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The Resurgence of a Weary Man Pt. 01

By: Mainefiddleheads



This is a four part story. Tom is a character that began as a stand -alone story and as it proceeded I wanted to bring it into the SF Bay Area environs and characters from the later chapters of "The Epiphanous Spouses". This is not a story of great wrongs and retribution. There is no bitch burning and from my perspective there is no judgement of right or wrong. These are people who might do what others would not or not do what others might rush into.

 There were no real people harmed in the writing of this story and it is not a collection of my experiences in any way except in understanding the emotions involved. I am going to leave anonymous commenting open for now but will probably delete those comments that are not constructive and adding to any fruitful discussion.


 Part 1

 There was a time not that long ago when I used to enjoy pulling into the driveway after a day at the office. I would be met with the smells of a busy kitchen and if they were not out with the neighbor's kids, a couple of beautiful children might greet me somewhere in the house. I would see her working on one of her culinary creations or setting the dinnerware or bustling about the household somewhere. There was always the dutiful and sincere kiss, a greeting and a welcoming embrace. It was the middle class American portrait, something Norman Rockwell put to canvas a hundred times.

 It took some time to get there. Our early years were lean and at times hard. The children were little with large demands yet somehow we got by and never really suffered. Our needs were met even though the wants were often times pushed out until they too eventually became needs. With patience and hard work, we began building the dream. There were two cars, a larger house and the niceties we wanted around the home when we could afford them. Our parents grew up in the Great Depression years and instilled a sense of frugality in each of us. Over the passing of time and into middle age, that ingrained responsibility reaped rewards for the Davis household.

 By our early middle forties, Helen and I were firmly in the upper middle class lifestyle. Our kids, Jason and Ann, had graduated high school and were both off at University studying for their respective careers, Engineering for my son and Marketing for my daughter. They had the same drive that Helen and I had when we were young. They know what they want and how to get it.

 It was when they left that the changes began. The dinners would sometimes become a quick eat or a request to stop at the deli and bring something home. While the house would still look the same, it felt empty, beyond the absence of children. It was missing a wife and partner as well. We used to go out on our date nights every week without the kids. Those disappeared as well or dropped down to once a month if that.

 Helen started working with a volunteer group at the community center with a couple of her friends from the neighborhood. I didn't see her much during the week when that started. They were not friends I felt comfortable with but they were her friends and not mine. It began to feel as if we were living two separate lives.

 Now, when I turned into the drive there was a sense of loss. I remember pulling out my driver's license and looking at Tom Davis, age 46 and I saw a tired man looking back at me. Now, that doesn't mean I'm physically tired. I'm a gym rat and have been since college. I'm thinking of an emotional exhaustion from 25 years of marriage that until four years ago seemed ideal. Our sex life had been active and fulfilling or so I thought. Now, that too became a once a month event. That is probably the one thing that really angers me about all of this more than any other. I've always been adventurous in that regard and Helen was always receptive. Yet, as soon as the kids were out of the house, there was an almost 180 degree change. So, I'm emotionally exhausted and physically charged and it is quite the dilemma.

 I turned the key in the lock and entered. It still looked the same yet different. There were no kitchen smells. I glanced at the mantle and noticed a couple pictures were missing along with a gold box she kept several little personal treasures in. Walking up the stairs and into the bedroom, her closet was open and mostly empty while her dresser stood bare, nothing left in the drawers. On the side table on her side of the bed was a folded letter and sitting on top of it was her engagement ring.

 I gave her that ring 25 years earlier. It had belonged to my grandmother. My grandfather had given it to her 55 years before that. As I picked it up I remembered the day I placed it on her finger. We were so young and carefree with the whole world at our fingertips and in our imaginations. After slipping it into my jacket pocket, I picked the letter up and unfolded it.

 "Dear Tom,

I didn't know how to do this any other way without having to hide my face in shame so I chose this coward's way of dealing with what I have to do. After a long time considering it, I decided today that I need to move on in my life without you. Tom, I know this is a hard thing to have happen in our lives but we've become different people over the last few years and I can't do it anymore.

 Tom, please believe me when I tell you that none of it, absolutely none of it was any of your doing. It simply happened. I found myself falling in love with another man and I can't live this lie any longer. I know you were going to find out sooner or later so I am telling you now. The kids don't know yet but I'm going to tell them. Please believe me, Tom, that when I do tell them, they will hate me because I'm not going to lie to them.

 I felt awful for the longest time living this lie and I can't do it anymore. If there is any consolation, I am not taking much. I took one half of the savings, some of the photo albums and I will have copies made of everything so that you can have them too. I am not taking anything else financially. The house, the investments, everything except the one half of the savings account will remain yours. I have taken everything I wanted already and I will not be back.

 Tom, this is important too. I know you will grieve because of this just as I did when I made my decision. Eventually, the kids will know where I am. It's only natural. If the pain of what I am doing to you ever subsides and I pray it will, I hope that someday I can sit down with you face to face and tell you how sorry I am for what I have done to you. I can't look you in the eye today because of my betrayal. I hope you will someday understand that.

 Until I can face you again, know that I will always love you, Tom Davis.

 Helen"

 I'd like to think I went through all the emotions I could muster but the plain truth was I was just drained from it. I sat there and wept for about 15 minutes before rising up and walking into the kitchen. I reached up into the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of 20 year old rum and poured two shots into a tumbler before filling it with Coke. When it was gone, I did it twice more.

 I'm not a heavy drinker. I stick pretty much to Rum and Coke and the occasional beer and wine. Becoming a sorrowful drunk was not in the cards. She left me on a Friday so I had the whole weekend to contemplate what she had done. By Sunday evening, the half-gallon of rum was empty and I had planned my course of action.

 Monday morning, before I could leave the house, I was served papers by some young woman who looked like she couldn't have been a day over 18. Just as Helen had written, she left everything to me except her share of savings. She had walked away from a fortune she never knew about. I remember thinking what a foolish woman she had allowed herself to become. You see, the last few years of slow decay in our marriage had already prepared me for the loneliness. She thought I was going to grieve and miss her. I did for 15 minutes on Friday evening.

 After calling the office and letting them know I would be in later in the morning, I called my personal attorney to let him know about the divorce and he agreed to meet for coffee. It helps when your attorney is also your brother.

 "Tom, it is all above board. She is walking away from everything. While I can hardly believe it, my immediate recommendation is to sign it and let her walk away. Is there any chance of reconciliation?"

 I looked at him like he was my nutty brother and he is.

 "Jesus, Carl, you read the letter. What do you think?"

 I grabbed my pen and in his presence signed all the appropriate places on three copies.

 "Let's get them returned to her attorney and have them file ASAP."

 "That is probably a good thing. If she gets wind of your actual financial situation she might start having second thoughts."

 I agreed. Helen had no idea what she walked away from. She might not want a piece of it now but her paramour might push in that direction if he ever found out. What she didn't know is that her upper middle class consistent husband was the owner of a soon to be sold software company worth $40 million in recent appraisals. We make robotic software for controllers and DCS equipment. I literally started the company in our garage 20 years ago and Helen had absolutely no clue how big we had become. She thought I was just a software engineer who wrote code on the side.

 When the kids went off to school, it had been my intention to sell the company and the house and take Helen to someplace new to live, maybe Hawaii or even Europe. But when the changes started, it never happened. She grew more and more detached until, well, she blew it all up.

 Carl called me later that afternoon and informed me that Helen's attorney had filed the papers with the court. With no change of mind or reconciliation, I would be divorced in 90 days. If you haven't gone through this, it's a funny feeling to explain. Only three days had passed since I came home to an empty house. Now, I was for all practical purposes divorced unless Helen came barging through the door to tell me it had been all a big misunderstanding. Something inside me wished that would be the case but I didn't really expect it.

 My son called first.

 "Dad, is it true? Mom is leaving you for somebody else?"

 Well, she at least told him the truth.

 "Jason, I suppose it is all true. I signed her divorce papers this morning and in 90 days it will be all over."

 "Dad, I don't know what to say. She told us both, Ann and I that this was entirely her betrayal of you and she had left to possibly live with another man. To be honest, I wanted to hit her I was so damn mad."

 "Well, son, I'm glad you didn't. She is still your mother. Now, you will have to work out whatever relationship you are going to have with her. I have no idea where she is and at this point, I'm not going to pursue her or interfere. Like I said, I signed the papers. She apparently loves the man she is with, at least more than she does me.

 As for me, I'm going to move on with life and live it the way I should."

 We chatted a while longer. I did find out that she was still in the area but it is a big enough community here that our paths don't have to cross. 

 I had a similar discussion with my daughter. She didn't deal with it as well. She apparently broke it off with her mother and told her she wanted nothing to do with again. I felt kind of proud of that but I had the same discussion I did with Jason. She is her mother.

 Over the next three months there were several times I almost expected her to walk back through the door again but it never happened. The funny thing was I wasn't angry and I couldn't figure that out. I even tried to picture the mystery man fucking her little pink quim and still no real anger. I had a bit of heartache over that imagery but it passed quickly.

 Finally, on D day, Carl showed up in my office and handed me the official pronouncement. After 25 years of marriage and two children and all the struggles of life, I was now a single man with an ex-wife somewhere in the city. 95 days had passed since I walked into the empty house and learned my wife left me for another man.

 I picked up the phone and made the call I had been waiting to make.

 "Bill, Are we ready to close yet?"

 He replied with a quick yes and we agreed to meet first thing in the morning. Bill was the CEO of Omega Software Solutions and had been pursuing me for nearly a year before Helen walked out. After she left I made a gentlemen's agreement with Bill to sell the company once my divorce became final. By noon the next day, I was an independently wealthy man with nearly $27 million in assets after taxes scattered in several investment and cash accounts.

 Bill then made an astounding offer to me.

 "Tom, I don't know what your final plans are but I'd like you to consider something. I've told my board that I am going to step down at the end of the year and focus solely on the Chairman role going forward. I'm 66 years old and I'd like to bring in new blood to take the helm. In my opinion, you are just what I'm looking for.

 Now I know it is a bit unusual for an acquisition to take the CEO position but it's happened before. You would have to relocate to the West Coast, Sonoma to be precise, but its beautiful country, Tom. Would you consider it? The compensation package is attractive and you know our growth strategy already. Give it some thought and give me a call later. I'd love to talk more on it."

 I don't know that I was flabbergasted. The British call it gob smacked. This was now a $300 million company headquartered in wine country, California. Napa had been on my short list of places I thought about taking Helen to live when I sold. Well, with her out of the picture now, I hadn't really thought of the area much. Now I was thinking of it again.

 I walked around the house that evening, a newly minted wealthy man, taking in the rooms and memories of raising two children. I saw the notches on the laundry room door where we measured the kids as they sprouted. There were a lot of good memories there but they were a lifetime ago or so it seemed. The decision was easy.

 "Bill, when is a good time for me to fly out and talk about your proposal? I'd like to get a good look at the area and your team."

 We settled for the beginning of next week. I would spend the week out there and make a decision.

 Jason was a bit hesitant about my move. Ann was thrilled. I was kind of sitting on the fence. I hadn't told them about selling the company yet. Instead I told them to read the business pages in tomorrow's newspaper or google Omega to understand why I was thinking of the move. They didn't want the suspense but I replied that I rather enjoyed it.

 The next morning, on the front page of the business section, the news of the acquisition revealed everything. There was a picture of Bill and me along with assurances that the company would continue to do business here in town. Also included was the purchase price, $40 Million. I had asked that it be included even though Bill was willing to remain silent on that matter. I think he understood my personal reasons coming two days after my divorce was final and irrevocable. One of the clauses in the papers prohibited either of us from making post filing addendums. The divorce was cut and dried, final with no recourse.

 A few days later, I found myself sitting in the 1st class section of a Boeing 767 heading for San Francisco International Airport. I had been divorced for all of six days and every woman started looking more and more attractive. Twenty years ago I thought airline stewardesses were particularly hot. Today, I still think that even though more of them are still closer to my own age. I think it was probably just my being horny not being laid in over three months. At least it meant I still had a pulse.

 I met with Bill and his team that afternoon and had a good discussion of general business conditions and strategic direction. They were scoping me out as much as I was them and I think we met each other's approval. Toward the end of the day, Bill pulled me into his office and made me an offer, a very generous offer.

 "Tom, I had dinner with the board last evening and presented to them what I wanted to do. To a man and woman, they were in full agreement. We all believe you are the perfect candidate for the position and we are prepared to show you just how committed we are. 

 First off, we are offering a five year contract with an annual salary starting at $1.4 Million. In addition to that, the MIP bonuses are set at 50% of salary for 100% of objectives and up to 200% for exceeding expectations. Of course, the full set of expected benefits and executive perks applies. You'll get your choice of vehicle, tradable every two years. We have an executive condo for your use in Sonoma if you choose.

 It's a lot to think over I'm sure, Tom. I've got to be in the city this evening for another engagement or I'd have you join me for dinner. Let's plan on that sometime later this week since I know you're out here."

 It was indeed lucrative and I would probably not have to think on it long but I didn't want to be hasty in my reply. We shook hands and I departed for my hotel room over in Napa. The offer was five times what I was paying myself in the old company and that didn't touch the MIP bonus. I was 46 years old and not ready for retirement. I could work and play in the California sunshine and nearly perfect surroundings of Sonoma and Napa. Best of all, I could afford to enjoy every minute of it.

 I accepted the position the next day and Bill introduced me to all the staff. He would step down on December 31 which was three months away. For the interim, I was his Senior Consultant on the payroll as if I was already in position. The Sonoma condo worked fine for now and I started in three weeks.

 For the rest of the week, I enjoyed the hospitality of the Wine Country and its attractions. I've never been a big wine guy but I think it was time to learn and as I sat at the bar contemplating my new found good fortune, I began to wonder about Helen. Who she was with? Why did she do what she did? Was our life together really that bad? Until now, I honestly had not allowed myself to ask the questions. My grief was short to non-existent yet I had not really moved on, relationship wise. I knew 

I was starting to miss the company of a woman. I also realized that with my position and new wealth, women were not going to be a shortage. There is an endless supply of women who lust to be around money and position. Of course, that is what they really lust for and not the man himself unless he is really lucky and I didn't think I was the lucky kind until now.

 I flew back home to take care the myriad of chores and tasks that needed to be wrapped up before I could move west. I called the kids and told them about the offer and my acceptance. Jason had come around now, especially when he realized how lucrative it was. Both of them had also read the news of the sale in the papers and knew just how set I was. Of course, they were too although I didn't tell them that.

 Jason had graduated before the big split up with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Ann would finish her degree in December. She had already interviewed and accepted a positon with a local firm until the shit hit the fan. She had learned who her mother was with and had run into both of them when she came into her soon to be place of employment for some pre-employment screening and placement testing for a short paid internship position before officially starting in January.

 It's a small world of some not so agreeable coincidences. It seems her mother's paramour was a business development director for the same company on the same floor and side of the building. Ann immediately rescinded her acceptance of the position but not before calling her mother a cheap whore and telling him she hoped somebody would have the pleasure of "chopping his fucking balls off". 


The Resurgence of a Weary Man Pt. 01



The house went up for sale immediately. The kids were a bit sad about it but they understood. It would fetch a pretty price on the market and it was paid for. I gave the kids whatever they wanted out of the house and I kept the laundry room door. Some memories are too priceless to give up. A week after it went on the market, I received a fair offer and told the real estate lady to do the deal. The remaining furnishings that none of us wanted were going to Goodwill. I did ask Jason to give his mother the courtesy of taking anything she wanted while I was out of the house but I never did ask if she took him up on the offer.

 One of the last things I did before flying west was to stop by the old offices. They all knew I was the new CEO of the parent company so we would certainly get together again but for that day, I just wanted to remember them as friends. I ordered in pizza and beers for the rest of the day and we all enjoyed the company and comradery. 

 So after three weeks, I found myself back on that Boeing 767 heading to a new world and a new life. It had been 122 days since Helen walked out of my life and now I was walking out of the remnants of mine. I settled into the role of consultant very well and the time went by quickly. The condo was nicely furnished and the few things I shipped out here fit well with everything. By the holidays, I had established a comfortable routine.

 Speaking of holidays, this was the first not having the family around. My brother Carl and his wife and kids usually came around on one of them and we would go to their place or the other. This year, there was no "we", at least not as in "Helen and I". I called the kids to ask them what they wanted to do. Logistically, it didn't make sense to fly everybody out here so I talked with Carl and we decided to have Thanksgiving at their place and I would fly the kids out here for Christmas if they wanted to.

 Ann dropped a 'daddy bomb" on me. She asked if she could bring a special friend with her. She wanted me to meet him and I figured if they were that serious that it was time to meet Dad and I needed to be up for the part. I had already met Jason's significant flavor of the month and the two before that. At least he was getting laid. Having those thoughts about my daughter were, well, disconcerting to say the least. However, she is 21 years old and an adult.

 Thanksgiving went well. We all had a great time. I think Ann wanted to talk about her mother but I pushed off the discussion.

 "OK, we'll talk at Christmas." is all she said.

