Revelations

A very special thanks to Frontma for making this submission a better read.

*

Midday saw Victor turning his SUV off the dirt road and moving along a faintly visible path that would lead him to their secluded cabin in the woods. The hustle bustle of the city had long been left behind. The lake was just a half an hour walk thru the path in the woods from their cabin and Victor planned to walk down at the earliest. But first he unloaded the provisions he had purchased on the way at a gas station. During the next couple of days he planned to clean up the place before winter set in. And hopefully he would also have some of the answers he was searching for.

An hour later, Victor found himself purposefully walking along the forest path. The air was crisp and cool and the sun was up in the sky, playing hide and seek amongst the few clouds that could be seen scattered here and there. His long strides continued to bring him closer to the lake although his mind was far far away. Back in Dallas, Harry also had a cabin in the woods. The images of Harry fucking his wife in the cabin were playing again and again in his mind. They had fucked under the open blue sky without a care or worry. The CD had shown the two rushing out naked, laughing and giggling like two teenagers. Harry was trying to grab his wife's naked ass from behind and she was playfully trying to resist him. He had watched his wife's boobs jiggle and joggle in fascination. She had trimmed her bush and it looked sexy. Even in the clip her arousal could be discerned by the protuberance of her pink inner lips. They had then settled down on the double sleeping bag spread on the ground. His wife rested her head on Harry's thigh and the two drank wine from the glass being held by him. His cock was jutting straight out and almost poking his wife in her face.

As far as he could make out from the images, they were talking, laughing and in general behaving like a husband and wife. His wife would every now and then grab her lover's erect cock and playfully shake it. Then Harry put down the empty glass and lay on his back with his cock standing straight up. His wife had then proceeded to mount him and rode him cowboy style. Victor had closely watched her face and saw that her expressions showed her to be completely enjoying the intimacy. There had been a newspaper lying face open and Victor recognised the dateline. It was a weekend during when he had been in Houston getting the hang of his new responsibilities. He remembered Vanessa telling him that she might go to one of her friends place. How knave of him to have assumed that the friend in question would naturally be a woman. The CD had gone on and on, showing them having sex in different positions. When Harry's pee wee would tire out, they would take a break and share a glass or two and then start fucking again. The final shots showed them drunk and passed out under the open sky, their bodies intertwined with each other. One thing could be definitely said in favour of Harry was that he loved fucking another man's wife. He was almost insatiable.

That brought him back to the question whose answer continued to elude him. Was his marriage over? Or should he forgive his wife's adultery and see if they had some kind of a future together? After all they have been married for almost thirty years and anyone can make a bad choice or decision. When he looked back in the past he really couldn't say he was ever unhappy with his marriage. Like all couples, they too had their ups and downs, but that was to be always expected when two people begin living under the same roof. Marriages' may be made in Heavens but it was the responsibility of the mortal Earthlings to make it work. What if he had had an affair? What would have Vanessa done? Forgiven him? Or taken him to the cleaners? A shiver ran thru his body as he walked along the shores of the lake.

He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he did notice the Frisbee flying in his direction till it glanced off his left shoulder. Victor looked up startled. He saw a young lad hurrying towards him with an apologetic look on his face. Behind him he could see a woman and a teenage girl looking in their direction. Going by their looks it was clear they were all one family.

"Sorry Mister that one went right past me" said the blonde boy. By now the mother and daughter had also joined them. The boy had definitely gone after his mother. He had the same clear blue, twinkling eyes as his mothers. The girl, no doubt his sister seemed a year or two younger to him.

"It's okay son, I should have been more alert. Anyway no harm done," he replied with a smile and threw back the Frisbee in his direction. Victor looked at the mother who stood waiting for him as her kids ran after the Frisbee. She was blonde and had blue eyes just like her son's. At 5'8'', she had a well proportioned body. She was looking at him and her eyes seemed to be actually smiling t him. Going by her son's age, he guessed her to be in her early forties but she didn't look a year over thirty five. All in all, a very good package. He noticed that her husband didn't seem to be around.

