Shampoo Bottle

Author's Notes

There is nothing new here. We have a cheating wife. But this is not a reconciliation story nor is it really a burn the bitch story; it is just a story of a guy dealing with life. In any case you've been warned.

Have you noticed it is frequently the trivial things upon which life turns? The result of these seemingly trivial events can be positive or negative. We have all heard / read tales of what can happen if you go back home to pick up the forgotten laptop. Of course skipping that second cup of coffee could result in being involved in, or avoiding, an auto accident. Walking into a work meeting at the wrong time can have career altering results. The list is endless.

I want to thank everyone who took time to comment and make suggestions about my first story. (Please keep them coming.) This story is much shorter and is all my own words and ideas. That includes any errors you may find.

And of course, any sex is between consenting adults.

I hope you enjoy this story.

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Hi, I'm Doug, Doug Waterman. I'm 33 years old. I stand 6'2" and have brown hair and brown eyes. I'm not an athlete but I do keep myself mostly trim. I am the lead IT analyst for a medium-sized electronics company.

My wife, Shirley, is 29 and in my opinion is drop dead gorgeous with blond hair and pale blue eyes. She is 5'6" and trim - we play tennis regularly. Shirley and I have been, I thought, happily married for 4 years. She works for a small insurance broker as a sales support rep for corporate accounts. This means she accompanies a salesman on sales and support calls.

We have talked about having two children and decided the time is right to get started. Shirley went off the pill two months ago and we've been using condoms while the hormones get out of her system.

Recently, Shirley has been working mostly with Jack Simon. Jack has been with the company for about 6 months. I guess Jack is about 6 feet tall with an athletic build. He is the kind of handsome many women find attractive. His dark slicked back hair and tan make me think of an actor whose name I am blanking on right now.

I wasn't happy about Shirley's having to work closely with Jack. I didn't care for him from the first time I met him at a company cookout a couple of months ago. He hardly ever took his eyes off Shirley - sort of creeped me out. I mentioned my concern to Shirley, sparking one of our few arguments. The argument ended with her calling me jealous and insecure and saying Jack was a great guy and good to work with.

==========

It was Thursday morning a small event turned my life upside down. It occurred while I was taking my morning shower.

The shampoo bottle was right side up in its place in the shower caddy. That is, the cap was on top. I always keep it with the cap down so I can get all the shampoo out of the bottle. But there the bottle stood in defiance. Not a big deal but it started a train of thought while I finished my shower.

Shirley hadn't used my shampoo - too rough on her hair - and there was plenty of hers in its bottle. She knew I kept it upside down and why. Even if she had knocked it out of the caddy, she would have put it back upside down.

OK, if I didn't do it and Shirley didn't do it that meant there had been someone else in the house. With that realization came the questions: Who was our guest? Why were they there? And why hadn't Shirley mentioned it? As I sorted through the possible answers, my stomach and chest tightened. I didn't like the answers I was giving myself. Could Shirley be cheating on me?

I hurried out of the shower as quickly as possible but as usual, Shirley had already departed for work. I shrugged my mental shoulders trying to put the mystery to bed, but it wouldn't stay down. My mind was racing, and I started looking for other changes I might have missed.

Shirley usually changes the sheets on the bed every Saturday, but I found a set of sheets in the hamper. She only changed them early if we had messed them up making love. But we hadn't made love this week. So, why would she have changed them early?

Then like a bolt of lightning it hit me - our lovemaking had dropped way off the last month or so. I was shocked to realize our sex life had dwindled from about three times a week to only once a week and she hadn't initiated it at all? Shirley was working on a new project and had been working late a couple of nights a week. I had just attributed the change to being extra tired.

None of these incidents individually justified the suspicion I was beginning to feel.

==========

My mind was occupied looking for clues I had missed. I arrived at work with no memory of how I got there. I was lucky the drive was short and didn't involve much traffic.

It wasn't until I got out of my car that I realized I had left my laptop at home.

I was already running late for a team meeting so the laptop would have to wait until lunch time.

The meeting was a blessing as it kept my mind occupied and not thinking about Shirley and what she might be up to. The morning drug on endlessly and I got absolutely nothing accomplished.