 A couple days after getting back I was coming up the landing with two full bags of groceries in my arms when the bottom fell right out of one of them. As I stooped down to pick up my mess, I came face to face with her.

 She was what I used to call a frosted brunette. Her natural hair was dark but she had her hairdresser fill it with blond highlights so it would appear that a blond was trying to burst through while the dark roots held her back. She was California tan. That's hard to explain unless you've lived here a while. She also had a full mouth of bright white teeth framed with red lipstick. All I could think of was the Beach Boys yet we weren't in southern California. The rest of her was slim, trim, breasted and in a word, delicious.

 I think I was at a loss for words for the first time in years. She filled the void.

 "Hi, I'm Janet Carr, I love, I mean, I live next door. Let me help you with this."

 I introduced myself and she and I gathered up the busted bag of groceries and got them to my kitchen counter. After getting things pushed aside, I offered her something to drink and she accepted a glass of wine. We spent the next several minutes, actually the next hour, introducing ourselves and discussing the condos, the amenities and some of the people around the complex. 

 I learned that she was recently divorced, 42 years old, took her cheating husband to the cleaners and made him buy the condo as part of the settlement. He was California rich, lawyer by trade working in the entertainment industry in LA. Now, she was California rich, living off the community property settlement and alimony, which was apparently lucrative, in the millions. She was living where she grew up. Her parents owned a vineyard and winery just up the road and someday, it would be hers.

 "So, Tom, were you the one fucking a bimbo or was it your wife that chased the strange?"

 I guess I kind of chuckled at that because as far as I knew I never fucked a bimbo even before I was married. I told her the condensed story and we tipped our glasses again to all the sad sack stories out there. Before she left, I did something I hadn't done in over 25 years. I made a date for the following night.

 One of the places I had started going to when I wanted to get out of the house had a cool jazz band that played pretty regularly. They were in house that night. I made dinner reservations and planned on taking Janet out for drinks and maybe dancing afterwards. When I went to pick her up that evening, I was bowled over. She had gone and had her hair done and taken out the blond highlights. She was now much closer to her natural brown. She was wearing a dark blue dress, cut short and really ample cleavage. As I noted before, she was slim, trim and breasted. In a word, she was beautiful.

 One of the treats I gave myself when I moved out here was a new Porsche 911 Carrera. I helped her into the seat and off we went, me being as proud as a peacock.

 "Hey, I have one of these, a red one."

 I looked at her and laughed. That figures.

 Dinner was fantastic and the drinks and dancing went well. We both were good dancers and I know I at least had a great time. When we left, I walked her to her door, gave her a kiss good night and thanked her for the wonderful evening. She looked at me a little hesitantly before saying she did too and would I like to do it again real soon. Of course I did. 

 She went in and I think I walked light footed back to my place and made myself a rum and coke before plopping down in my easy chair.

15 minutes later, my doorbell rang. When I opened it, Janet stood there, dropped the jacket off her shoulders and held up a couple of condoms.

 "I really wasn't ready to call it a night yet and there's nothing on TV so I thought we could blow up a couple of balloons!"

 She walked right past me smiling and giggling, completely naked and perfect. Her Ex was one stupid motherfucker.

 I had a couple condoms of my own that Jason gave me as a gag gift one night. We used hers first and then one of mine. She was insatiable until that third time. She rolled her eyes back and wasted me with a mind blowing orgasm. I didn't have anything left and neither did she. She was gone before I woke up and had left a cute note thanking me for the evening and the GREAT fuck, as she put it. It certainly put a smile on my face.

 That morning, I assessed my evening. I had a great time with somebody I really clicked with. She fucked my nuts off with the best sex I had enjoyed in years and she made me feel 20 years younger. Did I want to date her again? Hell yeah, I did. On the other hand, it awakened a desire for the company of women. Could it be just one woman, Janet? Of course it could. I am monogamous by nature and desire. Was she? Time would tell.

 Christmas was coming and the kids were visiting. Jason showed up first with his current steady, a nice girl named Christine. I told him discreetly to keep the door closed and the music on. He understood. Ann showed up the next day with a handsome young man named Steve. He was well mannered and polite. I liked him. Ann pulled me aside and told me right up front, that she was sleeping with him and wanted me to be OK with that. I told her I was and they shared the third bedroom.

 So I had a full house. On the following Saturday, Janet called me and asked if I was interested in going to her parents winery for a tasting and perhaps dinner. When I told her my kids and their significant others were here she invited them as well.

 "Tom, all I need to do is call Mom and she'll reserve another table or two. They do this every year before Christmas. Last year there were 50 guests so by all means. Plus, I'd love to meet your kids!"

 I agreed and told Jason and Ann. They were interested so we made it a deal.

 "Dad, so you are dating now? Jason asked with a smile on his face. Ann looked at me a little strange. I couldn't figure out what was up with that but we'd talk later, I assured myself.

 "We've dated a couple times and hit it off well. It's nice to have somebody to share some time with and have dinner. I've missed that."

 "Dad, I'm happy for you. If you can enjoy yourself in the midst of all this horrible squalor, more power to you."

 Obviously he was jesting but I was glad I had his support. Even Ann smiled at that but I could tell something was eating at her. Of the two kids I would have expected her to be the one telling me to go after it with gusto. I filed the observation and we made plans for the evening.

 It was a big affair. There were at least 60 people there not including ourselves. The kids and their dates took my Audi and I drove with Janet.

 "Thanks for coming, Tom. I've wanted to show you off to my Mom. She is always asking about the men I'm seeing especially since she was not too crazy about my Ex and I know she'll love you."

 "Moms are always great fun especially when they meddle, eh?"

 I lost my Mom a few years ago shortly after Dad died. It was a rough spell for a while as I was close to both of them but now, all my memories are fond.

 We pulled into the pea stone parking lot with the kids right behind us. Introductions were made and everybody began mingling. Janet kept to my side for a good while until she excused herself to help with some of the dinner preparations. 

 I ended up being pulled into a discussion with a couple of women who were running a business incubator not far from my offices. One of the women, Dana, was quite insistent that I visit their facilities if just to give my opinion. Well, I didn't shut it down and the next thing I knew I was invited out to lunch and accepted. It helped that both women were quite attractive and knew their particular charms were adroit at the manipulation of unsuspecting men.

 I caught a glimpse of Janet with a man who was clearly attempting to pour on the seductive charms. They were both very comfortable with each other and I assumed there was a past relationship there although I was probably being preemptively dismissive. I did catch his hand drifting down onto her wonderful ass as she turned back toward the preparations. I didn't have any claim on her so I suppose she was fair game in the minds of most men although I would be foolish if I didn't acknowledge at least the tinge of jealousy I felt.

 The rest of the evening went as I expected of these events. Janet and I were seated together with two other couples and the man I observed earlier. The kids were mingled at another table. Curiously, the other man was seated to the left of Janet and seemed to occupy a good bit of her conversation. He was certainly persistent. The other two couples made up for her absence and I discovered one of the gentlemen was the CEO of the financial investment group that was funding our new office building. Actually, they were going to own it and lease it back to us when it was completed in the spring of next year. I had never met him.

 David Stone was his name and he and his wife Marylyn had moved out here from Tennessee to head up Phoenix Financials located an easy drive from here in San Rafael. The other couple was Nigel and Pam Hegland. Nigel was a financial analyst at Phoenix and Pam was a wine consultant although I didn't quite know what that was at the time. She is also Janet's cousin. Also, coincidental to the evening, David's firm was also financing the business incubator model I was finagled into visiting and having lunch over.

 Overall it was a profitable dinner with the business contacts and networking. I did discover the hound to Janet's left was a fellow named Art Sajac. They apparently were an item shortly after her divorce but according to Pam it went nowhere. It was a rebound romance for her, animal lust for him. I had no idea why she was telling me this although she couldn't keep the smile off her face while doing so.

 Before we left the dinner, I did meet Janet's Mom. She was old school Italian, with the accent and everything that comes with it. If nobody else liked me I could definitely count on her. I also found a couple new golfing accomplices in David and Nigel and we made plans for the weekend following New Years.

 Later that evening, I took her. I took her hard, soft, gentle and rough. I tasted every inch of her and when we finished, we fell asleep in each other's arms. She wasn't gone in the morning. It was her place. I awoke to the smell of sausages, the old fat English variety instead of the skinny supermarket kind most of us are used to. There were also homemade English muffins with marmalade. Janet brought the breakfast into the bedroom and served me in bed without a care for the crumbs. When we finished she proceeded to give me the most remarkable, wet, deep blowjob. I don't think I had ever had a more enjoyable start to any day that I could remember.

 When we finished, and I had properly thanked her by returning the favor, we showered together and, reluctantly, I reminded her of my house guests. She understood and she also had made a commitment to have lunch with her cousin Pam. 

 The kids were all sitting around half dressed eating breakfast when I came in. I did a look around and realized it was probably a good thing I slept elsewhere the previous evening. I know this is awful for someone's Dad to say, but Christine was nipping out gloriously with full areolas opaquely visible through the sheer top. OK. I excused myself for a bit and tended to a few things in my room. When I returned, the place was half back to normal and everybody had at least slipped enough clothes on that they could run to the grocery if needed. Actually, I just chuckled to myself. I remembered my youth all too well.

 That afternoon, we did all the Christmas decorations. I had kept them from our old house. The owners association for the condo was a bit restrictive on what we could do outside but they had already pretty much covered that. So we focused on the inside. The kids twisted a couple bottles of champagne corks and we made a small party of it. It was no Rockefeller Center when it was done but I was still impressed. I lugged out several bags of wrapped presents and put them under the tree and I even hung stockings off the mantle to the gas log fireplace. There were gifts for everybody including Christine and Stephen. Christmas was still three days off. Later that evening, Ann and I went for a walk.

 "Dad, have you ever thought about trying to get back with Mom or at least talk to her about what happened?"

 I looked my little girl over closely and there was just the hint of moistness in her eyes but it might have been the chill of the evening as well.

 "Ann, you know how your Mom left me. She didn't even say so much as a goodbye to my face. I haven't seen her or talked to her since that day. For that matter, I don't know her telephone number or even her address. To tell you the truth, I don't know that I would even if I had that info. Tell me what's bothering you. The last I knew, she was the wicked witch of the east."

 If I thought she might hold back, I was wrong.

 "Dad, nothing is as it seems, I remember you used to say. I hated her. I mean I hated the ground she walked on when I found out. You know about that job I took and then walked away from. That was right after the divorce became final. It was the same day the news of selling your business came out in the papers. Neither of them knew anything about it and you would have thought they were quite the happy couple. But, you don't know the story. How could you? I didn't until afterwards."

 I looked at my daughter in the eyes. "What has happened, Ann?"

 "The prick beat her and left her high and dry, except for the savings she took when she left us. She had squirreled that away so he didn't get his hands on that."

 "Is she OK, alright?"

 "Dad, she is fine. She is tough if nothing else. It's quite a story if you want me to tell it. I told her I might tell you about it and she didn't want me to but I told her to go to hell. She no longer had that right to tell me anything. I was mad, I guess."

 "Ann, you've told me this much so far and piqued my interest. I won't rest well until you've told me the story."

 She let out a sigh and then took my hand leading me to one of the walkway benches.

 "OK, but let me get this out, Dad, without you interrupting me."

 I nodded and she then proceeded to tell me the tale. When she finished, to say I was incredulous would be the understatement of the year. But, this was my daughter telling me this and when I asked if she believed it, she nodded yes.

 "Dad, I believe it. I know the beating was real. I saw her black eyes and the bruises. She won't press charges no matter what I said to her. Now, she's living over on Waterside in one of the apartments there. She got a job of all things. Can you believe that? She is working for the Outplacement Center she was volunteering at for the last couple of years. But for everything that happened before and what she had to say about it, I believe her Dad. She is completely broken and she is my Mom so I have to care."

 "Yes, Baby, you do have to care. You are her daughter, her flesh and blood. I'm having a hard time wrapping my hands around this but if you tell me you believe it, I'll accept it as truth. But, you need to know this, Ann. Our problems began a good while before just a couple years ago. They started about the same time you went off to college. Little things, that grew into big things and eventually culminated into this. I told both you and Jason about it. I didn't hold anything back.

 I'll tell you what. If you give me her contacts, I'll see what I can do. If I can help her out in some way, for your benefit, I'll see what it entails. But, that first question you asked me? Have I thought about trying to get back with her or at least talk to her about what happened? I half expected her to walk back through the front door a dozen times over those three months and it never happened. Since coming out here, I have purposefully not looked back other than to reach out to you and Jason. So, in a word, no, I haven't given any thought to it."

 I hugged my daughter, dried her tears and we made the walk back to the condo. The other kids had made popcorn and had a movie on. That's how we spent the rest of the night.

 I didn't get much sleep that night. What Ann told me nagged at me until morning. I called my brother when I got up and ready for the day and asked him for a big favor, well, I was paying for it regardless. I wanted him to hire somebody to find out everything they could about Helen and the man she ran off with. I meant everything, every piece of dirt they could, family on his side, employment histories, credit checks, criminal backgrounds. I was paying for the works, at any cost and I didn't care how they got the information.

 "Tom, you are asking for a lot but it can be done. Just don't ask any questions later."

 Well, that was a done deal. I didn't need to know how.

 Christmas came and went and then New Years. Janet and I hooked up a few times during that time and after the kids flew back home, she corralled me on the couch one evening.

 "OK, Tom, out with it. Something's been on your mind lately."

 I think our relationship had progressed to that point. She could read me. I told her what was troubling me and how I needed to get some of it settled at least for my daughter's sake.




The Resurgence of a Weary Man Pt. 01



"So why is this difficult? Hop on a plane and go back there to settle it once and for all. I mean, you haven't had a face to face yet and I think you need it to be able to move on for good, if that is what occurs."

 I looked at her funny with that last statement.

 "Yeah, that's right, if that is what occurs. You won't know until then and to tell you the truth, Tom, I won't know either. So, if what we have here goes any further than just great sex and good company, you need to do this."

 She was right. I had grown very comfortable with Janet and liked what we had. I don't know if it was love or not, but I'd never know if I didn't 

get closure of some sort. I booked the flight the next morning.

 Carl called me on my way to the airport and let me know he was sending several files through email to me. It seems he had a lot of information on Helen's paramour that might be interesting. The files poured into my inbox before I boarded the flight and I browsed through them over the next couple of hours.

 The Waterside was a recent addition to the residential areas of the Concourse development. They were not high end apartments but they were pricy enough to maintain a discriminating clientele. Regardless, they were quite a change from the five bedroom house and three car garage with its spacious corner lot on a tree lined street that Helen had maintained for most of our marriage. I still had a hard time wrapping my mind around that. How could she have just walked away from everything?

 I suppose that was why I was standing here on the sidewalk at 7PM staring at the front door to 1792 Fairing Lane. I called her earlier to ask if this would be an appropriate time to have a discussion. She didn't hesitate a second and even invited me for dinner which I quickly declined. I needed to talk rather than eat.

 Half the savings when she walked out on me gave her close to $600K. If Ann was right and she had squirreled it away, she could keep above water for quite some time if she lived modestly especially if she was now working somewhere. 

 I almost turned and walked away but Janet's words were ringing in my ear. I needed to do this. Helen answered the door and we stood there silently for a moment before she welcomed me into her home. It was modestly furnished as I expected of her. For herself, she was dressed in grey slacks and a button down oxford shirt with a purple and blue dove print design. Two small pearl earrings and a silver necklace; were it not for her fingers being bare of any jewelry she would have looked like my wife of 25 years.

 "Thank you for coming, Tom. Still rum and coke?"

 "Yes, please." I watched her walk to the kitchen and prepare the drink as she had done countless times over the years. She was still graceful, attractive and desirable. At least she had kept up her appearances for somebody's benefit.

 So, with drink in hand and her wine stem filled, we stared at the elephant not knowing what to say. I had lost count of the actual number of days since that dark Friday but it had been over seven months and our entire worlds had changed. I pulled out the letter she had left me that day and I started reading it. Her countenance changed immediately and I watched my former wife lose whatever courage she had mustered for this meeting. I reached the last line of the letter, 'Until I can face you again, know that I will always love you'. I set the letter down without reading that line and looked at my former wife and asked the question I wanted to ask all along. It wasn't 'why'.

 "Have you ever wished you did it differently, Helen?"

 She looked at me trying to comprehend the question and then shuddered.

 "Jesus, Tom, a million times a day since then. To tell you the truth, I wish I had never done it at all. Writing that letter and leaving like that will haunt me forever. I know I can never forgive myself for it, not to mention the forgiveness of others."

 "Helen, I talked with Ann over the holidays and she told me a lot of things that the two of you have discussed, about you, us, and your new life. Don't blame her though. I pretty much pulled it out of her. It was casting a shadow over our relationship and I couldn't have it. Helen, I guess for me to understand how and why, I need to hear it from you and maybe then we can get some closure out of all of this. Are you willing to do that?"

 "Tom, I'll tell you the whole story if you wish but I'm going to need more than this wine."

 She freshened my drink and made the same for herself.