"Hi, I'm Paula Lehmann," she said as he came close to her.

"Victor," he replied with an acknowledgement. At close quarters she looked even lovelier and homely.

"Please accept our apologies by sharing a cup of hot coffee and homemade cookies with us," she continued as the two began walking along the shore line in the general direction of where the kids had gone. He could see a blanket spread on the ground and a food hamper. It reminded him of the times when he and his wife used to take their small kids to the local park. Those were some good memories of the bygone days.

"Sure, anything for some good homemade cookies," Victor found himself replying. They began chatting as they watched the kids play. The boy's name was Frank and he was sixteen while his sister's name was Beth and she was thirteen years old. Their father had been a chemical engineer and had passed away in a freak accident at the factory a couple of years ago. She was a psychologist by profession. Victor felt genuinely sorry for them. They seemed to be a close knit family. This became more apparent when the kids joined them for snacks. They had a guest with them and they were showing the right etiquettes. Paula had brought them up well. He told them a bit about himself and his family and his grandchildren. The kids were soon off again. He watched them run around with moist eyes as he recalled similar outings with his wife and kids. By now it was late in the afternoon and Victor realised that the family must be having their own plans. He thanked Paula for the wonderful cookies and coffee and then began making his way back to his cabin. Paula had rented out the Jarson's place which was a couple of miles away and they had come down to the lakeside in their SUV.

With a final wave to the kids, Victor began making his way back to his cabin. The SMS beeper reminded him that he had a SMS. It was from his wife. "Missing you," were the first words and then it went on to remind him to take his daily pills.

Yes, he missed her too thought Victor as he continued to walk briskly along the grass covered trail. Sometimes he wished he hadn't opened that damned courier package. That way he wouldn't have been confronted with his wife's adultery in the past and would probably gone through the rest of his life dumb and happy. Did he say adultery? No way! If you were to ask Vanessa then it was all about natural therapy, about nurturing a lost and lonely soul back to sanity. So what did that mean? These were modern times and neither of them had been virgins when they had first met. But they had taken their solemn marriage vows to be true and faithful to each other. Then again, in these times of marriage, divorce and re marriage people were taking that famous vow again and again with different partners. So, did she mean that she had not broken her marriage vows inspite of having slept with another man? Did she mean that the physical act of sleeping with another man had in no way diminished her love for him and spiritually she still remained truly his? His wife's attitude continued to puzzle him. Did the women's liberation thing have to do something with her line of thinking, namely her body was her's alone? Of course he had always respected her and never ever forced himself upon her in bed, however horny he might have been. Perhaps he had missed out on something and the women's liberation meant more than what he understood.

He rummaged around in the kitchen and threw himself a quick dinner and sat in front of the TV. He had equipped the cabin with all the latest gadgets so that they could catch up with what's new whenever they wished. Just then his cell buzzed. It was his daughter calling.

"Hi Dad," she said as soon as he put the cell to his ear.

"Hi baby, what's new," he replied affably. Her tone had indicated that this was not going to be your routine call kind of thing.

"I spoke to mother and she told me you had gone to the lakeside cabin for some days," she continued in the same neutral tone. It had been more of a statement requiring an explanation than an exchange of pleasantries between a daughter and her father.

Victor replied back with an excuse that with the winter almost upon them, he wanted to put the cabin in order. Plus a couple of days in the open would do wonders to his health. But her next sentence made it clear that she wasn't buying the reasons dished out by him.

"Why didn't mother accompany you to the lakeside?"

Victor paused a moment before replying. Her daughter had a sharp inquisitive mind like him, and she had already read and understood a lot by their behaviour.

"I just wanted to be by myself. There are times when a man finds himself at crossroads. Events transpire and unfold in a manner that one has to take a serious stock of the situation. So here I am, by the lakeside, trying to come to grip with the unfolding events in my life," he replied back as honestly as he could.

