Bob's schedule did not let up at all and the stress in the house was growing daily. Jill had not mentioned the perfume on his clothes deciding it was probably something totally innocent. Still she felt it was time for her to have a serious talk with him. Her feelings for Bob had not changed at all but being an afterthought in his life was very frustrating. She decided that she would make reservations at his favorite restaurant for Saturday night and tell him her concerns.
Having decided on a plan Jill felt much better and was actually in a good mood when the phone rang. "Hello," she said as she picked up the phone.
"Hi Jill how have you been?"
Jill was immediately apprehensive when she heard Anita's voice on the other side. "Doing good," she replied. "How are you?"
"I am good. I wanted to see if you would like to grab lunch tomorrow. I am in the mood for a girls lunch."
"I don't know Anita," Jill replied. "I really enjoy our lunches and talks but last Friday was not my thing. I know you would like me to get involved but I am not ready to throw away my marriage just because it is going through a little rough spot."
"Look Jill, I have no desire to get you into anything you are not into. Maybe it was a mistake taking you to the party but it was not my idea. Remember it was Jack who suggested it. I think we have a lot in common and it is great to have someone to talk to. What do you say... Mexican?"
Despite her misgivings Jill had to admit that having Anita to talk to had been a good thing. As long as she did not try to get her into the sexual lifestyle that she enjoyed it seemed harmless to have lunch.
"Ok. What time?"
"Why don't we shoot for 11:30 that way we will be able to order before the lunch crowd hits."
"Good idea. I will see you there."
Anita hung up the phone feeling a little guilty. She knew Greg wanted to "accidently" run into them at lunch and she really had misgivings about letting him know Jill had agreed to meet. She wished Greg would just get Jill out of his head but he was not the type to let go once he saw something he wanted.
****************
Thursday Jill walked into the Mexican restaurant and looked around for Anita. She did not see her so she took a booth facing the door and ordered some tea while she waited. She was still wondering if it was a good idea to continue her friendship with Anita. Except for her sexual lifestyle she enjoyed her company and as long as she did not push her Jill felt they could still be friends.
Anita finally came in about 15 minutes late. Looking around she spotted Jill and walked over to her table leaning down to give her a quick hug.
"How have you been," she asked?
"Things are good. Bob is in town for the next few weeks although he is still snowed under at the office. How are you?"
"Things are good. Paul has been working his usual hours so I know how you feel."
The small talk continued for several minutes but there was an obvious undercurrent that was not being addressed. Finally Anita decided to just bring it up and get it out of the way.
"Look...Jill..," she began. "I know I made a big mistake taking you to the party the other night. At the very least I should have been up front about what kind of party it was. I tried to bring it up a few times and I used that as an excuse that I had warned you but I knew you were not really catching on to what I was saying. I apologize. I value our friendship and hope we can get past this. I will not bring up anything more about the parties or that side of my life. Forgive me?"
Jill could see her new friend was really struggling and sincere in her apology.
"It was probably as much my fault. I should have asked more questions. I know you tried to talk about it and I should not have been so naïve. Of course I," she paused.
Jill's face colored and Anita turned to see what she was looking at. Anita was stunned. Walking in was Greg with a big smile on his face. Anita had not told him about lunch and was confused how he suddenly appeared. Turning back to Jill she could see the anger on her face and stuttered, "I did not know he was going to show up.. I promise..".
Greg saw them and strolled over to their table with that same big smile on his face. "My two favorite ladies," he said sliding into the booth by Anita without being asked. Anita robotically slid over so Greg could sit beside her.
"What are you doing here," Anita asked?
"I just happened to be down here and I eat here all the time. How are you doing Jill?"
Jill did not respond and Anita tried to make the best of a bad situation. "We were having a girls lunch Greg. Are you getting something to go." It could not have been more obvious that Anita wanted him to go.
Greg's face clouded briefly before returning to it's original smile.
"I totally understand. Did not mean to interrupt. I will get something to go and be out of your hair."
Motioning to the waiter he placed an order to go but remained sitting waiting for his order.
"How have you been Jill," he asked again?
"I have been good," she replied.
"That is great. I am glad I ran into you. I wanted to apologize for the party last week. I should have taken your suggestion to take Anita's car and leave and I could have given her a ride home. It was thoughtless of me and I should have known you might not be comfortable. I just assumed you knew what you were getting into since you came with Anita and Jack had been part of the group."