 "I guess I need to start somewhere but I don't know where the beginning really starts. Let's begin, for now, with that Friday when I left."

 I wanted to interrupt and tell her where the beginning was but I constrained myself. It was her story.

 "I wrote that fucking letter four times before I finally resigned myself to leave the version you have now. If I could step back in time, I would have torn it up and sat on that bed waiting for you to come home. But, I had a date, a date with a new life and sweeping happiness. You know, the kind in all the romance novels where the fucking prince comes in and rescues the princess from her moribund life? What a total piece of shit such fairy tales are. As you can see, my language has developed a bit of saltiness since I crashed on reality's parade.

 It was a fairy tale, a juvenile adventure. Jesus, this is so bad my mother would kill me if she were alive. I had it all, Tom, we had it all. Two wonderful kids going off on their own and finally time to do the things we always wanted to do and what did we do or what did I do? I drifted off into my own world. I let it get stale and boring. Sally and Jenny, on the other hand, were living exciting lives, volunteering and being involved with so many activities. When I started hanging around with them, everything was new and I started thinking I was trapped.

 A couple years ago, I started volunteering at the Outreach Center and meeting a lot of other people. Sally was working with me and at some point she began having an affair with one of the volunteers from a corporate sponsor. From that point, all I heard from her was how fucking exciting it was to get laid by a different man, how it was giving her a new kick. I didn't look well on her adultery and I think she knew it but she kept trying to get me hooked up with one of the guy's friends. 

 Eventually, they introduced me to Charles. He wasn't pushy. He wasn't trying to get me into bed. He was just a fun guy to have lunch with or dinner when I could steal away for it. For the longest time we didn't do anything except be friends. However, he knew I was married and, I mean, what else would be expected. It started to get far more romantic between us.

 I knew I was on dangerous ground but I kept getting sucked into it. A couple months before I left, I was having lunch at his apartment and we started getting carried away. I knew immediately that if I didn't stop it, he was going fuck me. So I stopped it and he was a real gentleman about it. I couldn't fuck him while we were still together. That was the rational in my sick mind. 

 The reason I'm telling you this, Tom, is because I want you to know that I never had sex with another man the entire time we were married, not once. I couldn't do it. Charles didn't particularly like it but he agreed to wait until I left you. I couldn't commit adultery and disrespect you in that way. Instead I fell in love, or so I thought, and threw away the only true love I've ever had.

 When I had the divorce papers drawn up, I didn't tell Charles I wanted to take nothing from the marriage. I was the offending party and I had no moral right to anything. He didn't know about the savings and I didn't tell him. That Monday evening, after my lawyer told me you had signed and they were filed, I decided I wouldn't consummate my affair with Charles until a judge terminated our marriage. I just couldn't do it. I was already having second thoughts but was too cowardly to act on them.

 Well, Charles went ballistic. He was pissed but I calmed him down and promised him everything he wanted once the divorce was final. What a stupid woman I am. My lawyer gave me a copy of the final decree and at that point I gave him what he wanted and he took it too. But the worst thing was I felt so god damn cheap. He was a worthless lover, selfish to the core. All the niceties about him were a façade.

 I put on appearances. I know the kids hated me, especially Ann. I ran into her, you know, with Charles. She broke my heart but only because I ruined hers. She called me a whore and Charles, worse. That was a bad day and things stayed that way for a while.

 About a week after that encounter, Charles came ripping into the kitchen where I was, furious as hell. He threw down a newspaper article in front of my face asking me why the fuck I walked away from that without taking a piece of it. I really didn't have a clue what he was talking about. I picked it up and saw the picture of you and another man and I started reading the story.

 Tom, I got about half way through and I started laughing. I was so happy for you and sticking it to me was as classic as it gets. I didn't deserve a single penny of it after what I did to you and I told Charles that. He asked me if I knew about it and I lied to him and told him yes. Looking back, I probably shouldn't have done that.

 He knocked me on my ass with one blow and then beat me again. Then, he ripped my clothes off and raped me. I'd like to think it was just rough sex and maybe I could feel better about it but it wasn't. He abused me. If anybody says you can't rape a woman you're fucking regularly, they don't know what they are talking about. He hurt me physically.

 The worst of it is on me. I let him get away with it. I refused to press charges even when Ann begged me to. I called her that night for help and I was surprised when she picked me up. She hated me so much. I guess if anything good came out of it, I was able to restore my relationship with my daughter.

 She helped get me into this place and I was able to furnish it and get settled in some fashion. I've been here ever since. I even got a job,"

 She smiled weakly at me and I sat there not knowing what to say. Everything she said was pretty much what Ann had told me. She hadn't physically cheated on me while we were married if I could believe her. She regretted what she had done. She had been beaten and raped by the prick. She was remorseful.

 "I don't know what to say, Helen. You fucked your life up so badly I don't even know where to begin."

 I rose up and went into the kitchen. I made two more drinks and we sat down at her kitchen table. It was the old table from our dining room.

 "A friend told me I needed to get closure on our marriage and divorce. She was right. I can't really take the steps forward that all of us need to do until matters are settled in our hearts. I don't think I can ever understand the 'why' you did it. Hell, why didn't I already do it before you? Our marriage had turned to shit and by the time you left, we had all but buried it with neglect. I don't know how that happened but it did and I didn't step up to the plate to stop it. I let you drift away. So, I carry that burden as well.

 You know, I did grieve, Helen, for all of 15 minutes. I cried my heart out for every second of that 15 minutes and when I was done, I opened a bottle of old rum I had been saving. You remember that old bottle I bought last year, I mean the year before, in Puerto Rico? I finished it over the weekend. Got served first thing Monday morning and signed with Carl later that same day. I decided I was going to live my life according to my new rules.

 Helen, I always planned on selling the business and taking you and me to someplace new. Life dealt me another hand though and I'm living it far different than I imagined. Ann asked me if I thought there was a chance we could ever return to what we had and I told her I didn't think so. I'm not the same Tom as I was last year and you sure to heck are not the same Helen."

 She looked at me nervously but agreed.

 "Tom, I made this bed and I soiled it. I've had people tell me I should throw myself at your feet and beg forgiveness, to do anything to get you back. But I also know you Tom. You are a forgiving soul but when you told me you grieved for all of 15 minutes and then went into action, it just confirmed what I've known about you for more than 25 years now. If the powers to be picked me up and transported me back a year, I'd live a lifetime of repentance and dedication to the one man I've always loved. But I know you've moved on and it's too late."

 Her tears were flowing now and so were mine. We both lost something great.

 "Tom, will you hold and hug me one last time, please?"

 I did for a long time and 25 years flashed before me from our wedding to the births of our children and on to vacations. Our friends and families; everything that comprised the lives of the union of two people. It hurt like hell and the ache was deep.

 When I released her, she looked me in the eyes and said "Goodbye, Tom. You are the only man I'll ever love."

 She broke away with tears streaming down her face and ran back to her bedroom. I stood there for a moment and contemplated going back for her before grabbing my coat and letting myself out.



The Resurgence of a Weary Man Pt. 02



This is part 2 of a 4 part story. Tom is a character that began as a stand -alone story and as it proceeded I wanted to bring it into the SF Bay Area environs and characters from the later chapters of "The Epiphanous Spouses". This is not a story of great wrongs and retribution. There is no bitch burning and from my perspective there is no judgement of right or wrong. These are people who might do what others would not or not do what others might rush into.

There were no real people harmed in the writing of this story and it is not a collection of my experiences in any way except in understanding the emotions involved. I am going to leave anonymous commenting open for now but will probably delete those comments that are not constructive and adding to any fruitful discussion.

*****

After my conversation with Helen, I lay wide awake in bed for most of the night. Ann was putting me up which meant I needed to share the conversation with her or she would have worn me down. There wasn't much to share with her that she didn't already know so it was a confirmation, really.

"So, no chance of getting back together?"

"Honey, I learned a very long time ago to never say anything in absolutes but would you really want two unhappy people spending the rest of their unhappy lives together?"

"Dad, if you were unhappy, no, but you didn't really settle anything in your mind, did you?"

She was my daughter and we were close. There wasn't much about my psyche that she couldn't discern and she was right. It was an unsettling feeling like a piece of unfinished business that nags at you until you close the book on it. That is what this trip was supposed to do yet lying awake all those hours belied that purpose.

So, it was a long flight back to San Francisco the next day, a couple days earlier than I planned. I had already made a decision that gave me some comfort, if not relief. Carl's reports on Charles Madison painted the picture of an abusive spouse married and divorced three times, arrested twice for domestic abuse and a serial philanderer. How in hell Helen ever fell into his clutches can never be explained. She was never a stupid woman but apparently it took a beating and rape to waken her to the reality of her own nightmare. There is some comfort in knowing that her constitution shut down any further relationship with the abuser. He lost her the first time his fist connected. That is just how she is made.

Charles Madison could hold off on fucking Helen. He didn't need it. He was having a sexual relationship with two other women, both married, at the same time. I gave Carl the go and he delivered the smoking evidence to the spouses of both women and to his employer. Both women worked in the same offices. I learned later there were two divorces and an unemployed Charles to add to the philanderer's sordid history.

It was a red eye flight and I got into airport parking around 2 AM. After grabbing a quick all night eat, I pulled into the condo around 5 AM and sat there for a while. There was no reason really. I just wanted to absorb where I was living. At that time of the morning, it's as quiet as a mausoleum and I could see the nightlight shining in my entryway and the shadows casted from the lighting of the other units. With the window down and feeling the rush of cool air on my face, not even an insect made a sound. The door to Unit 38 opened and a man walked out adjusting the ball cap on his head. He walked with a swagger and settled himself into a grey Porsche Boxster. I knew his name. It was Art Sajac and he didn't live there. Somebody named Janet did.

The next morning I woke up a bit late and since it was Thursday I wasn't expected back in the office for a few more days. I called Bill at Omega just to let him know I was back in town a bit earlier if he needed anything. We got up to speed on business and I grabbed a quick bite at one of the local café's nearby.

"Well, hello stranger!"

I looked up into the face of Dana, one of the ladies I met at Janet's parents a few weeks ago.

"Good morning to you too!" I replied with sincerity. "Grab a seat here if you wish. I'm just grabbing a Danish and coffee."

She joined me and we had a wonderful conversation over brunch for the next hour or so. She reminded me of my commitment to visit their business incubator and I agreed to do it the following morning. I enjoyed her company. Dana was an attractive woman with an engaging personality. She's a tall woman, full breasted with dark hair and eyes and almost porcelain skin. I didn't mind the company at all.

Later that afternoon, I called my brother Carl. He opened a set of financial accounts in Helen's name and after giving me the pertinent information, I wired $5 Million into those accounts. I know some of those folks who love the 'burn the bitch' scenario in their own disastrous lives might not understand this but I had time to salve some of those gut reactions. I was satisfied with the timing of my sale but much of what I did was to prevent a paramour from getting his hands on what I had earned. I didn't see any chance of that now. Besides, my daughter asked me to do something for her and she pulls the strings to my heart.

In addition to my obligation to my daughter, I also felt that Helen had actually earned a good deal of that and more over the many years we were together. I didn't build the business on my own without her help on the home front even if never did pay attention to the specifics. Besides, if she had been in total bitch mode, she would have squeezed half the value of me, many times more than the $5 million.

I didn't run into Janet that day so she didn't know I had arrived back earlier than planned. I'm in unit 34, a corner condo with a wrap- around patio/balcony on two floors. Unit 38 is on the other end of the building, constructed in a similar fashion, and neither of us could see the other. I guess that was a good thing this evening. 

Neither of us had made what we had an exclusive relationship although I think there was an unsaid understanding among adults that if it wasn't going to be exclusive, that understanding should at least be communicated. It never was. At 1AM, the little Boxster was back and I called it a night.

Maybe it was because I had been out of the "game" for 25 years and didn't know the rules. Perhaps it was because I was simply jealous. Whatever it was, I was a bit pissed the next morning. The Boxster was gone again.

I thought of that tall, full breasted woman with the porcelain skin, Dana. Picking up the phone, I called her with one thought in mind.

"Dana, good morning. Tom Davis here. Are you free for lunch today? I'd like to come in and take a look at your site today if you are free? Good. Noon then? Great. I'll meet you there."

With that, a lunch date was made and the day planned. I had a use for one of the incubator spots in her building that I had been mulling over in my mind for a while. My son Jason specialized in electronics engineering with a good background in robotics. He understood the mechanical aspects and electronic circuitry. I knew software. I knew how to run the brain. Jason could build and run the body even though he was still relatively young out of school.

So I met with Dana and Gail, her partner whom I had met before Christmas. I checked out their property and when we had finished, I laid out my proposal to them. They were certainly not expecting that. This was really supposed to be a social call and curtesy business visit. What I wanted was a unit to work out of and I got it, at a good price.

This was to be a place to play, outside my responsibilities at Omega. I was thinking of building a business for my kids and something I could have some fun toying around with. I called Jason and laid it all out to him.

"Dad, this is a lot for me to digest all at once. Can you give me some time to think about it and work out how all this all comes together?"

Of course I assured him all the time he needed. My next call was to Ann.

"Ann, dear, how is the job search going?"

She had not yet found the right replacement job for the one she blew off when she found out her mother's paramour would be working with her. She had turned down a couple reasonable offers I thought she should have accepted but she is a millennial and they do things differently I guess.

I laid out all the details of what I was doing and had talked with Jason about. We needed somebody who could market and sell. She didn't have any experience but she had enthusiasm. She didn't hesitate to say yes.

My next call was to my brother Carl and I had him set up and take care of all the business aspects to allow us to do business in California and cover any liability insurance needs. By the end of the day, the Davis family had the beginnings of a new thing. 

Since it was Friday, I decided to take off for the weekend and be ready to hit the office on Monday. I was now CEO of Omega and life was going to get busy.

I had a bag packed and on the way to the airport by 5PM for a quick flight to Las Vegas. I still had not seen Janet although I was now leaving again about the same time I would have been arriving back from my previous trip. It didn't matter at that point. At midnight I had already lost $10K but I had a grand time doing it. I don't think that little Boxter came into my mind more than a dozen times that evening.

By Sunday afternoon, I had pretty much broken even on the gambling. I had eaten far too much. I had been propositioned three times, each of them looking for a monetary contribution toward their lifestyle choice. My steam valve had been open for most of my stay and I was now ready to step back to the real world.

When I arrived home that evening, they were sitting on my step. Jason and Ann were chowing down on subs and chips.

"It's about time you got here! Don't you ever answer your phone?" Ann asked.

I had forgotten to turn the ringer back on and to tell the truth, I hadn't really given it any thought. My purpose was to forget everything for a while.

"I'm sorry, baby, I didn't think."

"That's OK. At least your message told us when you would be back, Besides, we just got here actually."

"Well, come on in" I said.

I got them settled, each to their own room. I didn't ask what happened to Cynthia and Stephen, their significant others over Christmas break. Jason did indicate that he would be working remote to finish up a project for his current employer before officially leaving them over the next month. I told them they were on their own while I jumped head first at work. I gave them each $50K and told them to open accounts, find a place to live and get settled over the next several days.

First thing Monday morning, I walked through the offices introducing myself to everybody I could. I think I went through the whole building by noon and then joined a group of programmers in the cafeteria for lunch. That afternoon, I had a sit down with Bill, now my Chairman of the Board. We discussed strategy and on-going business. When we finished, I made him aware of my plans for the kids and my involvement. I didn't want any conflicts. He was certainly OK with it especially when I suggested I would probably use Omega resources to contract for software development.

Once the discussion was wrapped up, we made dinner plans and I returned to the executive suite and made nice with my immediate staff. There were four staff members working out of my suite. I had an administrative secretary, a wonderful woman named Marge who kept pictures of her three grandchildren in front of her as she worked. She seemed awful young to be a grandmother. I loved my own grandmother to death but she didn't look as hot as Marge.

I also had three administrative aides, all women and under the age of 40, each dressed to slay me. OK, so Bill liked females, a lot! He had already filled me in on their qualifications which were impeccable. After the sit downs with each of them, we resumed business and I wrapped up the day. Over the next several days, I remained immersed in the activities of the company arriving early and always leaving late. If I thought I had a social life, that notion was easily dispelled unless business lunches and dinners were included. There were a lot of those.

Jason and Ann handled the relationship with Dana and Gail at the business incubator. They had both decided to share a three bedroom apartment for a while to cut down on expenses and to also get out of my hair. They were adults used to living on their own now and to be honest, so was I. I needed the personal space. It took them less than a week to get set up on their own.

So, it was Friday evening and 10PM. I was sitting on my patio enjoying a run and coke along with a good cigar and my doorbell rang. When I opened it, Janet stood there. I didn't know what to say immediately so I welcomed her inside and took her jacket. It had been over a week since I saw Art Sajac leaving her condo in the wee hours of the morning with his repeat performance the following night, last Friday. 

"So, Tom, how are you doing?" Her speech was a bit slurred as she had obviously been drinking.

"Janet, I'm doing OK. I've been buried at work in my new role of course but that was expected. It looks like you started the party before me." I tried to chuckle but honestly, I was a bit uncomfortable.

