With or Without You
Many thanks to Randi for her wonderful editing. Mistakes, if any, are entirely mine. No BTB here.
Fred pulled into his driveway. It was a nice breezy sunny midday and he had just dropped off their youngest, Dave, at his grandparents' house for the weekend. Sharon's parents loved their youngest, who was now eight years old. His sister, Jane, was twenty years old, while her brother Jason was nineteen, and so to have a little one around to spoil silly was their dream come true.
With two older ones already in college, Fred was looking forward to spending the remaining Saturday with his wife. It was their "our time," as he liked to put it. He and Sharon had worked hard in bringing up their three kids and they deserved these few personal moments of togetherness.
He found his wife in the kitchen, with a mug of coffee in her hand. She looked serious. In fact, for the past several days she had been a bit distracted. Fred assumed that with the older children gone, the empty nest syndrome seems to be getting to her.
He poured himself some coffee and sat near her. The day was still young, and he had some naughty things running in his mind as he lovingly looked at Sharon, who looked younger than her 45 years. With black hair and blue eyes, she had this wholesome look about her and her regular gym routine showed on her curvaceous figure. At 5'9'' to his 6 feet, they made a good couple. He was sure he would be able to get Sharon into the mood, and looked forward to having some wine and then making love to her round full breasts. Even after doing their nature's ordained duty of milking and nourishing their three kids, her boobs still had that sexy bounce to them. He had fallen in love with them the first time he had undressed her.
As he sipped his coffee, he saw Sharon looking steadily into his eyes, with a serious thoughtful look. Maybe it would take more than a couple of wine refills to do the trick. The bulge in his jeans signaled that his little fella was ready for the challenge.
"What's on your mind, honey?" he asked in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Sharon hesitated for a moment before replying, "Thank you, Fred, my wonderful man."
Fred raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"If that's for mowing the lawn, then that was my duty and a pleasure to go about it."
Sharon continued looking at him steadily, her eyes getting moist.
"Thank you for staying by me," she said once again, with a meaningful look in her eyes and tears rolling down her cheeks.
Fred froze, his eyes going big, the coffee mug poised midair in his hand.
SHE KNEW! GODDAMIT SHE KNEW! AFTER SO MANY YEARS! HOW?
...
NINE YEARS EARLIER
Fred looked at his watch the umpteenth time. The evening traffic was moving at a snail's pace and he had a flight to catch. Sometimes Chicago really sucked. It would take him another hour to reach home. That would give him little time to pack his stuff and catch the late evening flight for N.Y. Their company had tendered for doing the IT automation for this new upcoming stock market company with multiple locations across the country. Their company was one of the shortlisted few, and a lot depended upon tomorrow's presentation at their NY head office. He honked in frustration, then flipped open his mobile and called his wife. They had a lady coming in the afternoons to look after their kids after they returned from school. It was nearing time for her to leave for home and he had his travel bag to pack. Shit, shit. He hoped his wife was also not caught up in the evening traffic. She was a marketing executive in a firm manufacturing creative furniture for small apartments. Their product did well, but there was competition, too, and their marketing team, including Sharon, were always on war footing.
Sharon picked up the call, "Hi, handsome, remember, you have a flight to catch."
"Honey, the traffic is acting funny and it's nearing time for Ms. Morrison to leave and..."
Sharon cut in before her husband could finish what he was saying, "Even as you speak, Sir, I am turning into our driveway. Your children, our children, are safe, the cavalry is here," she replied in a loving tone with a small chuckle.
Fred let out a sigh of relief. This woman was wonderful. Even after a hectic day and driving through this crazy Chicago evening traffic, there wasn't a trace of irritation in her tone.
"And you will find your travel bag ready for you," she continued in that same bantering tone. That silly husband of hers could really get nutty at times. She loved him and all his moods, too, and especially those special manly nuts and their friend, little willie. They had done a good job by impregnating her two times over. They had done their holy duty, and as a reward, Sharon and her love portal between her legs were lovingly ready to provide them entertainment for the rest of her live.
