Thanks to The Costermonger, Hale1 and Findegil for their editing.
*****
Q was out of town for two weeks. That's my wife. Her name really isn't "Q," it's Monique, but that's what I call her. It just developed, don't ask me how, but she loves it. I call everyone I care about little pet names.
I was enjoying my two weeks of freedom. I was eating. Meat, lots of red bloody meat, potatoes, gravy, real vegetables, such as corn on the cob and onion rings, that's what I was eating. When Q is home, we eat salmon, skinless chicken and salads. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good salad. There's a difference between the way she views a salad and the way I view a salad.
My salad contains iceberg lettuce, not that weird kind with all the stalks and stems on it. I view lettuce as a means to convey other, good things, to my mouth. Things like ham, bacon bits, eggs, cheese and ranch dressing are the essential ingredients of a good salad.
I'll admit that my waistline has benefitted from the way she feeds me, and my coronary arteries are probably much less clogged than they would be otherwise. I try to keep them open with lots of hot coffee and the occasional good bourbon.
When she goes out of town, the butcher likes to see me coming. That happens about every two months. She's a hotshot computer systems consultant. People who know about such things tell me that she's the best out there.
I'm retired. At 52, I had my time in, made a sweet deal and sold my company for all the money we'd ever need.
I play golf, fish, take care of things around the house, spend more time at the gym than I care to talk about and enjoy our kids. We have two, Macy and Michael. My girls are my heart and I spend tons of time with them. They enjoy the dietary changes that take place in the absence of their mother as much as I do.
The reason I spend all that time in the gym is that I need to. You see, I happen to be married to one of the world's ten most beautiful women. My bias is showing, but I really believe that's true. Q is one of those exotic dusky women. She has no idea of her ethnic heritage. She was dropped off on the steps of an orphanage on the Polynesian island of Tuvalu. She never knew her parents and has no idea who they were. One was obviously Polynesian, but the rest, maybe African or Hispanic, who knows. Like many women of mixed ethnicity, she grew up awkward but became a stunning adult. I met her there; she going to college when I was working on a project. I fell in love and pursued her relentlessly until, in a fit of madness, she agreed to marry me. I have made it my mission in life to make certain she never regrets that.
She's about five ten, has a huge mop of glistening curls, nice firm C cup tits and an ass that makes men weep. Her face is even better. High cheekbones, full lips, huge brown eyes that are tilted up at the outside corners and it's quite an impact the first time people see her. Conversation dies when she steps into a room. She knows, but she's mine. She's totally and irrevocably mine. She doesn't even think about anyone else; I'm convinced of it.
Since she was out of town, and our daughters were out on the town, I was grilling a ribeye on the back deck. I had a potato baking in the oven and dark beer in the freezer to put a little extra chill on it. I was getting ready to throw two ears of corn on the grill so they would be done at the same time as my steak, when the doorbell rang. I cursed and hurried to the front door.
It was my neighbors, Billie and Ted. I hurried them in and took them back to the deck. They said they'd already eaten, so I told them to go and get a beer and we'd talk while I ate.
We did some idle chit-chat for a while and then Billie really got going. "Davis, have you met the guy who bought Ben and Mary's place?"
"No, I haven't," I said. "Why?"
"Well, I'm sure you will," she said. "We're having a barbecue next Saturday and I'm sure he'll be there. I told him all about Monique and he wants to meet her."
Well, that was interesting. What was I, chopped liver? "Well, bully for him," I said. "Good luck with that barbecue. Q and I are going out on the boat. He'll just have to wait."
"I don't think he'll like that," she said.
I guess I was supposed to give a damn. "What's this guy's name?" I asked.
She tittered. "Well, his name is Mark, but he likes to be called 'Bull'."
I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. "Bull? You've got to be kidding me."
"Oh, you shouldn't laugh," she said. "He's an alpha, and he wouldn't like you laughing at him."
I stared at her, incredulously. "He's a Greek letter?"
"No, silly," she laughed. "You know, like an alpha male."
"Oh, well, that explains it," I burst out laughing again. I turned to Ted. "So what are you, Ted? You an alpha, too?"
"Oh, no," he seemed a little subdued. "I'm a beta."
"You're a Japanese fighting fish?" I asked. "Well, damn, I never noticed the gills before." Yes, I know it's spelled "Betta," I was just pulling his chain.
"Betas are men who submit to the alphas," Billie explained helpfully. "Alphas are naturally dominant and betas know their place."
I couldn't believe my ears. Surely, no one was stupid enough to buy into this shit! I looked from one to the other. They weren't laughing. "Alrighty, then," I stood up. "Well, I can hardly wait to meet 'The Bull'. Now, I have some errands to run, so you kiddies are going to need to run along. Ted, good luck with the fish thing."
I ushered them out and put my dishes in the dishwasher. Those were the errands I needed to run. Actually, I just wanted those two idiots to leave. I chuckled to myself all evening when I thought about it. "Alphas and Betas!" It was hilarious. I couldn't wait to tell Q.
She calls me every night when she's away, and at eight, my phone rang. It was she, and I told her about my visitors. She got a kick out of it. "So what letter do you think you are?" She giggled.
"I'm pretty sure I'm a Pi," I told her. "Coconut cream, I think. No, wait, apple with vanilla ice cream!"
"Yum," she said. "Well, I have a very special pie for you as soon as I get home. I hope you're hungry."
"Well, as long it's not a cream pie, I'm ravenous," I said. "I eat no cream pies for which I have not personally selected and contributed the ingredients, you know."
She giggled again. She knows I love that sexy little giggle. "Well, I'm thinking pie of the non-cream variety, just to whet your appetite, then maybe we'll whip up a cream pie together, just to top things off," she said.
"I'm going to get fat, eating all these pies," I told her. "I can hardly wait."
The rest of the week dragged. Every hour that she was gone became centuries, my only relief came when on Friday, I met "The Bull."
It was quite the experience. His bullishness was readily apparent. He was a big guy, probably an inch taller than my own six four. He looked like he outweighed me by thirty pounds, as well. His skin was a rich chocolate brown, and though I usually do not admire dreadlocks, they looked natural on him. I can't imagine washing my hair only every three days, but some people enjoy being dirty.
I'd gone down to our neighbor, Don's, place to get my angle grinder back that he'd borrowed. He's one of those guys who never has the right tools, so he borrows them and never gives them back. I go and get them. The Bull was in Don's garage when I arrived. He introduced me to Mark, aka The Bull.