Todger65 worked his magic again. Every time I get his corrections back, I bruise my forehead by slapping it so much.
This is a story of true friendship and love.
What Friends Do
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"I feel so sorry for Jennifer. Since Rob died, she has been so withdrawn. She's like some sort of sad zombie, just stumbling through her days."
I understood where my wife Lisa was coming from. Jennifer and Rob have been our friends for five years. Rob died suddenly, horribly, a year ago. Some idiot believer of conspiracy theories decided to take out some of the local government. Rob happened to be in the city building paying his water bill when the idiot opened fire. The only thing good about the entire stupid incident was the idiot getting shot multiple times by police. I was glad to hear that he took hours to die. I wanted him to suffer. He has a name, but I won't refer to him as anything but 'idiot'.
Jennifer was a beautiful and vivacious woman before the incident. Now, she wore Rob's old sweats almost exclusively. The last time she dressed up she wore a black dress at Rob's funeral. Her face rarely held an expression. She only left the house when she had to. It was sad and a waste of a wonderful human being.
Lisa is Jennifer's best friend, and she works hard to help her. Lisa practically lived with Jennifer during the first months after Rob was killed and spends every moment she can with her now. I think that without Lisa's constant support Jennifer would probably not be with us.
The entire situation was sad. It didn't help that it was so unnecessary. A minimal amount of research would have shown the idiot how wrong he was. I don't think he really wanted the truth. I think he wanted to strike out at people he felt held power over him. His only accomplishments were to spread misery to underserving people and to die suffering.
I pulled Lisa close and held her tight, "Sweetheart, you have done everything you possible can. I have wracked my brain for something that might help her."
"Me too. She won't go out socially no matter how much I prod her. She won't go shopping except to get groceries. She has separated herself from the world. She needs to be held and loved and made to smile again."
I held her for a while giving it some more thought. Lisa's statement about Jennifer needing to be held triggered an epiphany, "Lisa, we need to get Jennifer laid. She needs a kind man, or woman, to hold her and make her feel again. She needs to realize that though Rob is gone, she is still a beautiful woman who deserves to feel more than grief and loss."
Lisa's arms squeezed me, "She needs someone like you. Now we need to figure out how to find him and get Jennifer to cooperate."
The following evening Lisa and I were relaxing on the couch. She had just returned from her evening visit with Jennifer. I could see that she had something stewing in her head, "Watcha thinkin about babe?"
"I had an idea today about a way to help Jennifer. I need your help to make it work."
"You know I would do anything I can to help you and Jennifer. What could I possibly do that you haven't already?"
"Seduce her."
"What! Honey you can't be serious. There are so many ways something like that could go wrong and makes things much worse. Not to mention the fact that you are my wife, not Jennifer."
"I understand all of that. I have been thinking about it all day. You are an amazing husband and lover. Jennifer is my best friend, and she is suffering. I know that you would be the perfect man to make love to her, to get her living again."
"Even if she went along with it, I would be cheating on you."
"I don't look at that way. It would be cheating if you had an affair with her behind my back. I want to share the joy you give me with a friend I love who is in desperate need of joy. To me it is an act of love, not betrayal."
"I hadn't thought about it that way. In my head it sounds reasonable. Reality is a whole other thing."
"It's not like I am asking you to screw some skank. I know how attractive you think she is."
I chuckled, "I would have to be on drugs to not notice how hot she is. But say we did what you are suggesting, what happens after? Jennifer's mental state is fragile now. We are not therapists and we could make things worse."
"I realize that. We must not push too hard. Each step of the way must be because she wants it. I don't want her to regret anything she does."
"I can't say I am comfortable with this yet. Having said that, how do we pull all of this off?"
"Dancing."
"Huh?"
"You are going to need her help learning to dance. You want to learn so you can teach me. I have always wanted to Tango with you, and not just in bed. It won't be a lie and Jennifer is a wonderful dancer. It will get her out of her house at a minimum. She will be spending time with people that care about her even if the seduction part doesn't happen."
Jennifer loved to dance. So much so that she had run a dance studio before Rob died. She lost all interest in the studio after his death and had her lawyer sell it. Rob on the other hand had all the rhythm and coordination of a ruptured duck on ice. He had been a horrible dancer. I had often danced with Jennifer with his encouragement when the four of us went out clubbing.
"I would love to learn how to dance like that and it will help Jennifer. I am not sure about the seduction part. We will have to wait and see about that."
Lisa smiled. She knew that once her husband held Jennifer in his arms he would come around to her way of thinking.
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Lisa
Jennifer lived just two doors down from Steve and me. I stopped by for our daily morning coffee. As usual I let myself in and as usual Jennifer was in the kitchen waiting. She sat at the kitchen table staring off into space. Her hair was a mess, and she was wearing Rob's old sweat suit. She looked horrible and she stank. I was nervous and a bit apprehensive. If my idea didn't work, I was out of ideas. I was very afraid I was going to watch my friend fade away until she decided to die.
I tried to engage her in conversation and got the usual one-word answers. I couldn't stand the state she was in anymore, "Jennifer, come with me."