Half an hour later, Fred reached home. It was going to be a touch and go case. He couldn't afford to miss the flight. Sharon was driving a second hand car, and if this went well he would surprise her with a brand new SUV. He could afford it with the bonus he expected to get if he pulled thru this one.
The kids squealed in delight and rushed over to hug him. He could hear his wife making something wonderful in the kitchen. He went over and gave her a quick kiss. Sharon smiled. "Now go change quickly; you don't have much time for your flight."
Fred took a quick shower and dressed in casuals for his flight. He came down to grab a few mouthfuls' of his wife's wonderful cooking.
"Easy, Fred, eat properly," admonished Sharon with concern.
Fred nodded his head as his mouth was full. He heard the Uber honking for him. He blew a kiss to his family and rushed out for the airport.
...
The meeting went well. The clients were pleased with his demo. What really impressed them was that his company would be finishing the IT installation work in a shorter time, compared to the other competitors, and at a lesser price.
Fred returned home with a big smile on his face. That had been a good teamwork. As he had hoped, his management acknowledged his efforts by promoting him to be the regional head for their ongoing IT installations at another client location at Fort Wayne. And yes, he got a wonderful raise in salary. He could now buy that new SUV for his wife. She deserved it.
...
Sharon carefully reversed her brand-new SUV in her company's parking lot, and proudly stepped out. The car was great. She loved it. It was love at first sight. Fred had kept it a surprise. He had taken the family to the Honda showroom in a casual way, telling them to have a look around, and when she saw the sparkling white SUV, well, it was love at first sight. Fred was grinning all the time. When she had said it was getting late and they should be going, he nonchalantly walked over to the floor manager and told him they were buying that SUV. Sharon smiled happily, remembering she had almost fainted.
Her new SUV had been the office talk that day. The best thing was that she could impress her clients by driving over to their office in her SUV. As a marketing professional, she knew these little things made a difference in how the negotiations went. It kind of inspired her to do that much better in her work, to be shoulder to shoulder with her husband. They were doing well, and she thanked the Lord for that.
She pushed herself back into her work. She was to meet some clients in Madison the next day. For that, she needed to catch the early morning flight, spend the day doing hard negotiations and then catch the evening flight back home. To do all that, she had to first finish the product pricing, highlighting their comparative advantage over what the competitors were selling.
Sharon was looking forward to returning from Madison and spending some quite time with her family. Both were climbing the proverbial corporate ladder, and this last week she and Fred had had just a single quickie session. Their hectic and tight office, as well as family, schedules left them exhausted, and many times they would simply kiss, fool around a bit and fall off to sleep in each other's arms. That old Beatles song titled "It's been a hard day's night," was close to their lifestyle. Funny how a song of the sixties could hold good in this era.
She called up her husband to remind him of her upcoming trip. "Fred, I am taking the early morning flight to Madison. Hope you haven't forgotten."
"No babe, my travel calendar is free for the next couple of days, though I need to travel to Fort Wayne when you get back. The new server that we are installing needs some upgrades, and I have to be there. I should be returning by Friday evening."
"Aww, I was hoping for a family outing this Friday. The kids want to go to this new restaurant their friends have been talking about. Anyway, we will plan something later.
That evening, Fred helped around in the house as Sharon prepared for her early morning flight. As per their agreed routine, Fred would be dropping her off at the airport in the morning and then returning to ready the kids for school. Once in bed, Fred began kissing his wife, and she responded by opening her legs wide to welcome her husband for a quickie. Sharon was wet and horny, the all too familiar sensation taking hold of her body as her husband's thick phallus stretched her pussy. A while later, Fred stiffened and shot his load inside his wife's womb before collapsing next to her.
If they had time, there would have been a lot of foreplay and different positions, but for now, this was it.
That old Beatles song said it all.
***