"Is everything okay between you and mother?" There was a hint of concern in her voice. His daughter was smart and he ought to have been proud of that but Victor didn't like the direction their conversation was taking.

"Baby, don't worry your head off about what's between me and your mother. I'm not going to promise anything yet, but I want to make things work out. Ok? Now tell me what my grandkid is upto," replied Victor. The change in topic was a relief to both of them and they talked for some more time before Victor finally switched off his cell.

His mind kept buzzing and whirring as he ate his dinner with his eyes glued to the TV news. So why was he really at their lakeside cabin? Did he just want to hide, to escape the personal sense of shame and humiliation? He was a proud man and would not talk to anyone about his discovery, about his wife's affair with her boss back in Dallas. During the next couple of days the only thing he did was to work in putting the cabin in proper shape, exercise and go for long walks in the afternoon along the lakeside where he would invariably run into Paula and her kids. A couple of times he even took over some snacks for them. They were a nice family and he liked being around them. Back at the cabin he would prepare something digestible and have a couple of drinks to help him sleep at night. But the answer to his problem continued to evade him. He was stuck in "I can't hide from it but can't live with something I don't understand" kind of a situation. Or was he afraid of being alone in this late age of life when perhaps companionship mattered more than anything else?

The next afternoon again found him briskly walking along the lakeside. He waved out to Paula and her kids who were at a short distance ahead of him. The kids had put out a small dingy into the water and were playfully paddling it around. That could be dangerous thought Victor. Before he could call out a warning, the dingy turned over and both the children fell into the cold water. Victor knew that the water was not more than chest deep over there but the children could get their feet entangled in the underwater growth and that could become serious. He rushed over and plunged headlong into the cold waters. He grabbed Frank by his collar and pulled him towards the shallow side. But Beth was having problems in keeping her head above the water. Victor realised that his worst fears had just been confirmed. She had one of her legs entangled in the underwater growth. He took a deep breath and went down in the water. He grabbed her leg and pulled hard. He felt some resistance. He pulled again. He didn't have much time as he would have to break surface for fresh air. With all the energy he could muster, Victor gave one final push. Suddenly there was no more resistance and Beth floated towards the surface.

Paula was already waist up into the water and she dragged her semi conscious daughter to the shore and began pumping out the water.

"Don't worry; she's in a shock state. No harm has been done."

Paula nodded her head but still continued to give first aid to her daughter. Once the effect of the shock of finding oneself in cold waters had worn off, Beth sat up and hugged her mother.

"Thanks Victor, thanks for saving my daughter's life," said Paula. She stepped forward and embraced him. The warmth and closeness of her young, soft body had an electrifying effect on Victor. He put his arms over her shoulders and drew her close. The feel of her plum breasts against his chest felt good, very good indeed.

"I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. But now I think we should all get some dry clothes or else we'll freeze to death in these wet clothing's," said Victor as he reluctantly withdrew himself from her embrace. She felt nice, very nice ... she was his kinda girl.

Paula was instantly in command. "C'mon guys put your stuff in the car," she ordered out. Then she turned to Victor and said, "You're coming home with us. You can share some of the clothes we have."

"Paula, my cabin is nearby and I can walk ..."

He was not allowed to finish by Paula who grabbed him by his arm and took him over to their SUV. "By your own admission it takes you forty five minutes to reach your place and I'm not going to let you walk around in those wet clothes for forty five minutes. Our place is only fifteen minutes by road and that's where you're going."

"That's right and today I will be making dinner and I want you to be there," chirped in Beth who had by now grabbed his other arm.

It felt nice to be liked, to be genuinely liked. Victor felt a strange warmth in his heart for this family. They were all nice. Paula's husband must have been a great guy thought Victor. He settled comfortably in the front passenger seat and the kids quickly piled into the rear side and Paula took off immediately. She drove as fast as was possible in the wooded surroundings and they reached their cabin well under fifteen minutes.