"Yeah, my cousin Pam was by earlier and we had a few. I talked with your daughter Ann a couple days ago and she told me you were smoked at work so I didn't want to bother you for a while but since it's Friday night and you're not at work I thought it might be good to stop by."

The conversation was awkward so I fixed her a drink, freshened mine and we moved out onto the patio. I had the fire pit burning so even with the chill in the air, it was comfortable. We each settled into a chair and I sipped my drink, looking at her. She did the same and then she broke the silence.

"My mom has breast cancer." She looked down at her lap and broke into soft sobs.

I didn't really know what to say at the moment, I got up and went over to her and comforted her in my arms. As she sobbed on my shoulder, I thought of Art nailing her while she thought I was gone. I remembered her mom who I genuinely liked. Oddly, I thought of Helen and how she had comforted me when my own mother had cancer.

"When did you find out?" I asked softly and sincerely.

"I found out a week and a half ago while you were back east. I've been with her ever since except when I came back a couple days ago and talked with Ann."

"You've been gone since the middle of last week? Was somebody watching after your condo?"

"Pam asked Art to watch after it. You met him at Mom's Christmas dinner. He was the guy always after my panties much to your chagrin."

She had a slight smile on her face when she said that and the tears were drying up. I decided to reveal myself.

"I guess that is why he was spending most of the night there."

She looked at me oddly.

"What do you mean, most of the night. He was just going to check it quickly each morning."

"Well, I saw him leave at 5AM Friday morning and he arrived again at 1AM Saturday morning. His car was gone when I got up."

"That motherfucker... Wait a minute." She looked up at me with a sad look in her eyes.

"That means you thought he was fucking me while you were gone?"

I nodded my head and she hugged me tightly shaking her head no repeatedly.

"Tom, I'm not a Nun. Hell, you certainly know that but I'm not going to fuck some guy behind your back. I mean, I get the itch once in a while but if I know you are right here, you are the man I'm going to turn to take care of that. Listen, let's sit back down. Tom, my Mom is going to be OK. She is going to have a mastectomy next Tuesday and the doctors think they will get it all since it's a small tumor away from any nodes. I'm just upset.

Now, about Art. I've known Art for years. He and I used to date before I married my husband. After the divorce, we had a short fling but it was just a rebound on my part. For him, I was just another piece of ass. That's all it was. I haven't been with him since and that was over a year ago. I don't know why he would have spent the night here. I'll have to ask him."

I cut the fire off and we went back inside.

"Janet, why don't you stay here tonight and we'll check your condo together in the morning.

That is what she did. We didn't fuck although she slept in my bed. As I listened to her sleeping, I tried to take some stock of where I was. I really liked this woman. Did I believe her? I think I did. In my opinion, we could have something special if we nurtured it. She was very attractive, hot as hell in bed and smart as a whip.

In the morning, I positioned my prick up against her wet, warm vagina and then fucked her slowly and deeply for the next 15 minutes. It was a morning wood screw and a good one at that. After we showered and dressed, we walked over to her condo and went through it to see if anything was strange or amiss.

"Janet, come here." I called out to her from the master bedroom.

When she walked in, I pointed to the very small camera lens hidden among a couple of decorative scarves on her bedroom dresser. I knew what it was when I saw it because I wrote the software code for the digital signal used by the Manfrotti control unit for this lens. It is hi def and can zoom in with digital clarity, even in low light conditions. We used them on several robotic applications. Without knowing what to look for, you would have to search really hard to notice it. It was tucked underneath the mirror assembly and would have been unnoticeable unless you sat down and looked underneath. Its view range gave it a perfect observation point for any activity on the bed. It is a voyeur's dream.

I explained what it was and how it could have gotten there and what it would have captured. What I didn't know was the location of the receiver. It had to be WiFi and given all the hot spots in the area, any number of signals could have been used. It could be anywhere within a hundred feet of the unit but preferably inside the condo.

"Janet, who has had access to your condo other than you?"

"Tom, other than you and me, it could have been my Mom, my cousin Pam, Art and maybe Dad when he was in town."

"Wait here a few minutes. I'll be right back"

I went back to my condo and rummaged through my utility closet. Finally I found what I was looking for. It was a simple RF detector with a secondary remote that would light up if a signal was activated in its proximity. When I returned, I did a sweep of the condo and found nothing so I placed the detector on the back of the mirror, switched it on and checked the indicator light on the remote in my hand. There was nothing, which was good. The aperture on the lens was shut meaning it was not active.

"Janet, here is the thing. I don't know how long this has been here or how it got here meaning who. I don't think it was your Mom or Dad and Pam doesn't strike me as the type, I guess and I KNOW it wasn't me. That leaves Art.

So, here is what we are going to do"

It took some convincing on my part to get her to do it but l guessed our voyeur would be interested in a performance. Later that evening, Janet parked her car in front of the garage indicating she was definitely at home. She had me on speed dial and the RF remote sitting on the dresser off to the side but in plain view. If and when the blue light came on the remote, she was to speed dial me discreetly all the while continuing what she was doing.

Basically, she had stripped down to her panties and bra and walked around her condo sipping a glass of wine. It was what a voyeur would enjoy. Around 11:30PM, my phone vibrated. It was Janet using the speed dial.

I slowly stepped around the corner of the building looking for any activity. If the voyeur was accessing the signal remotely, he had to be close by in the vicinity meaning most likely in a car right outside.




The Resurgence of a Weary Man Pt. 02



Of course he was. He was sitting right in plain sight in a little Porsche Boxster, Little Pervy Art, getting his jollies. I hit the # key a couple times to signal Janet to give him the works. It wasn't anything he hadn't already seen before so nothing lost here. It would keep him occupied for the next phase.

Detective Tate of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office walked with me toward the Boxster. As half expected, Art was stroking off to an up close and personal view of Janet with her fingers inside her panties while laying on her bed and it was certainly hi def.

The Detective moved forward and opened the door to the Porsche and directed Art to exit the vehicle slowly and also telling me to step back now. I did as he asked and Art Sajac, caresser of asses that are not his, was placed under arrest for a variety of charges, some serious, other's not so much. I picked up the phone and spoke into it. 

"It's over."

I saw on the screen that she bounded off the bed and ran out of view. She came back in view briefly, properly dressed and then left. At that point she came out of the building. Art was in the back of the patrol car and the officer walked toward Janet for a discussion. I just stood off to the side as he asked. When he was done, he questioned me further, shook my hand, retrieved the laptop and followed Janet into the Condo with me right behind. Art was cuffed and in the backseat with another unit rolling up behind him.

Half an hour later, Art was in jail, we were in bed and the folks at the Sheriff's Office hopefully were not getting their rocks off watching Janet play with that perfect pink pussy. If they were, Marge Tate, my administrative secretary and Detective Tate's wife, would be giving them holy hell to pay.

The next morning was a sunny day. My fears were assuaged. A nuisance pervert was put away or at least taken out of commission. I woke with a beautiful and sensual woman lying next to me and I had a package of fat English sausages in the fridge. This time I cooked her breakfast.

Janet's Mom had her surgery and everything was clear from the doctor's point of view. There is no such thing as a complete cure with cancer. It goes into remission, in this case hopefully permanent due to the surgery.

The kids were really getting into the new startup and had named it Softech Robotics. Carl took care of all the legalities and I fronted them a working capital loan to finance R&D. By summer, Jason had hired a tech assembler to help meet a prototype order from one of the biotech companies down in South San Francisco. If it worked as planned, we would expand to production. That would mean moving out of incubation and into actual production facilities.

The prototype was a success and with a new order book, Jason and Ann acquired production space in San Rafael to the south. Omega continued to provide contract programming for all software although I removed myself from any negotiations due to conflict potentials.

Within the year, Softech was producing at 6 days a week on 12 hour schedules with one production line. Business was good for both Softech and Omega.

Janet and I continued our relationship. We were more than FWB. We had a good, mutual relationship that was exclusive. I didn't have any interests with other women and as far as I knew she was exclusive with me as well. We had even talked about marriage at one point but Janet wouldn't make that commitment. I can't say I was ready either but I had given some thought to it. I guess I'm still an old fashioned guy at heart. But, Janet is smarter than me.

"Tom, you still love her, don't you?"

Helen had been out to visit the kids in their new homes in San Rafael. It had been over a couple years since the divorce. The money I had given her had provided her the independence to visit the children when she felt the need and not have to worry about finances. I felt really good about myself when I thought about that.

"Janet, I always will. We had 20 or so really great years together before things started going bad. We raised two great kids together. I don't think that kind of love can be shut down. It changes into something else. Do I wish it never happened? Of course I do but it did."

I sat there for a few moments before I realized I was lost in my thoughts. Janet had risen and refilled her wine glass and brought me a new rum and coke.

"Tom, would you be mad if I told you I've talked with Helen? Oh hell, so what if you are." She laughed.

"I've had lunch with her a few times and I know how much she loves you but she is having a difficult time trying to move on. She can't. She won't even look at another man. Do you know she still wears a ring on her left finger? Your daughter says the same thing. Helen will die alone before she'll give herself to another man."

I thought of Helen living alone for the rest of her life and curiously I was pulled between two conflicting feelings. One part of me cared less. It was her nest to live in constructed entirely of her own unfaithfulness. The other part pined for the tremendous loss we both incurred not only from that same unfaithfulness but from the chasm of the few years before those events.

There is that crowd of observers I've noted before that go on and on about burning the bitch and getting as much selfish satisfaction as possible out of the scorched soul left behind. The problem with such people whether they are the bartender down the street or a coworker sitting with you at lunch is that they have never smelled the odor of the bitch burning they seem to relish. It isn't an experience for the faint of heart. It destroys people including the one who lights the torch.

I'm not made that way. Helen was my love and life for a long time and I still loved her even though I hated what she did. I looked at Janet sitting crossed legged on my couch.

"Janet, I'm not mad that you've talked with Helen. Hell, if it helps her in some fashion, I'm all for it but you need to realize and I'm sure you do that she destroyed whatever was left of our marriage. We are both two very different people now. I love the Helen that used to be. I don't love the Helen that walked out on me that day."

The problem was, I didn't really believe what I had just said and I think Janet knew it. I knew the truth when I stood in her apartment that evening debating whether to walk down the hallway and push that bedroom door open. I still loved her but couldn't get over what she did.

"Tom, I'm not going anywhere and before I say what's on my mind, I'm letting you know that in a few minutes I'm going to pull these tight pants off my tight little ass that I have worked so hard for and shimmy out of this pullover top and I am then going to proceed to fuck the daylights out of you until there's no juice left in either of us.

But first, I want you to agree to something. I want you to take Helen out, even if it's just to talk. If all you do is enjoy a meal and talk about the kids, that fine. But, she needs it and so do you. You both need an amicable relationship in order to move on and right now you don't have it."

Forget shock. I just laughed.

"You've got this all arranged, don't you?"

She just nodded and grinned.

"Ann and I set it up and no, it isn't a conspiracy. She's quite content seeing the two of us together. She wants to see her Mom and Dad have something between them that isn't tainted by the divorce or what you or she did over whatever years. I'm supposed to work on you and she's working on her Mom.

Quite ingenious, eh?"

I just shook my head and left it at that. She lived up to her promise. She peeled off those tight pants and pulled the panties off in in one move before pulling the top off to reveal those beautiful bare breasts. We fucked each other silly. When we were finished I whispered "yes, it was ingenious" in her ear.

The next day at work business events interrupted the personal side of life for a while. My Chairman, Bill, had been in talks with a German company for several months and things were just now beginning to come to fruition.

"Tom, it's a $300 Million acquisition that is going to position us in a dominant role in both European and Asian markets for the next gen software our biotech group has been working on, an outstanding opportunity."

"Bill, this is a big move. What are your expectations regarding management oversight in Germany?"

"Well, the board and I have been giving some thought to it. The organization needs a complete restructuring. We would like you to take it on, only on an interim basis. While you are involved with that, I'll step into your role until you return permanently stateside. Doable?"

I wanted to think on it for a while but then, when the Chairman and my boss asks me to do something big like this, I'm not likely to turn him down. I nodded my agreement and we worked out the details.

"For a whole year?" Janet asked. "That's a long time to go without a man."

"Why don't you come with me? I'll be coming back every month or so regardless."

Janet looked out the window and then back at me.

"I can't, Tom. I need to be here with my Mom."

While her Mom had pretty much beaten the breast cancer monster, her health had begun to fail on other fronts. Janet had been spending a lot more time with her recently and even considered moving back home. Her Dad was spending far less time on their French vineyard than before and had turned regular management duties over to one of his trusted employees.

"OK, we'll work something out, I promise." I said to comfort her.

She just grinned.

"Now, baby, you remember what we talked about last night? You are going to do it, right?"

I remembered. How could I forget? She wanted me to take Helen out on a date or dinner or whatever it could be called. It had to be a California thing. What woman would encourage her man to go on a date with another woman? I knew Helen. I knew her scent, her taste, her desires and everything else about her. She knew mine as well or at least used to.

I calculated it once. Over the course of our 25 year marriage, I had enjoyed her body probably 2,000 times. It was a dangerous calculation. Janet had to know this. If she threw the two of us together and if anything lit the flame, familiarity might give birth to 2,001. Helen has always been a very attractive woman and I have never failed to be aroused by her, even in her apartment a couple years earlier. I would have to steel myself, no pun intended.

Helen was staying with Ann. As with my visit to her place at the Waterside, I stood outside for a while debating whether to walk up to the door or not. I had not talked with her since that night. She had tried to after I had the money wired to her accounts but I had avoided her. I never came over here when she was visiting nor at Jason's if I knew she was there.

It wasn't out of spite at all. It just broke my heart to think of seeing her and being reminded of what we had lost. I suppose for many divorced couples, the loss fades over time. For me, the enormity of the loss just grows and to combat that growing angst, I have avoided her. Now, the door waits patiently.

"Hello, Tom."

"Hello, Helen, you are looking well." I gave her a courteous hug.

She really did look good. She was trim, fit, athletic looking, her hair was beautiful and she was dressed very stylishly. The soft grey dress worked her complexion very nicely and her smile complimented the single strand of pearls around her neck. The matching earrings were a set I gave to her on one of her birthdays a few years ago.

"Rum and Coke still?"

I nodded yes and she quickly had a drink in her hand along with wine for herself. We both sat comfortably on the couch.

"Tom, it's been a while since we talked. I have so much I'd like to say but I don't know where.

I gently stopped her and smiled.

"Helen, there is no need now, not yet. I just thought we should get together and maybe talk about the kids, what's going on with them and family related things, you know. Besides, I want to get us to dinner and we have a ride to get there. I booked reservations at Morimoto's in Napa for 7:30. We have a couple hours before then and I thought we would enjoy the ride up."

We chatted and finished our drinks before she gathered her jacket and we made our way to the car. I brought the Porsche this time and as I helped Helen into the seat, she flashed a clear beaver shot at me and smiled ever so slightly. OK, so she still did it for me.

It was a pleasant ride and we talked about everything except the things I really didn't want to talk about at the moment. I took the Carrera through a few gear changes just for kicks and watched Helen out of the corner of my eye. She reminded me of a school girl with her excitement every time the torque and acceleration pushed her head back into the seat rest. It could have been 25 years ago, before the kids tied us down.

By the time we arrived and parked, it was close to our reservation so we ventured into the restaurant. I have always enjoyed this place and every time I step into it, the contrasting greys and yellows along with the displays remind me of being in a giant Japanese style living room. There is a mix of sofas and plush chairs along with large crosscut wood table tops and a long sushi bar. I chose it not only because of Morimoto and being the best Japanese restaurant in town but because both Helen and I always loved the cuisine.

We were seated intimately at one of the smaller tables off to the side and we ordered drinks and appetizers. Janet said to take her on a date and that's what I was doing. At some point the discussion came around to Ann and what she was up to.

"Tom, I'm a bit concerned about Ann and I'm not sure how to approach it. I'm the last person in the world to give her advice. Hell, I'm just thankful she still loves me."

"Helen, what do you mean? What are you talking about?"

There was just the hint of a tear in the corner of her eye.

"She told me that under no circumstances would she ever marry and have a family. She has no faith at all in the institution and it is because of me. Well, she didn't say that directly but I know it's true."

Ann had never talked to me about this change in her so I had never suspected. For as long as we could remember, Ann's ideal world was one of growing up, finding prince charming and having two kids, a dog and a cat with a picket fence thrown in for good measure. I asked the question even though I knew the answer.

"Helen, why do you think you are the cause?"

"Because of what I did, it shattered her perception of what a couple should be like. In her mind, if two loving people after so many years could see it all wash down the toilet, she could never trust herself or a husband to be faithful to the end. She never saw it coming. That's why she hated me so much at first."

"She told you this?"

"Tom, I'm smart enough to figure some things out. She shared some thoughts. I filled in the gaps."

When our food arrived, we tabled most of that discussion and conversed about the cuisine and some of our pleasant shared memories. It was a very enjoyable dinner and we were both able to laugh and have a good time. When it was over, I told her about my upcoming Heidelberg trip. I had heard the response before in another setting.

