Author's Foreword: Those who skim LW submissions in private searching for ... the usual... might do well to pass on this one. Lots of thinking and psychology will be found here - not to mention big words and big ideas. Thanks for the excellent private feed back. One other thing: each submission takes me approximately 4 or 5 hours of my time and after my writing skills have improved enough to satisfy me, I will start to have my submissions proof-read. In the mean time, sorry for the typos - they are all mine.
When Does Cheating Actually Start?
John Warman was a product specialist for an industrial parts wholesaler. At 26 and single and with 6 years experience out of college, he was the acknowledged third party parts specialist for several uncatalogued German manufactured machine tool brands. He was a walking encyclopedia of what parts substituted for factory ones, he dealt effectively with customers at the company's city counter and very often amazed them by producing a substitute part when a broken sample was presented. John's honesty was legendary, probably because he never pretended to be someone he was not. His telephone relationship with the company's customers was renown - often the main number clerk could be seen holding up one finger or two to indicate the number of customers waiting to talk to him.
Not the brightest mind in college, where he had enrolled in the engineering school, but washed out, he pursued a World History degree. He also attended the free social dance lessons and student mixers and even managed to lose his virginity by penetrating the pussy of a heavily tattooed body-ringed co-ed once. She said afterwards to John, "Dude, I couldn't even feel you." Embarrassed, he gave up chasing pussy. But, after extensive research he found out that his cock was average size, and then had himself checked for STDs. His self-esteem skyrocketed at this point. He graduated without ceremony and went out into the world to pursue a career-track job and to seek a woman with whom being mutually in love was possible. He had a secret one but someone had already chosen her so he stopped thinking about her as a lover.
Friendships in the workplace are typically fleeting, random, and surface ones made of convenience. Getting alone and being pleasant or affable, and to a small extent, assisting co-workers, and finding someone to 'lunch' with drives the process of office friendship formations. For example, after such a 'friend' moves on, no ripples are felt in anyone's life. But, on extremely rare occasions, a real FRIENDSHIP may be found - e.g., A real friend for the purposes here may be illustrated as Person A can and does crash at Person B's house unannounced and is very welcomed by Person B. One such pair of friends was John Warman and Jennifer Thames (sometimes Jen, Jenny).
She was a product specialist for a Japanese line of machine tool parts for which the company carried replacement 3rd party parts. Jen had an associates degree from the local community college but had worked full or part time since a high school junior. Her cubicle had backed up against John's for the three years she had worked in that parts house. They chatted when both were idle. Each also brought lunch from home and they sat together either on the shaded outdoor seats in the warm months or in the company break room otherwise. Others were invited to join them and did from time to time but since the couple was 'boring' to others the few joiners soon moved on. John and Jen liked the same movies and songs and even the same food. His co-worker made John look forward to Monday on the weekends because he would see his best friend again. Thinking about John and Jen and sex in the same sentence was impossible because John was a nerd and Jen was married and the mother of a small child - and not very attractive. In fact, her child and husband visited the office freely and often when he was in town, and both of them liked John.
Mrs. Thames was a kind of a beautiful woman in one sense, naturally svelte and well groomed but she seemed to go out of her way to look almost plain and draw no attention. Her discount rack clothes poorly fitted her - again as if she was not trying to impress anyone - and for the little cosmetics owned, she once said with a laugh, "I buy what's on sale." She and her husband had met at church as both were choir members at their Methodist church. True Believers, they both reacted to John's being a Bright (i.e., a non-believer, non-spiritual) with a, "Too bad. I will continue to pray for you."
For the first year of their friendship it was shop talk and gossip about co-workers, inadequate pay, and bad weather. The twenty-something Jen did talk about her child and sometimes about her husband (e.g., She said to John more than once, "I got a picture post card from Richard in ... where he is on R&R for a few days" The cities remembered were Paris, Frankfurt, and Stockholm). On special occasions when home awaiting deployment her husband would show up impromptu and insist that John keep his seat when he walked up to their table at lunch time at her company.
Today had been such an occasion when Richard popped in to show both a new cell phone he had just purchased. He had joined them saying little but was attentive. After he had left them, Jennifer said the first time to John, "Richard is a technical guru working on a sophisticated weapons system for the Defense Contractor. He is deployed overseas often but has been at home for quite a few weeks now. I can tell he is getting antsy to be deployed again."