When I got home I was surprised to find Shirley's car in the garage. Briefly I hoped she too had forgotten something but in my heart, I knew better.

Entering the house as quietly as possible, I could hear someone's voice but beyond recognizing it as male, I couldn't make out what was being said.

I followed the sound to the bedroom I shared with Shirley; I could hear the slapping of body against body. I quickly took a peek around the door jamb. My suspicion she was cheating were confirmed.

I saw a naked Jack Simon thrusting into an equally naked Shirley Waterman. She had her ankles locked behind his back pulling him into her. Based on the sweat covering their bodies, they had been going at it for a while.

I did a quick mental check for possible weapons to kill him and probably her too. The best weapon I could come up with was a tennis racket then I realized if I attacked them I might have to spend time in jail and that didn't hold much appeal. What I did was pull my phone out and start recording them on video.

When Shirley had an orgasm, they stopped only long enough to change positions. I expected them to spot the phone peeking into the open doorway, but he just flipped her over, pulled her up on her knees, pushed her head down onto the bed, grabbed her hips, and entered her from behind. This is Shirley's favorite position, and it wasn't long before she was encouraging him to fuck her harder and faster. Shirley collapsed onto bed with another orgasm.

I figured they were through, but Jack said "I haven't cum yet. How about I take your ass like yesterday?"

I was so shocked I almost dropped the phone. She had never even been willing to discuss anal, but it sounded like she had done it with him yesterday.

Shirley replied "Not today, I'm still sore from yesterday. Let's get a shower and I'll finish you off with my mouth. I'll even let you cum down my throat."

"OK. This is so much better than the hotel room isn't it?"

"Umm Hmm" Shirley confirmed.

They were starting to stir so I pulled the phone back but left it recording. They went into the bathroom, and I heard the water start. When I could tell they were both in the shower, I recorded the messed-up bed. I even pulled out Jack's wallet and recorded his driver's license. On a whim I pocketed his driver's license and returned the wallet to his pants.

I left, closing the garage door behind me. I drove a couple of blocks before pulling over to review the video. Watching Jack penetrate my wife from the rear, I realized Jack was not wearing a condom. My chest tightened; a wave of nausea came over me. I opened the door and threw up into the street.

The shock was wearing off, replaced with anger, no RAGE and hopelessness. WHY? For the first time since childhood, I cried. I beat the steering wheel.

Before marrying we had discussed fidelity and had agreed we took the "forsake all others" seriously. Cheating was a no excuse, no hall pass, once and done affair. So, why would she choose to end our marriage?

I got my emotions under control and headed back to work.

==========

When I got back to the office I went straight to Ed Fleming's office.

Ed and I have been friends since grade school. While I chose IT, Ed had pursued a law degree and was the lead corporate lawyer for our company.

I explained to Ed what I had just discovered.

"I can't believe Shirley would do that." Was his response.

"Would you like to see the video proof?" I asked.

"No!" then after a pause "What are you going to do?"

"Divorce. We agreed before we got married that any cheating would be the end of our marriage. Certainly, nothing has happened to change that. I can never trust her again."

"You know I can't represent you since I don't practice family law. I can recommend Karen Rothe. Karen has the reputation of being a real pit bull if things get nasty, but she is picky about who she represents. I think she'd be an excellent choice. Would you like for me to give her a call and see if she can meet you?"

"Yes, that would be great, exactly what I was hoping for."

Ed made the call, and I had an appointment to meet Karen at 3:30 the next afternoon.

"You'll probably need some time off in the next few weeks so it would be a good idea to get John on board now."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"How about I ask John to join us. You can share as much or as little as you want."

I nodded my agreement. Ed picked up his phone and made the call.

"John, I've got Doug in my office. Would it be possible for you to join us?" There was a pause. "No, this is not a corporate issue, it is a personal matter." Another pause. "Thanks, see you in a few minutes."

Turning to me Ed asked if I wanted to get coffee.

John joined us as we returned with coffee. Ed closed the door behind us.

"Good morning Doug. Ed said we have something personal to discuss."

Once again, I unloaded the whole story. Somehow it felt good sharing the misery I felt.

When I was finished, John said "And you're going to need some time off to deal with everything, right?"

