Please move on if grammer, punctation mistakes anoy you.
I write for my pleasure and hope it pleases someone else as well.
A finial plea, it's a story, it's not real life, just go with the flow of it.
The Menopause.
My boss is a creten, just because I only live 25 miles from the complex where the conference centre is he thinks I'm just going to travel to and from each day, he has another think coming.
Why the hell am I going to get up at some ungodly hour to set up the stand each morning, then do my days work, on the stand peddling his crappy goods, then spend time cleaning it up and repeat it for the next 5 days?
No, I took the room that was going to be his, but he found that it might be better to go on holiday than stand on the floor with me working.
I wish I was the boss.
So Sunday afternoon has me booking into the hotel attached to the venue, booked a table for dinner and went and took my time setting up.
I'd been there working on my own, plenty of others working on their stands as well but everyone was busy so no real chat going on.
"Excuse me are you Jim?" I looked up at where the voice came from, I saw a girl of about, oh I hate guessing women's ages, let's say somewhere between 20 and 35.
I know that's a big gap, but as I said I hate guessing.
She looked.... like a woman that age who had little makeup on and was dressed in sloppy jeans and a hoodie that seems to be the rage these days.
I said I was and how could I help her, she told me she was the hire for the week and that she would get paid if she helped set up today.
Her name was Amy.
I must admit that she made an effort to help me get it done, we chatted as we worked and with her help it was complete without a lot of effort.
I asked if she was local or?......
It turned out she was staying next door as well, she had travelled from Winchester the agency had sorted her out.
I was surprised when she asked if I could tell her about the company so she had some idea what she was pushing in the week.
I invited her to dinner which she jumped at, but then had to ask if it was on the company or..... she explained that she only had a small amount to spend on food each day.
We had a nice dinner and chat, I gave her a pamphlet that put in black and white the details of our charging system.
We made or had made for us charging stations, plugs (USB type things) oh well all sorts of chargers.
We went to bed, no..... in our own rooms, get your head out.
Breakfast was early and a quick trip back to the room and I was on the stand when Amy walked onto it.
If I was only 20 years younger, alright 25, I saw why they had hired her.
She looked nothing like the woman from yesterday, she was dressed to draw the crowd in, short skirt, low cut top, but not anything that pushed the boundaries as far as other women might think.
Oh let's be honest, other women also knew what was what, Amy was dressed for the men and women who liked women, Amy's makeup was perfect from my perspective, but I'm not an expert, her shoes had heels, 3 or maybe 4 inches high, I didn't want to look for too long she might get the wrong idea.
I loved my wife, I window shop now and again like most men, but I wouldn't consider cheating on her, even now.
I say that only because I haven't had sex for 2 years, only with my hand and only a few times at that, you see.
Dee my wife of oh so many years has been hit by the dreaded menopause, I say she's been hit but I've been hit as hard if not harder by it.
It started with her not being so..... not putting it delicately, wet, she started to need help, it was uncomfortable and even painful to her and we tried oils, lubricants of one sort or another, even went to the doctor.
That was a visit that stunned me, she told us it wasn't unheard of for some, rare but it happened, that women in their 20s had it happen to them, it was left that it, her sex drive might, "might" come back, but don't bank on it was the thing I took away with me.
It slowly got worse, eventually she sat with me one night and just came out with it.
"I don't want sex anymore."
She cried and we hugged, and, well I haven't had sex since.
I thought it might last for a year, but oh yes we are into our third year soon.
In every other aspect Dee hasn't changed, still the loving wife, cooks, cleans, we share, honesty we do, we go out to parties and the theatre as a couple and I for one am still in love with her and she's with me.
Apart from that one thing.
So, I love my wife and I won't cheat.
The week went on in a dull fashion, I treated Amy to dinner each night, I could put it on my expenses.
We shared a glass of wine and then I would go up to my room and phone home, what Amy did was up to her.
The Thursday evening we were sat in the back of the restaurant, Amy laughed and as I looked at her wondering why, she just said that it was Chloe, she was going to get laid tonight by the look of it.
I glanced at where Amy was looking, and I saw a woman dressed to kill, it was all legs and a lot of breast on show, everyone had had a look at her, male especially but lots of the women as well.
"How do you know her?" I asked Amy.
"Oh from in the bar after you have gone up.
She's been gagging for it if you know what I mean."
Oh, I knew what she meant.
I composed a text.
"Go to room 101, make any excuse you want but go before you leave with him."
I sent it and watched as she glanced at it but didn't read it.
I called a waitress over and putting a 10 pound note on the table asked her to give a message to Chloe, but not to say who it came from.
I watched as she walked around the table and leaned into Chloe's head. I saw Chloe look around but was sure she wouldn't see me, watched as she picked up her phone and read my message, said something to the man she was with and got up and left, I followed.
I should explain that I had watched Chloe grow up, she lived next door to me for most of her life, just her and her mother Linda.
I, we had been to her wedding what, 6 months ago?
What the hell was she playing at, I bet David wasn't looking around to get laid, I knew he was out in the Middle East working his butt off, for her, he must be due back in the next month or so.
Chloe was red in the face and as I said my peace and she broke down crying, it was only going to be sex, it wouldn't mean anything, just sex.
I think this is where I might have made a mistake.
"If it's only sex, take your clothes off, I haven't had sex for over 2 years so let's have sex."
It was all no I couldn't, not with you.
I said if it was only sexy then it wouldn't matter who it was with, explained that she was already having an affair, it would always be more than "just sex" if she went through with it.
We talked and talked, I had no intention of having sex with her, but she didn't know that.
I loved my wife.