"But...how? How can you be pregnant? You said you couldn't get pregnant!" Art stood just in front of the back door, facing Asha. He caressed her shoulders. Tears cascaded along her dark cheeks.
"I...I don't know," she whimpered. "I just know that I am."
Art rubbed his bald head. "Okay, listen, we don't know that it's mine."
"We don't know that it isn't," she interrupted. "I can't keep this baby, Art."
"Oh, god, no," he said. "No, no, no. Asha, please. Don't kill my baby."
"You just said it might not be yours," she said, folding her arms in front of her.
"Right," he said. "No, you're right. I'm just saying, let's think this through, okay? I mean...this baby is a miracle! You couldn't get pregnant, and now you are! You've always wanted to have a baby, and so have I! We need to consider all the possibilities."
"Art...if I have this child, and it is yours, Sunil will know immediately. It will be very obvious, don't you think?"
He rubbed her scalp again. "Yeah...okay...well, I will help you raise this kid, then, if it's mine. I wouldn't let you do it alone. I'm not like that. I take responsibility for my actions."
"You would leave Roxanne for me?"
"Well...no, I love Roxy."
"What, then?" she said with a frown. "If you want to take responsibility, then the responsible thing to do would be to tell Sunil and Roxanne, so that we can all come to some solution together as adults."
"Now, hold on," he said. "Let's not make any hasty decisions today, okay? I need some time to process this. Just give me a few days to think this through, okay? Can you do that?"
She nodded, and he hugged her tightly.
***
Denise sat in the chair. A towel was wrapped around her wet hair. All around her, women were chatting and chortling loudly. Roxanne fastened a smock around Denise's neck, removed the towel, and began combing her hair.
"Thanks for fitting me in today," Denise said.
"Oh, no worries," Roxanne responded. "I had a cancellation. It was perfect timing. So how are things going over there in our backyard? I haven't seen you guys in forever. Art was just saying we need to get together."
"You haven't heard?" Denise said. "Dan kicked me out."
Roxanne gasped. "No! You're freaking kidding me! Why?"
"He thinks I cheated on him with my manager."
"Well...did you?"
"No! Of course not!"
"Do you want to?" Roxanne asked with a sly grin. She resumed her combing and snapped her scissors in the empty space above Denise's head.
"That," Denise said, "is beside the point." Her eyes twinkled.
"So why does he think you slept together?"
"I...well, we went on a business trip together. My manager - Andrew - got a little drunk, and we kissed."
Another gasp.
"It wasn't like that!" Denise protested. "It was very brief. And that was all it was."
Roxanne shook her head and continued to snip away. "You know, we put so much importance on these things that just don't matter. I mean, who cares if you kissed him? Hell, who cares if you banged him? What difference would it make to your relationship with Dan? That's why I took sex off the table."
"What do you mean?"
"Art begged and begged for me to marry him, and I kept saying no. I married my first husband when I was very, very young, and that scumbag cheated on me. I was absolutely devastated and said I'd never marry again. I figured that men are all dogs, and you can't teach a dog not to hump a leg - am I right?"
Denise sniggered. "I guess so."
"Anyway, after about his fifth proposal I said fine, we can get married, but on one condition. When it comes to sex, you do whatever you want, with whoever you want, and I do the same. I just don't want to know about anything you do, and vice-versa. And don't embarrass the family."
"You're kidding me! You said that?"
Roxanne nodded enthusiastically. "I insisted on it. He hemmed and hawed about it, but eventually agreed. So when we said our wedding vows, I had them take that part out about 'forsaking all others.' Best decision I ever made. Now, I don't have to wonder: is he or isn't he? I just assume he is, and I assume the same. And there's no big deal about it. I know he still loves me, and vice-versa. There's no more mistrust, no more jealousy. Best relationship I've ever had."
"I don't think Dan and I could ever do such a thing. He gets very jealous, and I don't like the idea of him being with some other woman."
"Yeah, well, it's not for everybody, honey, but it works for us, you know?"
***
"That was delicious, Andrew. Thank you." Denise smiled at him from across the table. Her gorgeous face was illuminated by a flickering candle, which made her eyes sparkle.
"You are more than welcome," Andrew responded with a toothy grin. "You are always good company."
"Oh, I imagine you don't have much trouble keeping company," she said.
"I have to confess, I don't get out much. I hate the dating scene. Ever since my divorce, I've become a homebody."
"I can't even imagine that," she responded.
"Oh, yeah, totally," he said. "I lie around on my couch almost every night, wearing a ratty old pair of shorts and a tee shirt, and I binge-watch TV shows from Netflix."
Denise laughed and took a sip of her wine. "See, I was picturing you as the Playboy type. Out on the town every night, dancing and dining with a new hot young woman."
It was his turn to laugh. "Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, this was the first night in a long time that I've spent any time with a hot young woman."
She peered at him from above her wine glass, and then rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Please. You're embarrassing yourself."
He laughed and signed the check. "Ready to go?"
***
Holly and Brandon rolled around in the grass beside his motorcycle under a moonlit sky. Their mouths meshed against each other's and their hands explored each other's body. He squeezed her breasts through the fabric of her shirt, and she emitted a soft moan. Her hand slid shyly down his chest until it came to rest on the bulge in his pants. She could feel it twitching in her hand as she squeezed it.
She rolled him onto his back and gave him a lustful look. While kissing him deeply, she unzipped his jeans and freed his cock. She then slid down his body and took it in her mouth. He placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes as she worked her lips along his shaft in a steady rhythm.
"You're really good at that," he moaned. She responded with a muffled thank you.
She continued to work her magic and felt his cock pulsate. She prepared herself for the mouthful to come, but instead, was surprised when he stopped her and reversed positions.
"What are you doing?" she asked as he removed her jeans.
"Don't worry," he said. He reached into his pocket. "I have a condom."
She looked panic-stricken as unfurled the condom over his cock. He kissed her deeply and entered her. She winced in pain and clawed at his back. As he thrust into her, over and over again, she closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. Thankfully, it didn't last long. A moment later, he moaned loudly and held himself steady, deep inside her. He then withdrew and kissed her once more.
"That was awesome," he said.
He kneeled between her legs and removed the condom. His face contorted. He tossed the condom to the side and wiped his hands on the grass.
"You're bleeding," he said.
***
Dan sat in his car, staring at the door of Denise's hotel room from across the parking lot. He could no longer deny the fact that he missed his wife. He missed seeing her smile and hearing her laughter. He missed sharing fun times with her and the kids. He missed their quiet times together. Although she seemed like a different woman in some ways, she was still the same smart and beautiful girl he met more than twenty years earlier.
He had a lot of time to ponder something Denise had said at counseling. People do change over time. There was no denying that. He wasn't the same man he was twenty, ten, or even five years before. As a married couple, each partner must either adapt to those changes and grow together or reject those changes and grow further apart. The decision to grow further apart had been his, and he was forced to acknowledge that. The time had come to listen to her side of the story with an open mind.