"For a whole year?" Helen asked.

"Well, probably although I'm sure I'll end up traveling back and forth several times over the course of my stay. Whatever the case, it's a big piece of business."

I had never talked with Helen about what I did for a living now. I think she just assumed I was living off the proceeds from the sale of the business. In any event she seemed genuinely concerned that I was going to be gone.

"You know it could be worse. They could have me going to someplace in the far reaches of Timbuktu or someplace like it. As it stands, Heidelberg is a great city to work and play in for a while."

Before getting the car, we walked around downtown Napa for a while window shopping and just taking in the sights. By the time I got her back to Ann's it was getting late and she fixed me a cup of coffee.

"Tom, you know you could spend the night if you wanted."

I looked at her somewhat askance and she just grinned.

"I mean there are three bedrooms here and Ann is out for the weekend. I promise I'll respect your virtue. I just don't think you should be driving back up to Sonoma from here this late. Besides, Janet is not expecting you tonight."

OK, now she had her seduction smile on and I was the dummy. However, it made sense. It was almost midnight and driving up to Sonoma from here wasn't necessary. I had stayed a few times before in the room at the end of the hall. So, that's what I did.

It seems that as soon as my head hit the pillow I was fast asleep. I think I got up one time to use the bathroom and without thinking I walked naked down the hallway. It's what I do at home. It wasn't until I reached it that I remembered I wasn't in the house alone. In any event, I made it back undetected.

The next morning, I rolled over right into the arms of a beautiful, naked woman. Helen had slipped into my bed sometime in the night and she had not yet woken. I lay there looking at her. She looked so serene that I didn't want her to wake up for a while. I tried to remember when I had last looked at her like this and I couldn't. It had to be a couple years prior to her leaving at least.

Slipping out of bed, I grabbed my robe and hit the bathroom. When I finished, I dressed and checked the kitchen out for breakfast fixings. It was an excellent find with more English sausages. Halfway through the prep, Helen walked out looking fresh and anxious. She looked right at me.

"I hope you are not mad at me, Tom."

I knew what she meant and I wasn't. I didn't fuck her. She wanted whatever comfort she could find in the moment and I don't blame her. Had I been awake, I might have fucked her solidly. I hugged her gently, kissed her on the cheek and told her so.

"Helen, there is no need to be bothered. I'm not mad or offended. Besides, you're not a bed hog and never have been."

She laughed uproariously at that noting that while she might not be, I certainly am.

We enjoyed the breakfast, cleaned up and decided to go for a walk. After a while, we ended up at a downtown café and decided to stop in for a coffee. We had just sat down when I noticed an excited woman waving her hand at us. It was Pam and she was there with her husband, Nigel. She came over and immediately insisted we join them at their table as there was plenty of room, so we did. 

I made the introductions noting Helen as my 'former significant other'. I've never liked the term 'ex-wife' much. Pam explained that this was one of their favorite cafés. They had been married a bit over a year and their enthusiasm for each other was infectious. Helen looked at Pam somewhat sideways and pasted a sly smile on her face.

"You're expecting , aren't you?"

"Two months. How did you know? I'm not showing that I know of." Pam asked.

"Oh yes you are showing. You keep rubbing your belly and I can see it in your face and smile."

There was a round of laughter among us all. Nigel wanted to book a round of golf but I informed him it might have to wait until I make one of my returns from Germany.

"Tom, you know David and Marylyn Stone are traveling to Mannheim next month for a two month stay before traveling to Italy. Our company is making an acquisition and David is closing the deal this week. He is taking his M&A team with him to do a reorg and Marylyn is tagging along."

"I'll have to give him a call, Nigel. Mannheim is right next door to where I am going to be. In fact it's only a short ride between cities. What a coincidence!"

When we had finished we said our goodbyes, hugged, kissed and did all the polite things. After returning to Ann's, I gathered my bag and tossed it on the seat. 




The Resurgence of a Weary Man Pt. 02



"Helen, I had a great time. I'd like to do this again sometime. It's been good to find my old friend again."

She had turned her head a bit and I couldn't see her eyes. When she turned back, they were filled with tears. She hugged me tight and, standing on her toes, whispered in my ear.

"Tom Davis, I was a foolish and stupid woman once but never again. I will always love you and if there is a god above, someday, you'll take me home."

With that, she turned and ran to her room closing the door behind her. I stood there for a moment realizing it wasn't a déjà vu and contemplated going back for her before grabbing my coat and letting myself out. I knew I'd be back again.



The Resurgence of a Weary Man Pt. 03



Tom is a character that began as a stand alone story and as it proceeded I wanted to bring it into the SF Bay Area environs and characters from the later chapters of "The Epiphanous Spouses". This is not a story of great wrongs and retribution. There is no bitch burning and from my perspective there is no judgement of right or wrong. These are people who might do what others would not or not do what others might rush into.

There were no real people harmed in the writing of this story and it is not a collection of my experiences in any way except in understanding the emotions involved. I am going to leave anonymous commenting open for now but will probably delete those comments that are not constructive and adding to any fruitful discussion.

*****

The Sunday drive back to the condo was a leisurely one for me. There was a conundrum of conflicting thoughts playing out in my mind. Years ago I had thought life would be simpler, that with the kids grown up and the business sold, I or we would kick back and take life a day or week at a time. Instead, I'm divorced and in a relationship with another woman. 

I've kick started a new business with my kids. I'm busting my ass off as the CEO of a thriving company and now I'm off to Europe to do a company- wide integration and reorganization for the next year. To top it all off, I've jump started an amicable relationship with my former wife who is still clearly in love with me and can't move on. Worse still, it has shattered my daughter's perceptions of who she is and what she wants out of her precious life.

Janet and I grilled shrimp later that evening at her place and enjoyed a quiet dinner. I couldn't quite figure out her angle but I felt she was up to something. We talked about my "date night" with Helen and when I told her I spent the night there, she couldn't get the biggest grin off her face. It didn't matter that I slept in a separate guest room although I didn't share the fact that Helen crawled into my bed sometime in the night, nude.

Maybe it is a California thing. I don't know but Janet was on fire later that evening and nearly fucked me senseless, twice. Afterwards, we cuddled and talked quietly into the night. My trip to Germany was coming up this week and I had a lot on my mind.

"Janet, are you sure you won't come to Heidelberg with me? I've got a large corporate apartment right in the historic district. It would be great."

She rolled over on top of me, her naked breasts pressed against my chest.

"Nope! I need to be with my mom. Besides, you need the time to yourself. Tom, you need to find out who you want to be in your new life."

I wasn't sure what she meant.

"You need to go over there and when you aren't working your ass off doing whatever it is you do, I think you should live it up. You see, I know who I am and what I'm living for. I like myself and what I do. I like lying in this bed and having a strong man like you fuck me silly. I also like waking up in the morning, grabbing a bag and going wherever I feel like going without answering to my Mom or Dad or a husband too. I like the freedom and independence. I was married for 10 years and liked about 7 of it. I don't know if I ever want to do it again.

You, on the other hand, did it for 25 years and you miss it. I can see it in you. You'd marry me in a heartbeat if I said yes because you like being married.

Tom, go over there and enjoy yourself. I'll still be here when you come back but I need to be honest with you too. I need to stay with my Mom. I also know that a year can be a long time and I don't want you to have to fight temptations. Do you remember when we talked about Pam's arrangement she had with her first husband, Bob?"

I nodded hesitantly. Her cousin Pam and her first husband gave each other a "free pass" while he was in Afghanistan. She called it 'The Arrangement'. Pam just thought it was accommodating a healthy human appetite for good sex. Whatever the case, it was a consensual agreement for a discreet FWB thing while they were apart for long periods of time.

"Good, then you know what I'm saying. I want you to be able to enjoy yourself without worrying about temptations. I'm trying to be honest here with you. I have a hard time with temptations. Sometimes, Tom, I really need to get laid. Before I hooked up with you regularly, I had a guy that I got together with occasionally. It was always just good sex and nothing more. He kept me sane. So do you know what I'm asking?"

OK, so there was the cracked nut. She might need a sexual relief valve in my absence. We've been exclusive together for a couple years. Going to Germany now was going to change the formula and was I going to be OK with that? I thought it over for a couple moments.

"Janet, it's not going to be a problem. I know you aren't some promiscuous tart who's going to get laid by every Tom and Dick in the building. You said it best. You like your freedom and independence and to tell you the truth, that has worked great for us. I guess I'd like to know if you do but I don't need to know the details. So, don't worry about it. It's all good."

I was becoming more Californian by the minute as well as being haunted by the image of that other naked woman in my bed the previous night.

Three days later, I was on a Lufthansa Airbus A380 non-stop to Frankfurt, Germany. Omega had already shipped a personal container of belongings for me so I was able to travel light. I did have one special request and Omega obliged. I would have a new S65 coupe waiting for me, all 621 horsepower of it, to satisfy my new found Teutonic blood. 11 hours later, I stepped down to a new episode in life.

The coup was in Heidelberg. Instead, what waited for me was a short, attractive younger lady holding a sign that said "Tom Davis" in bold print. Her name was Mildreid Onstadt and I would soon learn that she was my constant shadow. For a shadow, she smelled wonderful. Her English was nearly perfect while my limited German was horrible. I had crammed over the past couple weeks with one of those Rosetta Stone packages but it was certain I'd need a lot more than that.

She poured me into a snappy looking BMW and we headed south toward Heidelberg. With her driving it was a short trip with constant weaving in traffic and punching the throttle abundantly. When we pulled up in front of the apartment building I was going to live in, she hopped out and was at the door before I could extricate myself from the seatbelts.

"Come on, Herr Davis. We are on the second floor and I believe your goods were delivered this morning."

She bounded up the stairwell with me close behind and we turned toward my apartment. When we entered there was another small German woman standing with her hands behind her back and the slightest smile on her face.

"This is Frau Helga Schmidt. She is both your housekeeper and cook. You will need to work out your schedule with her and I think you will find her culinary talents most acceptable."

We shook hands warmly with introductions and I immediately took a liking to her. Mildreid walked me through the spacious apartment and pointed out the car keys on a hook on the wall. It was parked in 2B, pearl white with a red leather interior. The apartment itself had three bedrooms with 2 ½ baths and a full size American fridge, a rarity in Germany. It was roomy throughout, twice the size of the average German apartment. It was going to be an enjoyable stay.

Mildreid, Helga and I sat down and worked out a schedule for housekeeping and cooking and when we finished both women excused themselves for the evening. I had left SF at 11PM Wednesday and it was now Midnight Thursday evening, local time. Helga had made up a couple sandwiches, big concoctions stacked with pastrami and cheese with lettuce and tomato. In addition, there was a bottle of rum, a liter of Coke and what looked like a case of half liter bottles of Weißbier. Somebody had shared my preferences with my hosts and it was going to be an excellent stay.

If there was anything I didn't like about the apartment it was the obnoxious grinding bleat of the door alarm. I couldn't call it a bell because it was a terrible buzzer noise. I answered it at 7:30AM on the dot and Mildreid stood there with two cups of coffee in her hand. I had been up for 3 hours at that point, unable to sleep but for an hour at a time. My suit was crisp, the shoes were polished and I looked every bit the picture of a fit German businessman. Bill had warned me beforehand about their customs and expectations, even from an acquired company.

"Mr. Davis, we need to be going. Your first meeting is at 8AM sharp and Herr Honerlecht really despises waiting. He has been that way for years."

She poured me into her BMW again and raced me at breakneck speed to a nondescript old Baroque office building about 15 minutes away. It was a tidy, neat place with all the employees arranged in symmetrical cubicles all in rows down a great central room. There were two floors of this with the executive offices on the third floor. There was something unsettling about this and very un-Californian.

The Omega offices were all open floor plan without assigned offices. Everybody worked in communal areas with breakout rooms available throughout the building. There were a couple coffee klatches on each of the two floors. It was all very organic and completely casual. Most people wore jeans and sneakers or whatever they felt comfortable working in. Heidelberg was different, very different.

Mildreid took me up to the third floor and led me to a rather small, sparsely furnished office where she excused herself informing me that Herr Honerlecht would call for me very shorty. Sure enough at precisely 8AM by the digital clock on my small desk, my phone rang and I was "summoned". I knew my tact at that point.

Mildreid escorted me into the large CEO office and behind an enormous desk sat a portly man, probably in his late fifties pouring over a series of reports. He pointed to one of the large overstuffed chairs in front of his desk and I took a seat.

"Mildreid, that will be all for now, thank you." He said to my shadow.

However, I had become accustomed to my attractive, nice smelling shadow and I indicated for her to take a seat beside me. Since he spoke in English, I continued.

"Mr. Honerlecht, I'm going to keep Mildreid with me going forward. I think she has performed admirably under the trying circumstances of making all these arrangements."

I noticed just the slight appearance of a smile at the corner of her lips and pretty lips they were.

"If you insist, Mr. Davis, until we can find a suitable assistant."

"Mr. Honerlecht, you do not understand, I'm afraid. Ms. Onstadt will be my personal assistant and right hand person from this point forward. I'll take care of those details when I meet with HR later this morning."

"Oh, I do not have you meeting with the Personnel Office until later tomorrow afternoon."

I looked him right in the eye. Bill had given me an advance about the fellow.

"I am going to have Mildreid give me a personal tour of the facilities and an introduction to the staff this morning. Also, I'll have a staff meeting at 1PM in the best suitable room you have for that meeting. Mildreid, will I need an interpreter?"

She nodded no.

"Good! Let's go meet the troops." I said as I rose from my seat.

So that's how I set the tone and attitude of the new Omega offices in Heidelberg, Germany. Mildreid gave me a fantastic tour of the facilities. I met with everybody that was at work that day and after a light lunch, I dropped the hammer at the 1PM staff meeting.

"First order of business, I want everybody on a first name basis. I've been called Tom since I first learned how to talk and I've never been called anything else unless it was uttered under someone's breath I which case it doesn't count.

Second, Mr. Honerlecht retired effective today and at least on an interim basis I will be filling that role over the next several months.

Third, Mildreid is now officially my Executive Assistant with spending authority and approvals for all non-capital expenditures. We'll work on pushing down spending authorities over the next few weeks. I don't like bottlenecking activities waiting on PO approvals for mundane things.

Lastly, I want somebody to breakout the refreshments and beverages I've had brought in and let's get to know each other."

That's what we did. The crazy American tore down all the taboos of the German establishment and I began modelling the business after my own original business structure before I sold the company. Hans, my HR guy, was a serious beer drinker and needed to be driven home. Ingrid, the tech supervisor, was an uncontrollable flirt after two glasses of wine. I think she drove Hans to her place but I'm not sure. Margarete was my marketing manager and I think she could chug a bottle of Riesling and not bat an eye or have a hair out of place. By the end of the afternoon, we all were comfortable with each other. We were all a bit juiced and ready to call it a day.

Mildreid was my rock. She poured me back into her BMW and raced us back to my apartment and walked me upstairs not that I couldn't have done it on my own. I think she just liked holding me by the waist. She didn't have a husband or kids to go home to. At 35, she had never married.

Helga had a great dinner waiting and I insisted she join Mildreid and me. She had prepared a meal of Sauerbraten with all the fixings. For the first time in an age, I had two helpings for dinner. Afterwards, when we had picked up, Helga left and Mildreid and I sat in the living room and talked at great length.

Her English was nearly perfect because she had studied at the University of Virginia a dozen years ago earning her MBA. She had a small apartment nearby, just around the corner actually above one of the taverns frequented by the college kids. I don't think I went into too many personal details about marriage and loves other than to note I was now divorced after a long marriage. 

I studied her while we chatted. She was a petite woman with fine features, small breasted but firm and trim in the waist. She wore glasses for reading when needed. She had dark, almost black hair that she pulled back in a bun although for this evening she had loosened it, letting it flow down her back and over her shoulders. Her lips were full and accentuated her bright blue eyes. I had to pull myself away from thoughts of her on more than one occasion. In a single word she was enchanting.

Mildreid left me to my thoughts eventually that evening and I wrapped up my first full day.

The following days passed quickly and my new team began to come together nicely. I explored the area and after all the trials and tests of other places, I found the tavern beneath Mildreid's place to be one of my favorites. The beer selection was out of this world as was the display of Fräuleins. 

I had been in country a couple weeks and found myself at the tavern enjoying a great Weißbier. Off to my side was a curved booth of half a dozen younger women. They were not college girls, probably thirtyish in age and they were pounding down shots of liquor. They went around the table a couple times before one of them shouted out to me in perfect King's English.

"Commen zee here, bitte"

They all laughed like hell at their drunken German as did I. I grabbed my beer and a couple of them hopped up and scooted me into the middle of the bunch. It was the start of a long night. Two hours later, it became quite cozy.

"Jesus Christ, boy, eat that fucking pussy." She said as she sat her quim on my face. Her friend had already taken my full cock in her mouth and was sucking it in and out of her wet lips. If there was a heaven on earth, it was right there in my bed.

