A Househusband is a man that stays at home while his partner goes off to work. The job includes all the things the traditional stay-at-home wives usually do plus general household repairs, vehicle maintenance, and lawn care. The wife of a househusband may occasionally help with the cooking and/or childcare, but mostly the husband takes care of those things.
I am not sure I would have survived the job if it had started while my three kids were little. We were a family of modest means, so the kids all went to daycare while my wife and I tried to earn enough money to support a middle-class lifestyle.
Once my kids made it to high school, my wife enrolled in an MBA program because her employer reimbursed the tuition. That meant I had to do more to keep the household afloat while she studied and attended classes online and at school. I didn't mind the extra work as I knew the MBA would allow her to advance and command a higher salary.
Amy's MBA program was aimed at executives who worked full-time so it took almost three years to complete. By then the kids were heading off to college. Thankfully, all three were very good students and qualified for several scholarships. Still, three kids in college is a massive financial burden. I worked for a small family-owned manufacturing company as the manager of the accounting department. I was paid a fair wage, but nothing like the big corporate CPAs.
Amy's hard work finally paid off and she was promoted to Executive Vise President of Product Development for the multi-national insurance company that had employed her for over fifteen years. The new job meant she got a substantial pay raise, car allowance, expense account, and a share of the year-end bonuses with all the other corporate officers.
Her new windfall could not have come at a better time. The economy took a sharp downturn and my employer was especially hard hit. They struggled for almost a year and then sold the business to our major competitor. The new owners wasted no time in gutting our facilities and closing the plant.
The new owners offered me a job at their plant, but it was 300 miles away. The pay would have been a bit less than I had been making, so about a third of what Amy was making, before bonuses. I had no choice but to decline the job, and just like that, I was unemployed. I put out feelers for a new job and quickly learned no one in our area was going to be hiring until the economy improved.
"John, it's not the end of the world. I'm doing pretty well, we have enough money in the college funds to get the kids through school, so don't worry so much."
"I know, but I've worked my entire life, I can't just sit around."
"Oh, don't worry, I have an extended "Honey Do" list that you've never had time for, so there will be no sitting around," she said with a smile. And that's how it started. I became a househusband at age 48. Amy's list was indeed extensive and it took me the better part of a year to do all of the home improvement projects she requested. Once I completed the house, she started with the very labor-intensive landscaping projects.
While I worked to improve our home, Amy continued her climb up the corporate ladder. She was promoted to Senior EVP and got a healthy bump in pay. She loved her work and was well-respected by the other big-wigs. She was often invited to parties and social gatherings where she rubbed elbows with the city's movers and shakers. Of course, I was required to accompany her to many of those events.
I'm not sure when it first started happening, but ever so slowly I became aware of a change in the way Amy treated me at those events. At first, she insisted I be locked to her side as she flitted about having brief, meaningless conversations with all the important folks. Gradually, she began asking me to wait at our table, or sit at the bar while she "worked" the room. Soon I was spending most of the evenings entertaining the wives of the bosses, or just sitting alone.
Things finally got to be too much for me when she took me on a weekend retreat to a lovely resort. The first evening, she parked me with the wives and was gone for almost 3 hours. The next day she informed me she had several meetings with the other top execs and board members. She said the wives had planned a spa day.
"Okay, well, what am I supposed to do all day? I can't hang out with the women while they take mud baths and shit!"
"I don't know, John, go hiking or something. I have important matters to attend to and don't have time to keep you entertained!"
I held my tongue, I knew she was a bit stressed, but I vowed to myself this would be the last time she dragged me to one of these things. "Fine, don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
I ended up hanging out at the pool and the little tiki bar next to it. I had just finished my second gin & tonic when I saw several folks move out onto the elevated terrace of one of the large meeting rooms and take seats under umbrellas. I recognized Amy as she was escorted by a tall distinguished-looking gentleman. He had a hand on the small of her back and gestured to one of the tables near the edge of the terrace.
I watched them sit and pull their chairs closer together. He threw an arm around her shoulders, as she snuggled into him. None of the others approached them and I saw her cautiously kiss his cheek a few times. He smiled at her and bent to whisper into her ear. She giggled and slapped his arm while he laughed. This went on for 30 minutes then they stood and went back inside with everyone else.
I replayed what I'd seen in my head. They were certainly far cozier than two married folks should be with someone who is not their spouse. I noticed they were only slightly concerned about their coworkers seeing their overly friendly behavior, which made me wonder what might be occurring behind closed office doors.
While I had met all of her coworkers, I was not familiar with the guy she was with. I assumed he was a board member but would have to check that out. I headed back to our suite to get out my laptop and do some digging.
