only about 5'2" and weighs about 100 pounds. She could have passed for a young girl if you didn't get too close to see the laugh lines around her eyes. She had natural red hair and green eyes and small breasts that she complained about to me often, although I knew she was happy with her body. Her ass was small, but still tight and round. Dan thought it was her sexiest feature. So did I; remember, mine is getting a bit large. She dressed just a bit on the far side of flirtatiously, skirts a bit too short, pants and shirts a bit too tight. But she was so small that it all seemed appropriate for her. She did get a lot of stares from men, including Dan.
Luke was so unlike his wife, physically and psychologically, that I sometimes wondered how they had ever gotten together. First of all, he towered over her; he was close to six feet tall and had a robust, muscular body. Both of them exercise every day, and he has defined muscles and a six pack. Dan and I had wondered how they made love; her face was about on a level with his chest. But Marty was the touching, PDA type and kissed him often in front of us. They managed the contact easily enough.
Luke was also much quieter than his wife; he usually let her take the majority of the conversations. But when he did talk, he was worth listening to. He was an engineer and often spoke very logically; it was clear he thought things through before deciding and speaking. One big asset was that he was a great story teller; he could be serious and very funny. Even relating his daily events could turn into a funny story. I think he was more comfortable with a format, a guideline than just conversing.
I have to admit that I had thought about how touching his chest would be like and - I was embarrassed about this when I told Dan. - what holding his ass would be like. Dan thought it was funny because he had fantasized about Marty's ass. We shared fantasies like that often. As part of keeping our sex life compelling, we even went to public places and picked out people that we found attractive, or just specific body parts that fit our ideal sex object. I usually agreed with Dan's choices, but he often saw mine and asked if that was really my type. I think there must be a psychological point to that but decided not to bother with it and just have fun.
Luke and Marty took much more time to answer than I had thought they would, so I knew that the answer was going to be serious, not a joke. Finally, Marty answered. "We have had feelings like that, just a few years ago" she admitted. "We talked about it. It wasn't a lack of love or passion, as I'm sure it's not for you. It was the loss of the newness that age brings to everything, even sex. Many couples either don't feel it strongly, or just accept it, we believe. That was our conclusion, at least. But we wanted that feeling back. I thought to myself that it sounded like our conclusion, but trying new things hadn't solved our problem. Then she surprised us.
"We tried different fantasies, role playing. You know, nurse and doctor, cop and crook. I particularly liked the two strangers' scene. We even tried a little bit of discipline and bondage." I was shocked, both that they had tried it and that they were telling us. I looked at Dan and could tell he was also surprised, but, like me, he wanted to hear more. We sat and listened.
"We tried it both ways," Luke offered. "With each of us taking turns being dominant or submissive. Those are the terms we found when we looked up BDSM in the computer."
I asked what BDSM meant. Luke seemed a bit reticent but Marty quickly answered. "It stands for bondage, discipline, sadism, and masochism. Some of it is very ugly looking and seems dangerous, but we stuck to few basic ideas." She paused for a couple of seconds; she looked a bit puzzled. It dawned on me that she was deciding how much more to say. "I have to admit that I liked it when I was tied up and when I tied Luke up. The idea of being in someone else's control or having the same control was a real turn on. I also liked being spanked on my ass, but Luke wasn't aroused by being spanked at all." I think my mouth opened a bit at that.
"I liked the bondage, too, "Luke offered. "I liked touching Marty, knowing that she had to let me do whatever I wanted to." He hesitated for a moment, then seemed to decide something. "I liked getting her ready to climax and then slowing down so she had to wait for it."
Marty was almost laughing. "At first, I was really mad at him, but when I came, er, sorry, climaxed, it was terrific."
I was reeling from this news, and I realized I was very turned on. I was even getting wet thinking about it. At first I pictured Marty and Luke doing the bondage, then I pictured Dan doing it to me. I realized that I had unconsciously started holding my breast. I looked over at Dan and saw a tightening of his shorts. He had an erection! I looked back at Marty and saw her looking at it as well.
I had to know more. I started asking questions. "Do you still do it?"
"Yes," Marty said without hesitation. She didn't stop there. "We have bought some toys online to make it more realistic."
"Like what," I almost yelled.
"Well, some handcuffs, velvet ropes with straps, a couple of belts and whips, and even a ..." She stopped, and even the dim light from the deck's lone lamp showed that she was blushing.
I couldn't imagine what she wouldn't say after the revelations so far. I wanted to beg her to tell us, but settled for the old "If you've gone this far, you have to finish." line.
Marty looked at Joe and he shrugged his shoulders. She avoided looking at Dan and looked straight at me. "We have some butt plugs."
I was so naïve that I wasn't sure what she meant. I stammered, "What, what ... it's a ... what?"
I wasn't making it easier for Marty. She looked at Dan finally, and he smiled and shrugged his shoulders. So she answered in Marty-like fashion, straightforward and blunt. "It's a smooth, oval shaped piece of metal that Joe sticks up my ass."
I could barely breathe. I couldn't move. I wasn't really seeing anyone for a while. So many thoughts were running through my head. Who were these people I thought I knew? How had a simple after dinner conversation led to this? A butt plug! I had always thought of anal intercourse as something dirty, and Dan had never brought it up, so I never had to think about it. Wait. If they used a plug... I blurted out the question before I thought. "Do you have anal sex, too?"