Her curly haired pussy was rocking on my mouth as I found her clit and I doubled down my effort at bringing it out of the hood. It didn't take much. She had the largest clitoris I had ever set my tongue on and when I gently sucked it, she went completely nuts. She was a gusher. When she came down, the two ladies exchanged places and I tasted the second pussy of the evening.

Tammy was her name, an English girl from south of London. Her quim was smooth as a baby's bottom. Her partner, Sarah, slipped a condom on my cock using her mouth before rising up and sinking every inch of it deep in her pussy. The two girls were kissing each other as Tammy ground her pussy and ass onto my mouth. At that rate I knew I was going to cum quick and I did but both girls had gotten off by that time.

I got us all a drink and 30 minutes later we were doing it again. Eventually it was morning and I thanked the gods it was a Saturday. Tammy gave me the best blowjob I had received in a LONG time. By the time the girls had breakfast and left, I had both telephone numbers and addresses and a promise for a repeat.

I sure felt like the cock of the walk and I lit a cigar to enjoy it. Helga would not be in today. I only had her in on weekdays unless there was a special event. I hadn't even thought of Janet until now. Two weeks in and I'm already fucking strange. I do distinctly remember wondering if she too had already scratched that itch. The odd thing was that I didn't feel guilty or jealous.

It was another six weeks before I returned to the States. I didn't call ahead or let anybody know of my travel plans. I just showed up. I knocked on Ann's door and Helen answered.

"Oh my god ... Oh no." she said when she saw me.

"Well, hello to you too, Helen." I replied

As I stepped through the threshold I saw a man sitting on the couch in the living room. He wasn't undressed or in any compromising position or anything like that. It was just a man in Ann's living room with Helen and Ann was clearly not home. I should not have been bothered by it but for some reason I was.

"I'm sorry, Helen, I didn't mean to interrupt. Please tell Ann that I'll call her later." and I immediately turned around and left the apartment. I heard a gasp and a small voice.

"Please, Tom, you don't have to go."

I was being juvenile at that point and I simply replied "It was best" and I continued leaving. I think I got five minutes down the road before I pulled over and tried to figure out why I was upset. They weren't in there fucking on the couch. Everything was above board. If I were being a man about it, I should have introduced myself as Ann's father and left it at that.

I pulled out my phone and called Ann's landline. She answered on the second ring.

"Oh Tom, I'm so glad you called."

"Helen, I'm sorry. I should not have left like that. At least I should have introduced myself as Ann's father and not have reacted as I did."

"Are you coming back?"

"Helen, you have company, I can see that, and you have always been the gracious host. I couldn't impinge at all. Perhaps another time, OK?"

"Tom, it isn't what you think."

"Helen, it's OK, really."

"God damn it, Tom. Shut up and listen to me. The gentleman here is a real estate agent and he has been showing me a couple of properties. Ann has asked me to move out here."

OK, I looked like an idiot now.

"So, you bring yourself back here and let's have lunch. I'm starving and our business is done for now. OK?"

"Helen, my apologies. I jumped to a conclusion and I should have known better. I'll be there in a few."

I gave the businessman plenty of time to leave and returned to Ann's 15 minutes later. Helen greeted me with a hug and a cheek kiss laughing the whole time. She whispered in my ear.

"Tom, did you think I was going to go to bed with him."

"Helen, it was a natural thing to think."

"Tom, that isn't ever going to happen with any other man, I mean it."

We just looked at each other and I broke the silence with the suggestion of lunch. We ended up back at the café where I had first introduced Helen to Pam and Nigel. We caught up on the kids' activities and things that were going on in her life. I never mentioned Tammy and Sarah, the two English chicks. I didn't think it was relevant.




The Resurgence of a Weary Man Pt. 03



When we returned to the apartment, we each had a drink and before I left we made another dinner date for the coming Friday night.

Later that evening, it was a different smooth pussy lowered onto my face. Janet had shaved herself smooth, whether for me or not, I didn't ask. I merely enjoyed the benefit. I know I made the comparison to Tammy but there wasn't any really. Janet is hands down the best fuck of all in my book, even better than Helen when we were in our youthful prime. Of course, those are things you don't share with another woman if you like to have them continue.

We lay there snuggling afterward and she rolled over and nibbled on my ear.

"I have a confession of sorts to make." She said.

"I did scratch an itch a couple weeks ago."

"You don't have to tell me this." I replied.

"I know but I want you to know. Maybe I even like telling you about it." She grinned as she said it.

"I was discreet. I went to the Meritage over in Napa with an old beefcake friend of Pam's. Her type, muscled, blond, young, big dick but not much brain power behind it. He was a scratching post and nothing more."

I burst out in laughter. I then confessed my foray with the two English chicks without going into details. She wanted me to while stroking my cock but I held fast. A gentleman never tells. We did fuck again that night, hard.

I told her about my date with Helen in the morning. Surprisingly she was subdued about it.

"You know, Tom, that woman loves you. She is ferocious about it. If she ever wins back any of your affections, I'm not sure she would be happy at all with what we have here. How are you going to feel about that?"

"Janet, until I fucked the two English chicks, I had been a completely monogamous man. You were the only woman I had been with other than Helen since before we married. I've never had the urges some men have to be a pussy hound all their lives. One woman has been all the desire I thought I could handle.

Did I enjoy the two girls, Jesus H, yes. I don't know how we ever got any sleep. But, that's not a relationship and we were a continent away with our own special arrangement. Isn't that what you said your cousin Pam called it? The Arrangement?"

"Yeah, that was Pam's thing with her first husband, Bob."

"Janet, I didn't feel guilty doing it and I don't feel guilty now but to be honest, if those two girls were free tonight, there is no way in hell I'd fuck either one of them. I'm here with you. That's how I'm made. It's the same the other way. I would not want to watch some other guy fuck you and I wouldn't want you to run off and give him your pussy when you know I'm here for you.

I guess I'm not really answering your question though, am I?"

"Tom, no, you aren't but let me tell you something. I talk with Helen a good bit. We've become friends. I don't know if that bothers you or not. If it does you need to tell me. She knows we fuck. She knows we are a couple but she also knows I'm not going to marry you for the same reasons we have already talked about.

Oh fuck it, I just need to say it. She is so god damn horny for getting laid she is going crazy and the only person she will go to bed with is you."

She had straddled me now and was nibbling on my ear and whispering to me.

"Tom, Helen knows I'm not in a competition with her. We have a good thing with or without her in the picture so if I ask, will you?"

I knew what she was asking and I didn't commit to anything. I didn't have any idea if I would ever fuck Helen again. She may want it again but did I? I knew I was jealous when I saw the real estate man there but enough to get into another relationship with her? And where would it go? What would it lead to? I knew I was being set up. All three women, Helen, Janet and Ann, were conspiring to hook me.

When I showed up to pick up Helen that Friday evening, I knew the treble hook had been set. Ann was there and all smiles. The two of them had been shopping and had hair and nails done and whatever else women do when they get together like that. There was nothing subdued about Helen's attire. I had seen that dress somewhere before and since Janet and Helen were about the same size, the conspiracy was confirmed for sure.

It was a bit awkward for a while. I knew the game and I was scared of the outcome. We went to a small intimate Italian eatery in San Rafael rather than drive up country. For the most part, we picked up pretty much where we left off although this time I kept thinking of Janet when I should not have been. I had taken that same dress off her shoulders before and that was unsettling to me.

When we finished dinner, we went to a nice jazz bar a short walk away and settled into a corner table. Helen was beautiful in the intimate lighting and she was playing up the sensuality of the setting. It didn't hurt that her movements would open the dress slightly to expose much of her breasts. There was no bra to keep them in place. The design of the fabric did that. The treble hook was pulling hard at that point.

When we left, we strolled among the storefronts and paused at a crystal gift shop. It wasn't open at that hour but the window displays gave us a good view of its contents. I pointed out a familiar piece. It was a set actually, a collection of grazing deer around a crystal pond. We had one just like it or similar. I should say I have it. Helen left it in the case when she did what she did.

"Helen, you can have that back if you want. I have it at my condo."

"Tom, I might like that." There was a tear on her cheek when she turned away. Turning back, she asked.

"Can we go to get it now, this evening?"

OK, I'm not usually a dummy but I nodded and said yes. As soon as the word was out of my mouth I knew I had made a commitment. It would be too late to drive her back to San Rafael from Sonoma so she would stay with me, I would be talking her home.

I kicked through the gears on the drive up country and the Carrera hugged the roadway. Helen was lost in whatever pleasant thoughts she was having as I worked the vehicle up the hill and into the garage. When we entered, I hit the switch and the gas fireplace lit up along with dimmed lighting. Jesus, I thought to myself. There was a bottle of chilled wine and two stems on the counter and I didn't put them there.

Well, I poured each of us a glass and we settled down for about two minutes.

"Tom, I'm not waiting any longer. You've brought me home. Now take in there and make love to me."

With that, she stood up and unzipped the back of the dress and stepped out of it. Before me stood my former wife dressed in nothing but a pair of lavender French cut panties and dark blue heels along with a strand of pearls around her neck and those matching earrings again. She walked over to the counter with her wine stem and grabbed the bottle before walking toward my bedroom and looking over her shoulder.

I have to be honest with myself. I didn't fuck Helen. I wanted to. I wanted to just throw her down, have her stick that ass in the air and just nail her like a wet slut. I didn't do any of that.

Instead, I made love to Helen. It was intimate, as personal as two people can get. I tasted her gently. I entered her in the same fashion and it was not until lust caught up with both of us that it became unbridled. Even then, it was making love and not fucking.

We also didn't fuck all through the night. We made love to each other once and then drifted off to sleep until morning. The sun was steaming through the window blinds when I awoke. Helen was already up and I could smell the breakfast being prepared. I showered and cleaned up before dressing and wandering to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Tom. I hope you like what I'm fixing. It's pretty much what you had in the fridge."

I nodded and made chit chat for a bit. I didn't really know what to say at the moment. It was a bit awkward. Helen prepared plates for us and we sat together and enjoyed the meal and company. When we finished, she spoke first.

"Tom, before you say anything, what you did for me last night was the most wonderful thing anybody has done for me in years. When I told you that you were the only man I would ever love, I meant it. There just can't be anybody else, ever. Now, I know you are in a good relationship with Janet. Hell, she is the one that set this thing up. I guess what I'm trying to say is I'd like to do this again once in a while. Janet's told me the same thing even though for the life of me I can't understand why. She is good for you."

Well, she had laid it all out there. She wanted it. Janet wanted it. But, did I want it? I liked what I had with Janet and didn't want it to end unless we both thought it good to move on. I didn't get any different impression from her. As for a comparison between the two, I fucked Janet, lustfully. We fit each other sexually. With Helen, I made love. I couldn't help it. It was that familiarity. Maybe it was more, I don't know.

"Helen, I'm just going to take this slowly, OK? We did what we did and I make no apologies for it. Hell, I enjoyed it as much as you did. Will we enjoy another evening on the town again? I'm sure we will. I guess, what I'm saying is let's not promise each other anything. Instead, let's enjoy the time we have spent together and go from there.

I have to head back to Germany again in a couple days. You are buying a new place. We both have full plates and neither of us knows what is around the corner."

Helen looked at me with a mix of apprehension and appreciation. I didn't shut her down and I didn't get us back together. Instead we were on an honest amicable basis which is what we needed. We cleaned up after ourselves and I wrapped up the crystal figurine set for Helen before I drove her back down to Ann's. Before I left, I did embrace her and kiss her as I did the previous evening. As expected, she whispered.

"I will always love you, Tom Davis, always."

I didn't make love that night. I fucked the minx instead, in her bed. I hadn't changed the sheets on mine. She wanted details and I offered none. That disappointed her at first but she got over it. Janet was as horny as I could remember her being and it seemed to be the knowledge that I had sex with Helen the night before. She never let up and even in the morning, she lowered her squishy pussy down on my morning wood and fucked me silly. We were a wet, sticky fucking mess when we entered the shower.

"I'm thinking of flying over to Germany. Would you mind?"

That was news, good news actually. I preferred her to the English tarts hands down.

"Not right away mind you, but maybe in a couple three weeks or so. Can you keep it in your pants that long?"

I couldn't help but laugh at the silly faux pout on her lips.

"Of course although I've told you about Mildreid, haven't I?"

"Hell no, who is that?"

"She works for me although she is beautiful little kitten of a woman." I laughed.

That earned me two couch pillows although the thought of Mildreid was a pleasant one.

The next day, I reached out to Jason and Ann to discuss the status and reporting for Softech and set up a meeting for that afternoon at Omega. They both showed up on time and we took one of the conference rooms.

The past three months had seen a quick growth spurt in orders with the success of the product line. I thought it was far too early for suitors to be shopping but there were two potential parties that had expressed interest in the company. It had been up and running for well over two years now with a strong order book and a stronger balance sheet. The ownership was split evenly between the three of us and the bylaws that my brother Carl had originally created, with our approval, required a 2/3 approval to enter any ownership negotiations.

On paper, the valuation was in the $3 Million range, not bad at all for a young two year old. However, the potential was far more than that and I told the both of them that.

"Listen kids, I know that it looks like a lot of money and it is, especially at this stage of the game. But, I need you to keep this in mind. You have a very successful product mix, an excellent business plan and the growing resources needed to take this to the next level.

If you sell, if both of you decide to cash out, I'll bless it and walk away. Heck, I'd have no choice" I quipped.

"However, I am going to recommend you pass on the offers and continue building this company. That is not a guarantee but it is a reasonable expectation given your talents and capabilities."

The two of them hemmed and hawed about it for a while but eventually agreed. I had an ulterior motive that I had not shared. I wanted them to become successful entrepreneurs and that took patience. I also knew of several companies that would have significant interest in a medium size company with an established longer term track record. Patience and strategy were the keys.

I arrived back in Germany a couple days later after making the same arrangements I had on the first trip. This time I had a pearl white S65 sitting in the parking garage waiting for an impatient American driver. I think I could have made that trip to Heidelberg four times and not blinked an eye. It was gorgeous.

As with the last time, Helga was waiting for me at the apartment, this time with wiener schnitzel, pomme frites and gravy along with a fresh case of Weißbier. I think I loved that woman! Mildreid rang the buzzer shortly after and the three of us enjoyed the meal.

I had developed a personal comfort with Mildreid. I could talk in confidence about anything in the office or company and just about anything else. She had heard about my escapade with the English tarts from a couple of the regulars there and the knowledge gave her a relaxed sense of familiarity around me. I had never really asked her about her personal life although I found it hard to believe she wasn't married or hooked up because of any lack of suitors. She was truly beautiful.

The next couple of weeks went by quickly. We seemed to have developed a lunch clutch, Mildreid, Ingrid and me. It was almost always a light fare, salad, with a glass of wine and usually in one of 3 or 4 spots nearby. On one particular Friday we ended up leaving later than usual and ended up at the tavern beneath Mildreid's place. Well, it was not long after we arrived when it became clear we were not going back to the office.

The three of us and another couple Mildreid knew started doing shots of tequila. It's not a big drink in Germany except among some of the college kids. Mildreid knew it from her UVA days and Ingrid had been to Cancun a few times. I'm just not a heavy drinker at all.

I was starting to feel it good when I felt her hand on my shoulder. Ingrid was getting sauced and flirty. I knew a girl like that when I was in college. She was just as proper as could be when she was sober but after a few drinks she was more than ready to fuck the night away. Mildreid just had a knowing smile on her face. I guess I reacted like any healthy man. I started growing wood and poured another round of shots. We were all getting wasted.

Now it had been a long time since I could remember tying one on so bad (or good) that I couldn't remember much. This was one of them. I have a vague memory of climbing a set of stairs with a woman on each arm and I swear I was seeing double sets of breasts in my face but I don't remember much after that.

I woke in the morning, completely naked, in somebody else's bed with one fully naked woman lying across me, drooling on my belly. Another woman wearing nothing but a tee shirt had her leg cocked across my head with her naked pussy open, right at face level. I think I just stayed like that for the longest time just looking at it. It was beautiful with nearly jet black, neatly trimmed hair surrounding an engorged vulva and clitoris. I just wanted to pull it to my face. Then I realized who the women were. I also realized I already had her taste in my mouth.

As if that was not bad enough, I started getting a morning erection. It might have been due to having a woman's hand resting directly on my prick. There wasn't anything I could do about it. It felt too good. A few moments later I felt that hand encircle my cock and with just the slightest movement, it happened. Her wet, very warm mouth enveloped the head and pushed down slowly taking all of it in and she began slowly sucking the full length of it in and out of her mouth. That mouth was as hot as pussy and it was all I could do to hold back. After about 10 minutes, I groaned an orgasm into her mouth and she consumed every drop of moisture from my prick. She kept it in her mouth until I softened and she then licked it clean before kissing it and turning up to look at me.

"Guten Tag, Herr Tom." Ingrid smiled seductively.

"That was a wonderful night." She sighed.

I could only reply with a grin after being the recipient of that unsolicited blowjob. Mildreid was stirring to life and as expected when she moved, she palmed her naked pussy right onto my face before beginning to stretch. When she realized what she was doing, it was rather comical.