John Mused to himself, "When the brainiac, Richard, comes to the supply house to chat with us, I still have no idea what he is about and what is on his mind - the guy is a mystery. Sad to say, his only interest in Jennifer appeared to John to be that she is Chrissy's mother, and a very good one. But, in spite of it all, professionally I like Richard and think he likes and trust me. Maybe that is because both of us are very, very good at what we do for a living - albeit he makes mucho more money than I do."
The real Richard Thames that John didn't know at all was from a Classic American upper middle class family. Very quick and smart, he carried just under a 4.0 GPA in Engineering school, and generally kept his pants zipped as a student and was the acknowledged man-with-the-answer in at least three areas. A devout believer, he met his wife who was a fellow Choir member, at church. They dated a few times and of course their passions ran away with them and she became pregnant. He did the 'right thing' and married her and has spent the last four years trying to make his marriage work - but only for the sake of the child." John was convinced that their frequent separation preserved their marriage as he and Jenny learned early on that they bristle in each other's presence after a very short while.
For last year's company Christmas party, for example of John's closeness to both, Richard had just come home and John picked up Jen and Richard for transportation to the hotel. The three sat at a table together for the dinner and dance. Jennifer's husband detested those kind of dress up affairs but to keep peace the few weeks he was to be at home, he went. Richard assured both, "I have two left feet, so you guys enjoy yourself dancing as I enjoy watching. This caused no raised eyebrows at all probably because all three didn't care what co-workers thought down deep as each lived in his own respective world."
The story starts on a Monday, two weeks before Christmas after the fourth year of their friendship had begun. John and Jen were, as usual, at lunch eating their sandwiches. She said, "Something exciting has happened but I have pissed off Richard and I just may have started having an affair. Let me explain.
Seeing a, 'Whaaat' expression on Jen's face, she continued " My neighbor's Christmas party was Saturday night. Both Richard and I went knowing they were members and did volunteer work at the Faith Hill non-denominational Megachurch Southeast of the city for years. Are you familiar with that huge church?"
He replied sounding bored, "Yes. I drove by it one Sunday morning at 'shift change' - i.e., when one Sunday session had broken up and another was to start soon and the resultant traffic jams were brutal."
She continued, "My neighbor excitedly had told me about how she and her husband, as members, made lots of friends, close friends, within that group as they helped the disabled and elderly by preparing food and medicine packs. The distribution was by another team of devout volunteer friends."
John said, "Well, I can't fault anyone personally for helping the needy if they choose to do that."
She continued, "Many of our neighbor's volunteer group members were at her Christmas party Saturday night as well. I liked them immediately, but my dear husband Richard was turned off by them entirely."
John said, "Jenny, please don't tell tell me you fancy yourself as having an affair with God because of your new friends?"
"No. Nothing like that - my affair is almost the real thing. But to get on with my tale, the young assistant pastor, who proctored the seniors support program, was there. Most of her guests wanted to gather around him and listen but Richard and I just watched and listened from a distance. He had the bluest eyes and blondest hair of any man I have ever met. He told Richard and me later that he had graduated from a seminary somewhere and found this position at Faith Hill four years ago." She giggled and continued, "He also had the most beautiful, booming baritone voice as he spoke from his diaphragm like a trained singer sings, as he described their program. He never once took his eyes off my eyes, however, and and barely glanced at my husband standing beside me."
John said, "This is getting interesting, please go on."
She continued, "Richard was pissed and after a few minutes he whispered to me, 'I am going to pick up Chrissy from the baby sitter and go home. Come whenever this wonder preacher finishes.' I was filled with angst for one moment and meant to stay just a few more minutes, but I literally lost track of the passage of time and was the last guest to leave the party. In fact, the young pastor walked me next door to our home in the darkness."
John said, "Come on Jenny. Next you are going to tell me that he grabbed and kissed you and from then on you were hopelessly in love with him!"
"No, John, it didn't happen like that. He just gave me one of their brochures about their church in general and the senior program in particular on the opposite side. He said, "'Thank you for making Royce and Jane's Christmas Party very pleasant for me this year, Jennifer.' He turned around to walk to his car. But he turned back around and said, 'If you want to ask me anything, my cell phone is listed on the program side of the brochure.'"
John asked "How did Richard take the fact of your late hours at the party and coming home with the clergyman?"
She said, "He and the child were sound asleep so I took a shower and played with myself visualizing the pastor's blond pubic hair as he made love to me."
John asked, "Do you plan to physically enjoy the preacher in your bed when Richard is deployed again?"