Paula quickly ushered them in. It was getting dark and there was a cold wind blowing across. Unfortunately for Victor, they didn't have anything of his size. He had to finally settle for a tight set of Speedos belonging to Frank and a Mexican blanket to drape over. By then Paula had a nice fire going in the fireplace. She had put on an oversized T shirt that came down to her knees. They did not have a TV connection so the four of them spent time by talking with each other. As time passed, Victor began to feel more and more comfortable with the Lehmann family. Looking at them invariably brought back some good memories.

As promised, Beth along with her elder brother prepared a lovely dinner for them. Beth was delighted when Victor complimented her on her culinary skills. The kids had also become quite open to him. Frank told him that he wanted to join the US Navy as a marine pilot. Victor remembered he had a distant cousin in the USN and he promised Frank that he would get in touch with his cousin and then let him know how to prepare for their selection examinations. Beth wanted to become a doctor just like her mum or maybe a chef. Victor smiled in affection. She was only thirteen and still had time to choose her profession. All along he could feel a pair of eyes watching him intently. A couple of times he even caught Paula staring at him with a funny look in her eyes.

Finally it was time for the kids to go to bed and they left reluctantly but not before giving him a hug. Victor added some more wood to the crackling fire and made himself comfortable on the rug near the fireplace so that he could enjoy the warmth of the fire. Paula joined him with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"Fill up the glasses and I'll be right back," she said as she placed the bottle next to him. The way the T shirt was hugging her curves it was obvious that she was not wearing any panties. Victor could feel his member hardening in response to the feminine beauty in close proximity to him. The small Speedo was now hurting him, so as soon as Paula was out of the living room, Victor quickly slipped off the tight Speedo and made himself comfortable in the blanket. A few minutes later Paula returned with an extra large blanket in her arms. The way her boobs were bouncing clearly indicated she had discarded her bra for the rest of the evening. She covered him with the blanket and then tucked herself in also. Victor was taken by surprise. She was in close proximity and he could feel her body warmth, and so could his little fella who was by now standing straight up. Victor carefully adjusted the blanket before handing Paula her drink. If she were to lean a bit too much then things could get real embarrassing.

As the drinks flowed, the conversation turned to her love life.

"What's a fine looking girl like you doing here in these lovely woods all by yourself?" asked Victor. He had been curious but had refrained from asking earlier on. But now, after a couple of drinks and the warmth of the fireplace and their close proximity, it seemed rather a natural question.

Paula threw back her head and laughed before replying. Victor stared at the taut nipples so very clearly defined by the glow of the fire. She looked so fresh, so motherly ... so, so sexy.

"No Victor, it's not that I do not have my share of admirers. But I made a promise to myself, and ... and Ron that I would see to our children ... ensure that they make it to a good college before thinking about myself again. We had a dream, a shared vision. We wanted to see our children doing well in school and then going off to some reputable college. Ron ... Ron is now not here with us but I am here and I'll do all it takes to ensure our dream comes true," replied Paula softly with a faraway look in her eyes, no doubt thinking about her deceased husband.

She has not forgotten her husband, even after all these years thought Victor. Her husband had passed away but she hadn't forgotten the goals they had set up for their family. He felt his feelings grow for her. Here was a woman determined to live life on her terms, while his wife ... Victor again felt that pain taking hold of his body, as images and clippings of his wife's adultery began playing themselves out in his mind once again, threatening to spoil the otherwise perfect evening.

"So you have not tried dating since your husband passed away?"

"Well Victor, like any woman I too have my biological needs. I have friends, friends with benefits. But I'm discreet. I don't want to play with my children's emotions by bringing my boyfriend over to our house. I prefer to go on what can be euphemistically termed as out of town visits. But these are basically some out of town meeting with my boyfriend and there's nothing official about them as informed to my kids and parents. When I come back home, I come alone. And that's the way it's gonna be for some time," replied Paula in a serious tone.