"Oh mein Gott!" as she swung her leg and her sex away from my head. "Ich kann nicht glauben, dass ich verdammt einfach tat."

"Oh yes you can fucking believe it." I replied with a boisterous laugh. 

"You can explain it to me later but for now, let's get cleaned up and have something to eat. I'm starved."

Somehow we extricated ourselves from the tangle and I stood there completely naked in front on one woman who had just given me a morning blowjob and another woman who probably had given me something a bit more intimate earlier and both of them worked for me. We would need to have a conversation later in the morning.

We were in Mildreid's apartment and I found my way to the shower. I had not been in long when Mildreid joined me.

"I'm sorry, Tom. I'm not sure how we ended up doing what we did. I didn't plan it."

"Mildreid, don't worry about it. We are all adults." 

I kissed the top of her head and began washing her back. When we were finished, Ingrid took a shower and later we all sat down in the kitchen.

"Ladies, I don't remember much but bits and pieces are coming back. I'm pretty sure we all had sex."

They just looked at each other and laughed out loud.

"Jaaaaaaa" was said in unison.

"OK, so as for the office and work, can we agree that nothing will be said? I mean, this could be bad." I said.

"Tom, don't be so worried. Ingrid and I are discreet. In Europe, we are a bit different than you Americans. It's not unheard of for office dalliances. Nonetheless, what is the right word? Mum? Besides, several of the regulars knew we were taking you upstairs. You will be quite the hero when you return."

Both ladies rose and kissed me on the cheek and I accompanied both of them downstairs for a hero's bite to eat.

True to their word, all was 'mum' about our antics. If anybody at the office knew, nobody so much as smirked about it. The only thing I ever noticed was that tiny little half smile Margarete made my way one morning when somebody mentioned stopping off at the same tavern.

Three weeks later, Janet called me, at 3AM

"Hey, baby, how are you doing?" She asked.

"Janet, I'm doing great. I was just finishing a round of golf! Do you know what time it is?"

"Yeah, it's 9AM 'cuz it's 6PM here, right?"

"Er ... Nope. I'm 9 hours ahead of you, not behind. That means it is 3AM."

She laughed at that.

"You aren't mad at me are you?"

I told her I wasn't which was true. It was actually nice to hear her voice. She had called to let me know she was flying over in a couple of days. I just told her to send me her flight details and I'd figure it out. When I saw her arrival time in Frankfort, I had a conflict at the office so I had Mildreid pick her up when she flew in.




The Resurgence of a Weary Man Pt. 03



Mildreid knew about Janet and about "The Arrangement" we had when we were apart. She always referred to that as very European of me. After our drunken episode of lust which I still remembered very little of, she offered an opportunity to do it again but this time without being three sheets to the wind. She wanted it, for that matter. She wanted to make love with me knowing and being much more participatory. So, we did about a week before Janet called in the wee hour. It was everything I expected and more. I was a bit concerned when Janet called but Mildreid suggested that we just keep it discreet and part of that arrangement. So that is what we did.

Mildreid had left to pick up Janet around 3PM our time and I was in intense meetings with one of our clients that was seriously running over our allotted time. As a result, we took a break and rescheduled to start back up again over dinner. Ingrid made the reservations and we set off around 6PM. I had called Mildreid earlier to let her know but she had just arrived at the airport. In any event, she told me not to worry, that she would "entertain your woman" as she put it.

Ingrid and I did the dinner, concluded a deal and called it a night. I dropped her off at her place and she was insistent that I come in for a quick drink. Well, I knew where that would end up and as much as I would have loved to experience that again, this was not the night for it. I begged off and she understood. I had company arriving.

I motored home and parked the coup and when I walked in upstairs, there was a note on the table telling me they were down at the tavern and to join them when I got back no matter the hour. I took a shower, changed into a pair of jeans and a pullover, ran the razor over the face and headed down the stairs.

It was a boisterous night at the Tavern. I could hear the festivities before I rounded the corner. Exams had let out at the University and the bars were full this week. I walked into a full house and it looked like a sorority was holding a keg party and a frat house had received the invitation. I didn't see my party immediately so I grabbed a very fortunate seat at the end of the bar by the doorway. It was a great view. The kids were getting seriously doused in beer and good cheer. There would be some lucky fellows that evening.

Then I saw the long booth at the far end. It seats about 12 people if you cram in. Mildreid was planted between two young college age guys and the same with Janet, a young fellow on each side of her. The surprise for me was seeing Helen sandwiched in between two of her own suitors. More to the point, they were having a grand old time. Each of the women had a couple arms around them on each side and they were doing shots. That should be interesting. Helen never does shots or at least never did to my recollection. Now, there she was bottoming up what looked like two ounces of something hard.

The guys were being pretty familiar with the women. One fellow had his palm resting on one of Janet's breasts, at least through the blouse. That was no consolation. I know how aroused those nipples become when they are rubbed with a bit of alcohol in the blood. Whatever the case, she seemed to be enjoying the attention. Helen, on the other hand, was getting hammered and I don't think she knew about the hand on her inner thigh or the other hand under her blouse.

I decided to let it go on for a while longer just to see what would happen. That's when one of the fellows planted a tongue right in Helen's mouth. I could see the expression of shock on her face when she realized what had happened but she didn't move away. She was too drunk. They were definitely taking liberties with her and Mildreid was unable to stop them. Janet was just giggling from the shots.

I motioned toward the bartender whom I had gotten to know quite well during my stay. Besides I was a local hero and the two of us walked over to the booth. Mildreid was the only one who recognized me and she just had a shit eating grin on her face.

Janet looked at me a bit cross eyed with the fellow's hand still squeezing those delectable breasts. Helen was just laid back in the seat with one hand in her panties and another on bare tit, neither of them being her hands.

All of a sudden, Janet's eyes shot open when recognition struck her. My barkeep friend spoke in harsh German to the fellows around the women and they reluctantly began getting up and moving away from the table. Hans the door man, a bull of a man, stood at the ready. It wasn't necessary. 

These were academic students, not muscled athletes. They wanted pussy, not a brawl. When the table was cleared, I thanked my friend, gave him 20 Euros and slid in next to Helen, across from Janet and Mildreid.

She had not yet recognized me but she knew I was familiar. Janet kept telling me how sorry she was. I believed her. I know what liquor does to women. I just winked at Mildreid and she kept that shit eating grin pasted to her face. Helen looked closely at me and with heavily slurred speech said.

"You need to have a drink with me, K? I know you... jesus tom. You got me drunk as a skunk."

With that she started sliding down in the seat and on her way under the table. I grabbed hold of her and lifted her up and back onto the seat.

"OK, Mildreid, what do we do now?"

"I say we dump them off upstairs and we go back to your place, Herr Tom." 

She giggled foolishly but she was the sober of the three. She probably meant it too.

I was able to pick Helen up and carry her in my arms. Mildreid helped Janet and the four of us proceeded out the Tavern to the cheers of the drunken revelers.

"I'll be down in the morning, Hans, to square everything up." I said to him as we went out the door and headed around the corner.

Helen was clinging with her arms around my neck and Janet was beginning to come out of her drunkenness with the chill of the night air. The four of us climbed the stairs to the apartment and stumbled inside. I carried Helen to one of the rooms and laid her down on the bed. I even removed all of her clothes and tucked her in. She was completely out before I left the room.

Mildreid was sitting at the table nursing a coke while Janet, without a shred of modesty, stripped out of her clothing and walked naked back to my bedroom before returning wearing a tee shirt and panties. She sat across from me with a coke in her hand.

"Jesus, Tom, what the fuck happened?"

I just laughed at her comment.

"You were doing shots, several shots, of Bullenschluck with a table of horny German students. It's like German moonshine. I'd guess you all were about two or three more shots away from getting laid in a big way."

"Jesus Christ, that is awful."

Mildreid still had that shit eating grin. It wouldn't go away.

"I've got to crash bad." Janet said and she stumbled off to the other spare bedroom.

Mildreid got up, came over and sat in my lap.

"Mr. Tom, you didn't tell me you had two women in America."

"I didn't know they were both coming here."

"That's OK, as far as tonight is concerned, they still aren't here."

She nodded toward my bedroom and got up off my lap, taking my hand as she did.

She stood at the doorway to my room, crooked her finger and shed the rest of her clothing. With that, she turned and left the door open behind her. 

I stood there for a moment and contemplated going back in the other direction toward my snoring former wife or my now near comatose lover before shedding my own clothes and climbing into my own bed next to a naked and beautiful German woman with the biggest shit eating grin on her face that I have ever seen.



The Resurgence of a Weary Man Pt. 04



This is part 4 and the conclusion to this story. Tom is a character that began as a stand -alone story and as it proceeded I wanted to bring it into the SF Bay Area environs and characters from the later chapters of "The Epiphanous Spouses". This is not a story of great wrongs and retribution. There is no bitch burning and from my perspective there is no judgement of right or wrong. These are people who might do what others would not or not do what others might rush into.

There were no real people harmed in the writing of this story and it is not a collection of my experiences in any way except in understanding the emotions involved. I am going to leave anonymous commenting open for now but will probably delete those comments that are not constructive and adding to any fruitful discussion.

Part 4

Mildreid was gone when I woke up at 6AM. It was another work day for me and by 7:30 I was out of the apartment and on my way to the office. I left a note on the table for Janet and Helen. Seeing Helen with Janet was a big surprise and I would have appreciated a heads up but I was sure the surprise was intended.

The earlier evening really was the first time I had ever seen Helen drink shots. Even when we were young, it was always wine or maybe a beer. Liquor was a rarity and only then as a cocktail of some sort. Worse still, if she had been sober there would have been no way either of the young men to her side would have ever touched a bare nipple not to mention running a set of fingers over her exposed pussy. There would have been at a minimum a set of reddened cheeks.

I suppose I saw it all as pretty darn funny in hindsight. Mildreid told me later that she had asked Hans and Dietrich, the barkeep, to make sure things did not get too far out of hand and that it was she that had started the shots at the insistence of the young fellows. Obviously they were looking for pussy. Mildreid was just looking to be entertained by two drunken middle aged American women who couldn't hold their liquor.

In any event, I left my two visitors to their own devices with local tourist maps and a spare key. I had a company to run. Mildreid was all business when she showed up with not so much as a hint of the prior evening festivities. These Germans were a different breed of people all together. Even Ingrid, as flirty as she is, approached her job with straight forward professionalism.

Later that afternoon I received a call from my friend David Stone. He and his team had arrived in Mannheim a couple days earlier and wanted to invite me and whatever guests I wished to bring with me to a weekend retreat outside the small town of Heddesbach. It's a rural getaway community not far from Mannheim-Heidelberg that Mildreid was familiar with from her youth. I readily agreed and let him know I'd have three guests with me. All the arrangements were made.

When I arrived home that evening, Helga had prepared a delightful meal and set the table for everybody. I asked her to join us which she graciously accepted. I should note that it is highly unusual in European customs to have any domestic hired help join at the table but I had squashed that customary view right at the start. At first she didn't know how to react to that but by the time I got a couple glasses of wine into her, she began to see the light.

"Janet, Helen, you are both looking a good bit more alert than last night."

"Why thank you, Tom. I can remember about a third of the night so if I missed something extraordinary, I'm sure you'll fill us in." Janet smiled as she spoke.

Helen just looked sheepishly around the table.

"I'm afraid I don't even remember how I got here." She said.

"And that my dear is probably a good thing." I replied.

Helga was just smiling and staying quiet. I found out later when Helga arrived, both women were still passed out, stretched naked across their respective beds. Later, they both walked out bedraggled and naked while standing in the living room looking at each other and burst out in crazy laughter.

I'm not sure how they spent their day but they apparently left around 10AM and had just arrived back before I came in from work. All of us picked up after dinner and when Helga had left, the three of us sat down in the living room

"So, Ladies, how did the two of you come to the decision to travel together?" I asked. It was a question mulling around in my mind all day. 

Janet stepped right up to it.

"Well, Tom, I just didn't want to travel alone and since Helen didn't have anything planned, I asked her to travel with me here to see the sights of Europe!" She actually had a straight face when she said it.

"Besides, you have a really big place here and you know it's no trouble."

Helen just sat there, legs crossed, sipping a glass of Riesling with only a hint of a smile on her face.

I wasn't going to argue with her because truthfully I really didn't mind. It's just that when I got to the point of fucking Janet later, I didn't want to worry about my former wife listening to me do it. At that moment the door buzzer sounded and Janet bounced up announcing she would get it. OK.

"That's Mildreid. She and I are going out. I don't know when I'll be back so don't wait up." She laughed.

Mildreid just stood in the foyer smiling. She has been doing a lot of that lately.

"Before you go, you need to know that all of us are going away this weekend after work tomorrow, you too, Mildreid. We have been invited by David Stone and his team to a weekend retreat in Heddesbach, so don't get too smashed this time."

With that, they just giggled and out the door they went. That left Helen and I alone together. She got up and came over next to me and sat down.

"Tom, I hope you are not mad that I came over with Janet. She insisted really but I know I could have been firm and said no."

"Helen, I'm not mad, just surprised. How are the kids?"

We talked a while longer catching up on family matters and I then invited her for a walk through the neighborhood with me. The old city of Heidelberg is a Baroque lesson in historical architecture. Much of it had been bombed heavily in WWII including the Heidelberg Castle but the old city had been restored and rebuilt for the most part. The Castle was still pretty much a ruin but it had its charms, especially when lit up at night.

We window shopped with her on my arm for a while before we turned into a small Gastehaus café to enjoy a Weißbier, a Riesling for her. 

"Helen, this is what I always wanted for us after the kids left, to be able to walk around Europe, enjoy ourselves and live life as we desired."

"I know, Tom, and I blew it bad, didn't I?" She actually laughed lightly at that.

"Yeah, you did but so did I. We don't need to dwell on that. You know I don't hold any animosity toward you. Hell, we've enjoyed some good times together."

I smiled more for myself than anything else. We had gained an amicable relationship over the past couple of months, even with my absence, and I felt good about it. When I looked at Helen, I saw my soulmate since my youth even though there was a large crack running right down through the middle of that image. I didn't see innocence anymore. I saw remorse and repentance yet I didn't know how to move forward. I had just fucked Mildreid the night before and it was certain I'd sink into Janet, if not tonight, then certainly over the weekend.

The problem was that none of that was who I really am. I've told Janet this and Helen already knew. I'm a monogamous man by inclination. Being single meant I didn't have the obligations of marital monogamy and then there was the 'arrangement' Janet and I had during our long separations. 

Mildreid was the fruit of that deal and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy her immensely. Hell, if I were living under different circumstances, I could fall in love with the woman. For that matter, I probably already was or at least I was completely smitten by her. Ingrid and the English tarts were just a sexual diversion, Ingrid not even being a choice really. I didn't remember fucking her at all although she provided the absolute best blowjob I have ever received, bar none. The diversions were not in the picture. 

Whatever the image, Helen was still my first picture of beauty when I thought of a woman and would always remain so. Janet was hot, sexually exciting. Mildreid was sensual and enchanting, hypnotic with her charms. As for myself, I was a fit, successful businessman pushing toward 50 who didn't want to make choices and if I did, I wouldn't know how to choose in this regard. For now, I turned to Helen, my former wife.

"Helen, let's go home."

We walked back to the apartment, her arm in mine, right past the tavern. I asked her to wait a moment while I went in and made things right with Dietrich. I gave him a 100 Euros and noticed out the corner of my eye that Mildreid and Janet were holding court with an animated German couple and three men. I didn't get her attention but as I started to turn to the door, I saw her wink in my direction with that shit eating grin on her face again.

Helen did sleep with me that night although we didn't have sex. We just lay together whispering to each other in the night. Both of us were dog tired and it felt good to just lay there without any obligations. I don't know when we drifted off to sleep but I woke alone in my bed at 6AM as usual.

Late that afternoon, the four of us, Helen, Janet, Mildreid and I, drove to the retreat estate in Heddesbach where David and his wife Marylyn greeted us warmly. In addition to the Stones, we were introduced to Kiera Wilson and Millicent Ethredge who were two of David's on-site team for their acquisition. Three other team members would be arriving later.

Millicent was a tall statuesque absolutely beautiful golden haired woman and attached at her hip was almost the opposite, Kiera, a dark haired, tattooed young lady a few years younger yet with her own magnetic beauty. Where you saw one, you saw the other most of the time. Mildreid took an immediate liking to both of them and they disappeared down the halls of this huge dwelling.

I introduced Helen to David and his wife and along with Janet, the three ladies headed off in another direction leaving David and I to converse.

"Three women, Tom?" He chuckled.

"I only started with one." I replied and winked back at him.

"Yes, I know. I've been there and done that too."

Janet had told me once that David and Marylyn had a storied past that was not only salacious but inspirational for its drama. She didn't share a lot of details and I didn't really want to ask. I did know that Pam and David had briefly been lovers but that was the extent of it. Yet, they are all close friends with Pam considered a member of their family for all respects. I resigned myself to ask David about it over drinks some evening.