"Yep. I've got an appointment with a lawyer tomorrow afternoon, but I don't know when I'll need other time off."

"Take what you need. In fact, why don't you take the rest of the day and Friday off."

"Thanks John but I need to try and work, anything to keep my mind occupied."

"I understand. I don't know if you heard anything about it at the time but two years ago, I went through a similar situation. My wife left me for her younger lover. I was devastated for weeks. Eventually it got better. If you ever need to talk, please give me a call."

John left and I returned to my office to see what I could get done. It wasn't much.

I briefed Janet, my secretary, to let her know why she'd have to juggle my schedule and work on short notice. She expressed her sympathy and assured me she'd be glad to manage whatever came up.

It was almost quitting time when I realized I hadn't picked up my laptop when I was home, so I called it a day and headed home.

==========

The house was empty when I got there. I made a quick check. Yep, the sheets were fresh, and the shampoo bottle was again standing upright. It crossed my mind the shampoo bottle might be Jack's way of telling me he was fucking my wife.

As I changed for the evening, my phone dinged with a text message from Shirley.

Hey hon. I've gotten behind at work and am going to have to work a couple of hours late. You'll have to get your own dinner. Don't worry about me, I'll pick up something to eat here.

I replied.

No problem.

I ordered pizza, heavy on meat with anchovies. Shirley would have turned up her nose at it. As a petty gesture, I put the leftovers in the kitchen garbage.

I had no doubt she was behind at work or that she would be dining with Jack. I realized I didn't really care about that. In fact, whether they would be fucking again really didn't matter. She'd already killed my love for her, my trust in her, and our marriage.

I spent several hours gathering our financial information on our desktop computer and copying it to my work laptop. Technically this was a violation of company policy, but necessity won out.

I transferred the video from my phone to the laptop. Skipping through the transferred file to verify the copy was painful. Again, my chest tightened, and my stomach knotted around the pizza I had eaten for dinner.

I finished the transfers, stowed my laptop in the car so I wouldn't forget it in the morning, and prepared for bed.

Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I went to bed but not to sleep.

Shirley came home sometime later. It was obvious she was trying to be quiet but was being clumsy about it. When she made it to bed, it was obvious she'd been drinking. She was asleep in no time.

==========

I was awake before the alarm Friday morning and was out the door before Shirley stirred.

I stopped to pick up a breakfast sandwich and added three dozen fresh donuts to share with the office.

I had finished the sandwich when my phone rang. Shirley.

"You left your stinky pizza leftovers in the Kitchen! The whole house stinks! I think I may be sick."

I was feeling no sympathy for her, so I had to poke the bear.

"Could it be your hangover causing your stomach issue?"

"What do you mean hangover?"

"When you came in last night you could hardly walk straight and when you got in bed I could smell alcohol on you."

"OK, so Jack and I had a drink after we finished the work last night."

"I'd have guessed more than A drink. What else did you have?"

She hung up on me.

==========

Friday afternoon I was early for my appointment with Ms. Rothe, but her administrative assistant ushered me directly into a conference room. I was hardly seated when an elegant woman I'd guess to be in her mid-40s strode in, introduced herself offering a firm handshake, and asked me to sit down.

"Mr. Waterman" she started "If I remember correctly Ed Fleming said you were seeking a divorce."

I nodded confirmation.

"What are the circumstances?"

I retold my story while she listened intently. When I finished my tale, she asked "And have you ever cheated on your wedding vows?"

"No, never."

"Good. We can proceed. Do you have any children?"

"No, we were just getting ready to start trying."

"Good. That makes things much simpler."

"What do you want out of your divorce?"

"From what I've heard and read, I expect we'll split the saving and checking accounts, keep our own retirement accounts and cars, sell the house, and split the profit, and since our incomes are similar no spousal support. I'd like it all done as quickly as possible."

"That's all reasonable. What are Mrs. Waterman's thoughts on this?"

That caught me off guard. "Um... we haven't discussed it. I doubt she even thinks I know anything."

"Well, there are two thoughts along these lines. One approach is to have her served cold. This can be a wakeup call. The other approach is to talk with her, let her know what you are thinking and planning. There is no best way. And depending on what her true feelings are the end result also varies. Either she'll fight to save the marriage, or she'll thank you and move on."