It took only seconds to find a photo of Stephen Swanson, Chairman of the Board for Mega Insurance Corp. Stephen was married to Margo Davis Swanson, daughter of William Davis, former COB and Founder of Mega Ins. Corp. Now that was interesting. If there is anything going on, Amy is playing with fire. Old Stevie had married the boss's daughter and her daddy was still the majority shareholder of the corporation.
That evening, Amy sat next to me at dinner. She chatted with a few other EVPs and seemed to be enjoying herself. I spoke with Diane, a trophy wife seated near me. I was surprised to find her engaging and possessing a wicked sense of humor. I very much enjoyed conversing with her and taking quick peeks at the impressive amount of cleavage she displayed.
After clearing the tables, the lights dimmed and music started. Amy took a moment to lean into my ear and explain that she would be dancing with a few of her coworkers. Those were the first words she had spoken to me in well over an hour. She didn't wait for my reply as she rose and moved off to the dance floor with some guy.
Diane spoke up, "Better get used to it, we spouses usually get ignored at these things."
"I can't believe your husband would leave you unattended amongst all these Alfa Males."
She laughed, "I'm sure he is off dancing with the wife of one of the board members trying to ingratiate himself as much as possible. He just assumes some minor bigwigs will ask me to dance and I will dutifully sing his praises to each of them."
"Oh, well, perhaps before you commence your assignment, you might grant me the honor of a dance? That is if you're not too embarrassed to be seen with an EVP's spouse."
She chuckled, "You are about twenty years younger than my usual dance partners so I expect you to NOT drool into my cleavage."
"I make no promises, your cleavage is certainly drool-worthy, but I'll do my best to control myself."
Diane pressed her magnificent breasts into my chest as we danced. I managed not to drool on her. Our dance was cut short when her hubby cut in and then whisked her away only to pass her off to his boss. I guess he wanted her to put her assets where he thought they might benefit him.
I sat at the table and watched Amy dance with several board members, before settling in exclusively with Stephen Swanson. After their 4th or 5th dance, the orchestra took a break and she and Swanson walked to his table.
I thought about leaving but decided to watch for a bit longer. At one point Amy glanced my way and saw me sitting alone. A few moments later she came up to the table and sat across from me.
"John, this must be very boring for you. Why don't you just go back to the room and I'll be along later after I put in an appropriate appearance?"
"Ah, well, the orchestra is great and I'd hate to end the evening without at least one dance with my lovely wife ... if you could squeeze me in."
"John, this is business, important business, now please just do as I've asked and we'll talk about this later." She then stood and walked away.
I stared after her, I had been dismissed! The bitch had actually told me to "go to your room!" Like I was a disobedient child! I was furious, but there was no reason for me to just sit there and be ignored. I waited a bit and then got up and left.
I didn't want to go sulk in my room, so I went to the little bar off the lobby of the resort. It was quiet and I needed to reassess my situation. It was clear to me that Amy was involved, or would soon be involved with Swanson. I was not going to put up with that, but, so far I had no proof of any misdeeds by Amy.
I nursed my drink for a while and decided to call it a night. I walked back past the event room and peeked in. Amy was on the dance floor plastered against Swanson. He had a hand low on her back, but not quite on her ass. I asked one of the staff how late the orchestra played and he said they stopped at 11:00 and the room closed at midnight.
I must have dozed a bit as I sat up in bed watching TV. The lights were out, but I could clearly see the clock read 1:20 when Amy pushed open our door. She was carrying her shoes and sweater. She must have expected me to be asleep because she gasped when I turned on the side light.
Her hair was mussed and her lipstick was gone. I looked her up and down and she blushed a deep red. "Er, uh, I thought you'd be sleeping it off."
"I only had three drinks all night. I am pissed off, not drunk. You want to explain to me where you've been?"
"You know where I was ... dancing. I told you I needed to dance with my coworkers and put in an appearance. It's all part of the game, John," she said as if speaking to a slow-learning child.
"Try again, the orchestra quit at 11:00, so what were you doing for the last two and a half hours?"
"Talking, with Swanson. Margo is in Europe with her mother, so he is here alone. We went back to his room and talked about his plans for the company and how he thought I might fit into those plans."
"So you just spent two hours "talking" (I made air quotes) in his room and left me to fend for myself. Then you slink in here, hair mussed, lipstick gone, and carrying your heels. Must have been some seriously exhausting conversation."
"Think what you wish, I need a shower and some sleep. We have another half-day of meetings tomorrow. ... Oh, I told Stephen I'd go to dinner with him tomorrow evening."
