(My thanks to the Troubador whose outstanding story HILDY planted the seed from which this grew.)
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You know, after over 10 years of marriage, a couple gets to know each other quite well. I thought that I knew Shelly well, her every mood, every emotion, every facet of her personality. Oh, there were times during our years together when she would be moody and irritable, but Shelly wasn't a devious person, at least I didn't think so. She was very open with everyone. I knew what made her happy and what made her angry, but I was now at a loss as to with whom I was living . Shelly had changed.
Oh, it wasn't a sudden, overnight thing, it seemed to happen rather gradually over the past few months, I guess. She had become a bit withdrawn, a bit.... petulant, and quick to anger. The easy going disposition that I was used to had gradually disappeared. Little things annoyed her, she was quick now to point out my deficiencies and shortcomings. I really tried to control my impatience with her, I bit my tongue. Everytime I tried to get her to sit down and have a talk with me about what was bothering her,she would snap at me and tell me to examine my own behavior. Huh??
Don't misunderstand , she wasn't like that all of the time. Her behavior was rather erratic. Some days she was the kind, sweet woman I had married , and then there were days, too many days, when she did a turnaround and became someone I just didn't know. It seemed that those infrequent times when Shelly would be moody and irritable were cropping up with increasing frequency now. It appeared that she was struggling with her own demons, demons that she refused to share .
Let me back up a bit and give you some background. My name is David Lannister and , at present, I am an associate professor of Political Science at a large university in a northeast city. I met Shelly about 11 years ago at a large, center city hotel. I was charged with setting up a conference of visiting instructional personnel and paid speakers from universities in the Northeast. I was working with two of the hotel's executives. Bob Fallow seemed a pleasant and competent fellow and we got fairly well, despite what I sensed was a bit of crassness. The other associate was a woman named Shelly Naylor and while she was courteous and well qualified for the job, she was also a bit aloof and cool in her manner.
She did intrigue me though. Physically she was very attractive. Tall at about 5' 7", about 4 inches shorter than I, and built....... well, put together very nicely. She wore her blonde hair rather short and her makeup very understated. I guessed, correctly it turned out, that she was around 28 or 29 years old. It was 28. Bob noticed my interest and laughingly told me to forget it - she was unavailable.
"What? Is she married or engaged?" I queried?
"Nope," replied Bob. "She's divorced, has been for about 3 years now. Her bad luck, she married a prick, a real cheating louse. She finally caught him and kicked his ass out. Since her divorce she seems to have lost all interest in men. Far as I know, she doesn't date and has no social life. I've been trying to hit on her for almost a year with zero success. I understand she's been seeing a shrink, but that could be a rumor.
"Tell you what, Dave. I'll get our assignments shifted, you'll now work with her most of the time on this conference. See how far you get with her, it'll be interesting." He then laughed and punched me lightly on the arm.
I protested, but not all that forcibly and the next days saw Shelly and I spending quite a bit of time together. She was very proper and always addressed me as Dr. Lannister. I followed her lead, she was always Ms Naylor, until one day she came rushing up to me, breathless....
"David, David, we have a problem. One of your guest speakers called and left a message. He can't make the conference due to illness in his family. Can you get someone else?"
"Hmmm, David, David?" I mused. "No problem, Ms Naylor. I do have someone I can call. It will just take a few minutes to get him on the phone and up to speed. Nothing to worry about," I reassured her. Shelly colored as she realized her "slip. "Oh, that's great, Dr. Lannister. I'm glad that problem's taken care of so easily." She turned and strode off as I smiled to himself
Well, to make a long story short, we became comfortable with each other and my very reserved and proper manner caused her to view me as no threat. Actually, I didn't really have to do much acting. I was by nature a rather withdrawn and introspective type of person, but I made efforts to be a bit more expansive and outgoing when with Shelly. Working together created situations where we would have lunch and that led naturally to dinners. We "dated" even after the conference ended and it wasn't long before we both realized that there was a growing affection (even love perhaps) developing. I was nuts about her and I knew that she cared for me.
It was at a small, intimate restaurant a couple of months after the end of the conference that Shelly unburdened herself to me. I remember her turning to me in the circular booth we shared and taking me hand said she had something to say .
"David, I guess we both know that what we have is something more than friendship. No, no, please - don't say anything yet. Let me explain something to you. I was a real daddy's girl, I loved him so much. My mother divorced him when I was little because he cheated on her and he disappeared from my life. I was heartbroken. You also know that I have been married and have been divorced over three years now. My husband's adultery devastated me. I became seriously depressed which required the help of a psychiatrist to overcome and I was in therapy for almost two years. I understand now what happened to me and I also knew that I had to overcome this deep distrust I had for all men.
"I have rebuffed any overtures from guys coming on to me, but you have been so kind, so patient, so compassionate that I have come to respect you, trust you and, yes, even love you. David, please understand that my psyche is still fragile, so if you just view our relationship as friendship, let me know now."
Shelly looked at me with unshed tears glistening in her eyes and my heart went out to her. I leaned over slowly and we shared their first real kiss. It wasn't that passionate; it was rather gentle but certainly not a kiss of friendship. I also professed his love for her and it wasn't long before we married.
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