Jill knew he was not being truthful because he had explained the party to her while they were alone. Still she could see how he might think she was more open based on Jack being a part of the group.
"You did not just happen to be in the area did you," Jill asked looking at Anita?
"Ok..you caught me," Greg laughed. "And you cannot blame Anita. I ask her to tell me if you guys were meeting for lunch but she kept it to herself. I took a chance since I know Thursday's are usually her least busy days and dropped by here knowing it is her favorite place. I just wanted a chance to apologize."
Jill paused. "Look... Neither of you have anything to apologize for. What you like sexually is your business and as long as you do not try to drag me into it I have no right to say anything about it. I love Bob. He has his faults and I have mine but I am not giving up on my marriage. We can still be friends but I have no plans to attend your parties or be sexually involved with anyone except my husband."
"Fair enough," said Greg. "Bob is a very lucky man and I hope he appreciates what he has. You seemed to be enjoying yourself the other night so if things ever change it would be fun to have you back. And who knows... Bob may like it. We do have one couple who attends."
"I got carried away. And that will not happen again. It was a mistake on my part.
"Good. I am glad that is settled," said Anita. "I would not want to lose a good friend. Now..Greg get your food and leave us girls alone to talk about you."
The waiter had brought Greg's food and leaning over he kissed Anita before grabbing the bag and heading to the register.
******************
Saturday night Jill dressed in Bob's favorite dress, it was sexy without being to revealing. They had reservations at eight at the University club which was downtown overlooking the water. It was a fantastic view and they both enjoyed the food and atmosphere. She wanted to be ready by 7pm so they had plenty of time to get there.
Bob called around 6:30 and Jill immediately had a bad feeling. It was getting to be a habit with him to call at the last minute and cancel plans but to her surprise he was in the car. He would be a few minutes late but would be there in plenty of time. With a big sigh she continued dressing while thinking about how to broach the subject of the evening.
Bob breezed in around 6:45 in a great mood, jumped in the shower and was back out in 10 minutes ready to go. He was a very good looking man and Jill was always proud to be seen with him and tonight would be no different. Heading to the car Bob opened the door for her and gave a low whistle as she slid into the seat. He did appreciate Jill although he did not always show it and he wanted to spoil her tonight.
"You look great tonight," he said sliding into the driver's seat.
"You must be horny," she replied smiling at him. "You look pretty good yourself."
The drive was uneventful as they caught up on each other's day. Dinner was wonderful and they shared the evening and a few drinks. Jill was hesitant to possibly ruin the night by bringing up her concerns but knew that if she did not she would regret it. Plus she owed it to Bob to let him know how she was feeling.
"It would be nice to have more evenings like this," she said. "We do not have enough of them with the hours you have been working."
"I know. It seems as soon as I finish one project and think things will slow down something else is ready to move into any free time I have."
"You know... I feel like your schedule sometimes puts our happiness at risk. I know your career is important to not only you but to us as a family. I just feel like it can be the most important thing to you at times. We need to make more time for us."
"And how do you propose we do that," Bob said. "You know how my job is. Either you are in the game or you settle for a position where you cannot get ahead. It will only be for a few more years and then we will be set."
"A few years!! Listen to yourself. We give up our best years so we can be set 20 years from now. I need you now... not 10 years from now," she said raising her voice.
Bob looked around to see if anyone had overheard Jill's outburst. "No one said 10 or 20 years from now. I said a few years. Enough time for me to move into a VP position where I can have someone else do this kind of thing for me."
"Bob that is not good enough. I want to enjoy the journey with you. Not wait for you to complete it while I sit and wait. I need more than that."
"It is not that bad Jill. You are overreacting. We spend time together and when I am not available you have your friends. You can enjoy all of your girl friend things without me hanging over your shoulder."
Jill was getting very frustrated. "We do not spend time together. Do you realize this is the first time we have been out in almost 6 months? We have only made love 3 times in the last 4 months. Even then it is just a quickie for you to take the edge off so you are not to horny."
"Tell you what. Why don't we enjoy the rest of this weekend. We can set aside a night a week for you and I or for us to get together with some of your friends."
"I don't have friends Bob. They have lives and all I do is sit and wait for you."
"What about your friend you met for lunch Thursday. We can meet her and her husband. Maybe go out for dinner and dancing. Or if you like I can get some of my friends from work and we can all go out."