Ms. Rothe continued "Talking with her might, emphasis on might, help you avoid counseling if you can convince her you are determined to not reconcile."

"I had been thinking of having her served cold at work but maybe the best idea is to talk with her first. I'll do that over the weekend."

"Do you want me to proceed with the preparation of the papers?"

"Oh, yes. Divorce is a given. How soon can they be ready?"

"Based on our discussion, I can have them ready to serve next Friday. I'll need you to let me know where you want them served by Thursday."

"Good. One other question. Can I take legal action against the company they work for since Jack is effectively her boss?"

"I'll have to look into that. If they have rules of conduct they aren't enforcing, we might have a shot. Even if they don't have such a policy they might offer a settlement to avoid publicity. An "alienation of affection" suit against Jack would probably go nowhere and I would recommend against it."

"I'll need to collect a retainer to make my representation official."

I wrote her a check.

Accepting the check she said "This should be obvious, but it never hurts to hear it. NO VIOLENCE! If your discussion with Mrs. Waterman escalates to shouting, I advise you to leave. Do not touch her. If she strikes you, do not reciprocate. If Jack is there or shows up leave immediately. Do not confront him. Go to a friend's home or a motel. Call me immediately and I will apply for a restraining order for both of them. Any questions?"

"No."

"Good. Here is my card with my cell number on the back."

==========

I sat in the car after leaving Ms. Rothe's office trying to decide how I was going to confront Shirley about her cheating. The best plan I could come up with was to have dinner, retire to the den, and charge right in.

I sent Shirley a text message.

Are you going to be working late tonight?

No, in fact I'm ready to walk out now.

OK, if you stop and pick up dinner at Pasta Plus, I'll stop and pick up a bottle of that chianti we like.

That sounds great. See you at home shortly.

I ran by the market and picked up the wine and some cannoli for dessert.

I arrived first and barely had time to push a thumb drive with the video from my phone into the USB port on the DVD player.

I'm sure dinner was delicious, but it was like ash in my mouth. If I hadn't known what was going on I would have been anticipating a night of love with my wife. As it was, I could hardly sit still. I wanted to get it over with, but I didn't want to start.

We retired to the den and Shirley reached for the remote control.

Without Shirley noticing I started the audio recorder on my phone and laid it on the coffee table facing us.

Taking the remote from her hand I started "We need to talk."

I could see guilt on her face. "What about?"

"How long have you been cheating?"

"I don't know what you're talking about I'm not cheating."

"Ok, how long have you and Jack been having sex?"

Her voice was getting loud and shrill. "Jack and I have not had sex?"

"So, you are saying Jack didn't fuck you in our bed yesterday?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying."

I turned on the TV and started playing the video I'd recorded yesterday.

Shirley collapsed into herself and began sobbing.

"It was just the one time. It was just sex, no big deal."

"Sorry, it is a VERY big deal to me! And are you forgetting Wednesday?"

"You were never supposed to find out. I never wanted to hurt you."

"And yet, here we are. I did find out and I AM hurt."

"We can get past this. It will make us a stronger couple."

"No. Just plain no! I cannot just get past this. I cannot trust you again so we will never be a couple again."

"I'll never see Jack again. I'll never cheat again. I love only you.

I retrieved a damp hand towel from the bathroom and offered it to Shirley. "Here, clean yourself up."

I pressed on "How long have you and Jack been having sex?"

"About three months."

"Not that it matters, any other guys?"

"NO, what do you think I am?"

"And anal? Why him and not me?"

"He kept after me to do it and convinced me I would enjoy it. We can do it from now on if you want."

"Now the BIG question: WHY? What made you decide to cheat?"

"I don't know, new experience, adventure, maybe. He is smart I enjoy working with him. We spent a lot of time together. I don't love him. I love you."

I picked up my phone and turned to Shirley. "Just so you aren't surprised, I am filing for a divorce. You might want to go ahead and retain a lawyer. I expect you will be served sometime next week. Tomorrow I'll be looking for an apartment but until I find one I'll be sleeping in the guest room."