This is the second part of my story. You don't have to read Part 1, but if you do you'll have some background for this story.
I woke up earlier than I usually do, my mind roiling with the tale Connie had told me as we went to bed, about the night of reckless sexual abandon she had enjoyed with another man, many years before. We're old and retired now, but she had filled in the blanks about what really happened on a night 30 years ago when she didn't come home.
I lay in bed for a while, trying to decide how I felt about the whole thing. I rolled over to look at Connie in bed beside me, and discovered that she wasn't there. I got up and went to the kitchen and found her sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands, a steaming cup of coffee in front of her.
"Couldn't sleep?" I asked. Connie often suffers from insomnia, perhaps because of the meds she now takes to control the back pain that has taken over her life.
She looked up at me, red eyed. "Patrick, I have carried the burden of worry with me for 30 years, relieved that you didn't know what happened that night, but knowing that sometime I was going to have to tell you. Last night you asked, and I told you the whole story. Get yourself a cup of coffee, and let's go out to the living room and talk."
I did as she asked, and we walked to the living room. The sun was coming up and through the picture window we could see that it promised to be a beautiful sunny day. She sat down on the couch, and I went to sit next to her. "You might want to sit over there until you hear what I have to say," she said, pointing to a side chair. I moved away from her and sat on the chair.
"Last night I told you what really happened that night after the bar," she said, "and you took it pretty well, because you had already suspected that something like that had probably happened - maybe not the fucking part, but some kind of action.
"Now that I have had the burden of that secret lifted from me, I have to tell you about something else - and this one is going to be harder to take."
I swallowed hard. "Go on," I said.
She began:
You remember that weekend when you dropped me at the hotel in Chicago to hang out with Vicki? You went on to Lake Forest to visit your brother.
(I told her I remembered it well. Connie's long-time friend was manager of a department store in Illinois, and had called Connie to tell her she'd be in Chicago on a buying trip for the annual rollout of the new fashions, and invited her to come spend the weekend with her. We had driven from Michigan and I had let her out at the hotel door - parking was a hassle and she told me I didn't have to come in. As she got out of the car I made a joke about not getting too close to the window, because she has a fear of heights and Vicki's room was on the 19th floor.)
Okay, also you remember that when we had troops overseas for Operation Desert Storm - the first war in Iraq - there was an appeal for people to write letters to our soldiers who were lonesome in the desert. I wrote a letter, and I got a reply from the Army Reserve major who had been given my letter. He wrote a nice reply thanking me for taking the trouble. He gave me his APO address, and we exchanged several letters after that, remember?
Again, I confirmed that I remembered that, because I was glad that she had been so generous with her time for a stranger. She referred to him as "my major" whenever she mentioned him.
Well what you didn't know is that we didn't only exchange a few letters. We continued to write to each other, even after he got back to the states and resumed his civilian life. As time went by our letters got pretty familiar. While he was overseas I had sent him some pictures. This was before the era of selfies, but one day when you were at work I dressed kinda sexy, I thought, and I told our neighbor Beth that I wanted some pictures for you, and she took some with our camera. I took the film to Walgreen's and had it developed. I couldn't do anything really sexy because the store would not have developed them, so these were just cheesecake shots. And he sent me some pictures of himself. He looked so manly in his uniform, tanned by the desert sun - trim and fit and confident.
One day, months after the war was over and he was back in the States, he wrote me and mentioned he would be in Chicago on business, and wished I could meet him there so we could connect in person. I wrote back and told him I couldn't, but maybe another time. His next letter told me he had been called up again and would be going back overseas for a few months.
At any rate, six months later I got a letter from him and he said he was back in the States and he really wanted to meet me in Chicago. He told me the name of the hotel and when he would be there. I called Vicki wondering what I should do, and she and I concocted the story about fashion week and that I would be staying with her.
God, Patrick, I was so excited. I felt guilty about deceiving you, but after all those letters and feeling as though we had a real connection, I just felt like I needed to meet my major in person and spend some time with him. I love you, but sometimes we seem to be stuck in a rut, and that was one of those times. I have given up so much of myself to our marriage - my career as a news reporter, moving with you for your jobs, tied down at home with our daughter when she was small - I felt the need to be independent for once and do what I wanted for myself rather than what we needed for us. And honestly, I did not expect anything like what happened.
So I told you the story Vicki and I had come up with. She even gave me her mobile phone number for me to give to you if you needed to call me. She said if I ever called she would say you were in the shower or something then call me to let me know to call you back.
While you were at work the week leading up to the weekend I got my hair done, got a manicure and pedicure, carefully shaved and trimmed, and picked out some nice new clothes. I told you I wanted to look nice so Vicki's co-workers I'd be meeting would think well of her friend.
Friday finally came, you bugged out of work early, and we drove to Chicago. I don't think you even noticed that rather than my usual slouchy traveling clothes I was wearing a new dress. The skirt was a little shorter than I usually wear, and the top was cut a little lower. Not exactly sexy, but you could catch the curve of my breasts. You also didn't know it, but I was wearing some sexy underwear - new matching lacy panties and bra. I didn't know just what was going to happen, but I wanted to feel pretty.
You let me out at the entrance to the hotel, and made a joke about how I should not look down from Vicki's window because of the height. I grabbed my bag from the back and a bell boy helped me into the lobby. My major, Tom, was sitting in one of the lounge chairs in the lobby, watching the door. When he saw me come in he rose, and walked toward me. We stood looking at each other, and awkwardly said "Hello" to each other. We had been pen pals for such a long time, and now we were finally going to be real pals. He reached out and we hugged a warm greeting. He slipped a $10 to the bellboy, gave him his room number, and asked him to take my bag up for me. Then he led me by the hand to to lobby bar to "wash down the dust from the road."
Oh my god he was handsome, Patrick. Tall, lean, muscular, tanned. He was dressed in a pale blue button-down shirt with tan slacks. And his shoes shined like mirrors. I don't want to say he was opposite of you, but your clothes are always wrinkled, you shoes scuffed, you hair messy - so yeah, he was opposite you. I had never heard his voice before - it was lower than I imagined, and he spoke with a slightly Southern accent. His manners were impeccable - gracious in a way that I was not used to. And so self-assured and confident ... Patrick he was the whole package. I was dazzled by his attention, and when he took my hand I was electrified by his touch.
We sat in the lobby bar for a while and had a couple of drinks. I told him about the drive, and he told me something about his business in the city. Finally he suggested we go into the restaurant for dinner. It was a nice place, and he ordered for both of us. We enjoyed a fine meal and continued our get-acquainted conversation. When I felt his hand reach for mine I reflexively pulled back at first, but when he tried a second time I accepted his touch and our fingers interlaced. Soon after that our legs were touching under the table. The long correspondence, the drinks, the atmosphere, the conversation all worked together to make us feel familiar.