My wife Amy and I had been relatively happily married for 25 years when my company offered me a buyout. The company was in merger talks and was desperately trying to trim headcount. My boss said I was a fool not to take it. The Company would most likely end up in bankruptcy if the merger failed.
Amy and I discussed it over dinner several times. I had pretty much decided I was going to take the buyout and retire but what would that look like. Amy was five years younger than me and her goal was to be the first female operational VP in her company's history. She wanted to be the one to break the glass ceiling. I admired her goals and then we discussed how her goals really didn't mesh with my goals to travel. We discussed staying together on paper but chose to quietly separate. My wife was adamant that no one knew we weren't still married even if I had to head home to accompany her on several business functions each year.
And that led me to my home in North Carolina. I always loved the area and after years of being trapped inside office building I wanted to be outside as much as possible. The house I bought sat on a golf course and I bought it out of bankruptcy. It needed some work but it had a built in pool and a huge two car garage that I intended to fill with my toys. First was a kayak, then a bike and an e-bike, various camping and hiking gear and eventually a fiberglass shell camper.
The neighbors invited me over for a barbecue the first weekend I was there, that was before most of the toys. Mostly people 20 years younger than me and a few younger than that. I was the old guy. They were very friendly and I enjoyed their company, especially the way the spouses interacted with each other, always with smiles. I did try joining them on some golf outings but quickly realized I sucked and donated my clubs to some charity.
At one of the barbecues, they told me about the history of the Willow house, what they called the house I lived in because of the two large willow trees in the front yard. Willow also happened to be the last name of the couple that lived there before me. Whether they planted the trees or not was a matter of debate. Four house away from mine was an empty house they called the Old Nester Place. Neither the house or the Nesters were old but they liked the way it sounded.
It was the second marriage for both of the Nesters and it was pretty acrimonious, even more so when Mr. Nester found Mr. Willow banging his wife. The shit hit the fan as they say, a week later a U-Haul truck appeared in the Willow's driveway and Mrs. Willow disappeared to the northwest coast. Mrs. Nester moved into her family's estate in Tennessee and Mr. Nester was killed in a one car accident with alcohol levels way above the legal limit. Mr. Nester never updated his will or insurance policies from his ex-wife so the house and everything else was in legal dispute.
Joe was the guy who lived next door to me who explained the history of the Willow House. He also said that one of the good things that came out of it was they all witnessed the utter horror of infidelity, Mr. Willow gambled his life away, the Willow children were devasted, they were sure Nester's car accident was most likely a suicide and the Nester's had a bunch of children between them and their prior marriages. That was two years ago and all the couples on the block had that talk, ending up with a new commitment to their spouses. I felt it certainly looked that way.
Since the Willow house, which is what I liked to call it, had a built in pool, it became the site of several barbecues which were mostly catered by the neighbors. I didn't care, I was happy to see the pool used and there were usually a dozen kids having a blast in it.
In between I hiked, biked or kayaked, usually with some camping involved. It wasn't long before my neighbors started dropping some hints that they would like to join me. They would see me putting one of my toys on the jeep and would stop by. By the beginning of my second summer, almost everyone on the block had joined me on a few trips, mostly kayaking. I saved my trips during the week for those places I wanted to enjoy by myself since most of my neighbors worked during the week and I liked being by myself.
The oddball in the bunch was Joe's wife Vicky, she was some kind of software consultant and worked from home, mostly in the evenings since her clients were overseas. This made her more open to drop some hints on my midweek trips. Vicky was gorgeous and I was reluctant to take just the two of us on a trip some place. Since she lived next door she always saw what toy I was putting on the jeep.
Every time Vicky dropped a hint, I would joke that I didn't want Joe coming after me because I was sure he could kick my ass. Maybe he could or not I don't know, but I certainly did not want to cause any hate and discontent.
Joe came to me and said he had 100% faith in Vicky and I should stop using him as an excuse not to take her along. I did admit that sometimes I just liked to be out in nature by myself.
"That's fine," he said with a smile on his face, "then man up and tell her that."
Two days later I was putting my kayak on my Jeep when Vicky came over.
"So, are you going to finally invite me on a trip with you Jack?"
"Unlike the other places we kayaked, there's no rental places where I'm going."
"What if I bought my own, then you wouldn't be able to use that excuse."
I ended up doing that trip on my own but the following weekend Vicky, Joe and myself were in a kayak store buying Vicky a kayak, and all the assorted necessities which she would store in my garage.
And the week after that I was repeating that same trip, which I really enjoyed, with Vicky. Did I mention that Vicky was gorgeous and even more gorgeous in her bikini. I had warned her beforehand that the sun on the water was hot and she should try and keep as much skin covered as possible, she ended up with some mild sunburn. She said I should have rubbed the sunscreen in for her. Ain't no way that was going to happen.
On that trip, like most trips, I usually find a sandbar on someplace to tie up my kayak, stretch the legs, pee and have a lunch. Peeing was a little more difficult for Vicky and lunch on a blanket with Vicky in her bikini sitting across from me was hard for me. She noticed my discomfort and promised to dress more appropriately next time. But that night I was thinking about Vicky in the shower.
That became a pattern, if Vicky saw me put my e-bike on the jeep, the three of us were out shopping e-bikes for her which ended up in my garage, the same with hiking gear.
Vicky wasn't the only one who wanted to join me on a midweek trip but most of the neighbors worked, especially the husbands. One of the other wives joined me on a kayak trip but saw a water snake and refused to ever go again. A different wife saw a bear on hiking trip and she was done with the great outdoors. That left Vicky.
Vicky wore more clothes on our second kayak trip, a long sleeve shirt with an SPF 50 rating and some shorts. It was a hot day and when we stopped for lunch we decided to cool off with a little swim. The water got deep when we got a little bit away from the sandbar which was fine until Vicky got out, she wasn't wearing anything under her shirt which was almost transparent and her nipples were poking through. The shorts were less transparent but were clinging to her anatomy.
She saw where I was looking and said, "Sorry Jack, I hadn't planned on swimming."
Kayak season was ending which usually meant it was time for me to chase waterfalls and those trips usually involved some hiking and camping. Joe and I were out buying Vicky a tent she could carry in her backpack.
Joe said, "Vicky thinks you're uncomfortable having her join you on some of your trips. She mentioned how transparent her shirt got on your last kayaking trip."
"She's a very attractive woman Joe and I've been a bachelor for a long time now."
"I thought you were still married Jack, you go home frequently and there're always pictures on your Facebook page of you and your wife out to some gala."
"My wife and I are separated but she doesn't want anyone to know, she has a goal to become a VP and is afraid a divorce may impact her goal. So I show up whenever she needs her husband at her side. I don't mind at all, although we're no longer intimate but we probably get along better now than ever. I'm free to enjoy my hobbies and she's on track to meet her goals."
"Does Vicky know you're not married?"
"I never told her or anyone else besides you, you're the first person to ask. Maybe you should tell her."