We gathered together for dinner in a great room and were treated to a feast in proportions. By the time all were finished, everybody was into the libations and feeling no pain. The rest of David's team had shown up along with a few people from his new German subsidiary.

"Tom, are you doing OK this evening?"

It was Marylyn, David's wife at my elbow. She and Helen had taken a liking to each other and were being halfway pursued by a couple of older German gentlemen seeking to monopolize much of their time. She had escaped to my side and left Helen to her own devices.

"Come on, let's step out to the patio. I need the air." She said.

That's what we did. I glanced over at Helen and both men had her off to the side of the room imbibing her with drink. I wasn't sure where Janet and Mildreid were off to but we were all adults.

"Tom, you've been divorced for a couple years or so?"

I nodded and noted it felt like it had been forever.

"Oh, that's probably a good sign then. You still love her, don't you? Oh, you don't have to answer me. I'm meddling but I can see it in your faces."

"Marylyn, well, of course I do still love her. We were together 25 years. You can't just shut that off." I smiled at the reaction on her face.

"Oh my, don't I ever know that! Tom, David and I have been where you are, probably worse. The divorce trigger just didn't get pulled successfully, not that I didn't lob that grenade. David just shoved the pin right back in it and tossed it in the trash! You might not believe it but from what I've heard just from the couple years or so that we've known each other, what Helen did doesn't even begin to compare with what I put David through."

She wiped a tear away from her eye and I hugged her shoulder.

"Marylyn, the story of our lives hasn't been written yet so until it is finished, I never rule anything out. Until a short few months ago, I thought everything was wrapped up in a neat little bow and short package named Janet Carr.

Now, I show up with three women on my arm. Life is a conundrum, yeah?"

We both laughed at the irony with her telling me to enjoy it while it lasts. I thought that was good advice.

If it was good advice, I needed to keep it in mind for both the goose and the gander. I wandered around the party and noticed both Janet and Helen being entertained by the same German men along with a couple more. There was a lot of familiar touching and flirting going on and the drinks were flowing. Janet caught my eye and graciously excused herself and approached me.

"Jealous, are we, Tom?"

"Does it show?"

She laughed gently.

"Well, just a bit but the question is 'are you jealous for me or for Helen'?"

"Can it be both?" I asked.

"Oh, that could be interesting, you know. I should ask nonetheless. Since I am feeling especially horny this evening, are you going to take me to bed tonight given we haven't been together for weeks now? If not, the itch is only going to grow and you know how I get when I'm like that."

"I do, Janet. Believe me I do. How are you going to disappoint the boys? Gently or with a flourish and what about Helen? Is she getting the same itch?"

"Oh Tom." She purred. "She only has an itch for you. She might let them touch but they'll never enter, well, as long as she doesn't get drunk under the table again. I'll be gentle with them but for now, you run along. I'll come to you a bit later and you never know I might have a surprise." She teased with a smile.

She rubbed my arm softly at that point and I knew then the evening was going to be interesting. Glancing at the flirting scene, Helen was absorbed in the conversational ministrations of her suitors and hardly paid mind to the fresh drink Janet slipped into her hand.

Mildreid was fully engaged with her new friends Millicent and Kiera. They were engrossed in conversations with two young fellows who looked like a couple of green behind the ears new college graduates. I learned later that was exactly what they were. They were new hires at Phoenix and came over as part of David's team. I don't know if they thought luck was with them or not but if it was, they were going to be two very lucky fellows indeed.

Mildreid glanced over at me before turning back to the conversation. I wandered around the house. We had full reign of the place and it was a grand old home with two separate guest houses and quarters above the old garage or carriage house. The owners or managers, a nice older couple, stayed in the Carriage House quarters and they were rarely seen.

Coming through one of the halls, I came across a billiards room with a fully stocked liquor cabinet. They had rum and coke in the small fridge. I racked up a set and as I broke, David made his presence known.

"Nice break! Do you play nine ball?"

"Of course, whenever I can." I replied.

That was the start of the rest of the evening for me. We started playing $20 games, well 20 Euros being where we were. I think we each made out fairly evenly but I found a new ground for our friendship. He was good, actually better than me. As soon as we finished our last rack, the ladies found us, some of the ladies. Marylyn came in with Janet and Helen. The three missing girls were still caught up with the boy-girl games back in the study although I did learn later that Millicent was very happily married with two cute little girls and a devoted husband at home so strike one for the two suitors.

By midnight, the gathering broke up and I excused myself to go to my suite upstairs. After stripping off my clothing and hopping in the shower to get comfortable, I returned to the bedroom and the lights had been replaced with the soft glow of candles on the side tables. Lying on my bed wearing absolutely nothing were two lovely middle aged ladies, each about the same size and obviously giggling drunk. One of them rubbed and patted the soft sheets between them and the other crooked her finger in my direction and between the two of them, they consumed the evidence of my burning passion until the wee hours of the morning. 

Mid- morning, I woke from a deep slumber to discover Helen slowing fucking her mouth up and down my very aroused morning wood. We looked into each other's eyes without saying a word as she brought me to completion and swallowed every bit of my ejaculate. She then nestled into my shoulder and arms as I drifted off to sleep again.

When I woke again it was to an empty bed and the windows had been opened and curtains drawn back. I watched the naked form with her back to me, her bare ass framed in the sunlight as she brushed her hair in the sunlight. It was a view that had been displayed to me countless times over the years.

I started to say something but she put her finger to her lips and gently shook her head.

"Don't say anything. It just needed to happen."

When she turned back, Helen walked to the closet and slipped on a light blue dress, unusually short above the knee along with a pair of open toe pumps and smiling toward me, walked out the door and down the hall. 

Later that morning, I joined David and Marylyn for brunch on one of the verandas. Janet, Helen and Mildreid had gone into the village with several of the other guests to a big soccer tournament leaving the three of us and a couple other stragglers.

"Hard night, Tom?" Marylyn asked coyly.

"For some of it, yes." I replied. David just chuckled.

"Well, there were certainly a couple happy faces here earlier." Marylyn teased.

"A Gentleman never breaks his confidences, my dear." David said to his wife.

We enjoyed the brunch and I graciously accepted the gentle ribbing from my hosts. Since the others would be gone for most of the day and perhaps into the evening, the three of us decided to hike into the countryside using the many trails in the area. By the time we returned it was dusk and the others had still not returned from their foray into the village.

After a light dinner, David and I retreated again to the Billiards room and resumed our play from the night before. During a break, I struck up a different conversation.

"So who has been working behind the scenes to get Helen and I back together? I'm guessing you have to be privy to something."

He looked at me for a moment over his preferred stout.

"I think it was all three of them, meaning Marylyn, Pam and Janet. From what I understand, Janet came to Pam for advice as she always does and Marylyn was there that afternoon. The three of them got to talking and, well, hell, you know how they get. They are all convinced that you still love your wife or ex-wife and think it in your best interests for them to see where it goes." He laughed at that last part.

"Now, my advice to Marylyn was to not get involved but I might as well have been dancing on the moon. She would have no part of it and reminded me of Pam's role in getting my own marriage on track. I couldn't argue with that but I told her to keep me out of it. That doesn't mean I haven't enjoyed watching the events unfold."




The Resurgence of a Weary Man Pt. 04



My usually reserved host really laughed with that.

"David, I figured as much when Janet started pushing me to take Helen out a couple times. Funny thing is we have a really good relationship, Janet and I. I mean, we aren't going to marry but we enjoy each other immensely. Now, with the both of them here, it's gotten pretty darn complicated and then there's Mildreid too. Hell, she's a whole other dimension."

"Tom, it's simple really. Janet is just like her cousin Pam in so many respects. Whatever she saw in Helen was probably what Pam saw in Marylyn and she is taking her own approach to a similar issue. I hadn't pulled the trigger on Marylyn but I was living like I should have even though we both loved each other unconditionally. I told Marylyn you were different. You already divorced and that changes the game a lot."

What David was saying was true. Being divorced already and living life as I wanted it had changed the game. I did still love Helen but I also enjoyed my current relationship. Over the last couple months, the sexual relationship with Janet had also changed. Hell, I had a threesome with her and my ex-wife. How in hell does that one get explained in the magazine of life? One thing was certain. I needed a sit down with the two of them to understand where we were.

"David, I'm going to enjoy life and for now, that seems to be with three different women. If I end up with just one of them or none, I'll have to cross that bridge then. For now, let's rack 'em."

That's what we did and Mildreid joined us later along with Marylyn. The others had stayed in town and hit one of the Gastehaus's. We ended up playing doubles and pretty much broke even on our 20 Euro games. After we wrapped up and settled, Mildreid and I excused ourselves and we went out onto a veranda. We were both comfortable on a chaise and enjoying the cool air.

"Mildreid, you've never talked about why you haven't settled down into the domestic life with a husband and a houseful of kids and all the things that come with that."

She looked at me sideways just a bit and then smiled.

"Well, I have never met the right man to do that with, not that I haven't tried. Perhaps I should qualify that. I stopped trying a few years ago not because I couldn't find a man to marry. There were too many of them. It didn't help that half of them ended up being married as well.

A long time ago there was a man who I would have married but he ended up marrying somebody else after we had a big fight and broke up our relationship. Both of us were young and stubborn and wouldn't back down. So about a half a year later, I heard he was engaged to some Frau a couple towns over."

Mildreid paused at that point like she didn't want to continue.

"I confronted him, you know, asking him why he didn't try to make things right with us. He asked me the same thing and scheisse I didn't have an answer worth anything. So, he married her and I felt like death for about a year after that. He's got three children now, beautiful kids, but she divorced him a couple years ago."

"Do you still love him?"

"Tom, not like I did. That's the thing about healing. The scars are pretty tough and what's left afterwards isn't the same thing. It's kind of what I suspect you have gone through with your divorce. Do you love her like you did before?"

That's a hard question but a fair one. I didn't really know how to answer so I didn't.

"So why did you stop looking a few years ago?"

She laughed a bit knowing I was dodging her question.

"You know, it is a funny thing. I had this epiphany of sorts and realized I actually liked my single lifestyle. I can come and go as I feel. If I want to have a relationship for a while, I can. I can travel and dine and play and work as hard as I want without having to check it against somebody else's calendar. That is a nice place for me and I decided then that until I stumbled onto the man I wanted to be one with, that is how I would live."

She was absentmindedly rubbing my thigh now but it wasn't meant to be sexual. It was a shared intimacy, closeness and I let her continue her revelation.

"So, do you still love her in the same way as before your divorce?"

She wasn't letting me off the hook.

"Mildreid, to be honest, I really don't know. I was mad as hell at her for a long time and then it dropped off and recently we have become friends again. Is it the same way? If pushed I would have to say no, it is different. We are two different people now but I do love her and I always will."

"Will you always want to fuck her, to make love to her?"

"Maybe." I smiled.

She snuggled closer to me now and a few minutes later, she led me to her room. Janet and Helen had not returned and I didn't want an interruption later.

She was slick and smooth as butter when I entered her. In a dominant missionary position, I was buried deep inside her pressing against her cervix with her thighs pressed against me in her own excitement. We were in heat, a matched pair of lovers lit only by the soft glow of two scented candles burning on the side table. Her teeth found my lower lip and she bit gently when I increased my strokes into her. I could sense her crescendo building with each stroke being met by the upward fuck of her hips. Some women are not vaginally orgasmic. Mildreid was intensely so and she exploded in a gushing orgasm with her mouth buried in my throat. Within seconds of her orgasm, I pulled out and emptied my nut on her firm belly.

Mildreid hadn't just fucked me. She had made love, intensely, and I had returned the emotion with my own. For that moment, I wanted to be with nobody else with no cares or concerns for the needs and wants of another woman. There were no thoughts of Janet or of Helen. There was just this beautiful German princess with the body of a goddess and the face of an angel whose sweat streaked breasts were pressed next to mine.

Her alarm went off at 5AM and she jumped out of bed, her Teutonic daily rhythm driving her to alertness and preparation for the day. My internal clock was set for 6AM and I merely groaned at her enthusiasm.

"Come on, Tom. Get up and come run with me. It's the perfect time."

So I did, after sneaking back into my room for my running gear. We ran seven kilometers down through the village and a couple of back roads before finishing back at the retreat. As we made the loop back to the house, the car pulled up to the entrance and we saw a bedraggled couple emerge. Janet and Helen were arriving home from an obvious all night adventure.

"Perhaps I should have been along as chaperone." Mildreid said. I just hugged her close.

"No, we are all adults. It's not your job to police consenting adults. We certainly did not need our own chaperoning last evening, did we?"

Outwardly I might have been cool but inwardly there was a struggle going on. I can't have all three, can I? The answer would have to wait. For the time being, when we returned to her room, Mildreid stripped off my shorts and proceeded to give a great blowjob before peeling her shorts off and straddling my cock. After we fucked, we showered, dressed and I joined a few others for breakfast.

Janet and Helen had returned to my room and fallen asleep together in the large bed. Rather than wake them, I decided to go for a ride and invited Millicent and Kiera to join me. Millicent was feeling a bit under the weather but Kiera was anxious. We motored through several back roads over the next three hours stopping at various tourist outlooks to take pictures or stretch. We ended up parked outside one of the taverns in the village and shared a couple boots of beer.

Kiera was an interesting young woman. She shared a lot of herself during our time together and I learned of her closeness to Millicent, how they started working together and Millicent's children, even how Millicent was married twice to the same man. She told me about her mother, how proud she was of her that she got her life straightened out and had married a great fellow after not being able to get over her divorce from Kiera's father for years. I liked this young lady and saw a lot of promise in her. I could see why David relied on her heavily in her role. She's in her middle twenties but carries the air of someone who has experienced years beyond her own.

"So how do you handle having three women? I would think you would be tired as hell all the time." Smiling as she said it.

"I'd be just as tired with one as with three." I replied in an attempt at a comeback.

"Oh, then you must be real good." Kiera said with a deadpan face.

I didn't know how to reply to that so I just laughed. I'm not a storied lover with some magical prowess. I'm just an average, healthy guy in good physical condition with a healthy sex drive. I'm not lacking in any way package wise but I'm not some horse cock bedroom athlete either. I'm adventurous. Helen and Janet are adventurous, Mildreid is just plain liberating.

"Kiera, I'm just a romantic at heart, I guess."

"Yeah, right." She lightly punched my arm in jest.

"So you didn't get lucky last night?" I asked half joking. She looked at me and actually stuck her tongue out before laughing. Guilty.

"You did, didn't you?" She was actually blushing and shifting in her seat like a young teen caught kissing a boy in the hallway.

She just looked at me with a sly grin and tipped up the boot of bier and downed the remaining half of it. We stayed for two more boots and then headed back to the retreat.

Later that afternoon, Helen, Janet, Mildreid and I said our goodbyes and drove back to Heidelberg. It was a pleasant short ride and each of the ladies was in a jolly mood. Janet and Helen had taken the back seat and were continuing their binge party of sorts as Mildreid sat up front testing them on their knowledge of drinks and party games. I was surprised at Helen's knowledge, especially about the risqué ones. We were back soon and after helping Mildreid with her luggage, my two interests and I returned to my apartment.

After dinner I patted a seat on each side of me, put my arms around both of them and asked.

"OK, tell me what is going on."

They just looked at each other and laughed as if I was being trivial. Helen spoke first.

"Janet is going to fuck you silly tonight and I am going to get a wonderful night of sleep in that delightful down comforter in there" pointing toward her room. Janet piped up next.

"And, after that, we are going to drift off to sleep where you will wake up first thing in the morning and go off to work. Helen and I are going on an adventure tomorrow and we'll be gone for a few days. I hope you won't mind. Mildreid can keep you company while we are gone. That's OK, yes?"

I must have looked terribly perplexed.

"Don't worry about it. We know about Mildreid. She told us. In fact she asked us if we were OK with it and of course, we are. You need to know that." Janet said. Helen piped in.

"Tom, the only thing I want is for you to be happy and be who you want to be. It will all work itself out either later or after we all get back home."

With that, Helen reached over and planted a sensual kiss on my lips and swirled her tongue with mine. She rose up and disappeared into her room. Janet plopped down into my lap and with her arms around my neck and shoulders, she said.

"Finally, we are alone! It's about time."

We cuddled for a while on the couch before I led her by the hand into my room. Stripping naked, we both climbed into the bed and she proceeded to completely wear me out. When we finished, we lay there like wasted lovers not willing to even get up to wash. We were too tired to even talk. Within a few minutes w both fell asleep in each other's arms.

As if in synch, we both woke up around 2AM, got up for bathroom needs and lay back down together and just talked for a while.

"Tom, when we're together, we have the best fuck I've ever had with anybody, absolutely the best. I don't want to stop it."

"You don't have to, Helen. You are the only woman who can lock the door and keep me to yourself and I'd never get up and unlock it. That goes for Helen and Mildreid or anybody else. I know we have this 'arrangement' or whatever we want to call it but if you say you don't want to do that anymore, all you have to say is no more. OK?"

"Oh Tom, you silly naïve man." She laughed.

"I don't want you to stop making love to Helen or even fucking Mildreid while you are over here. I adore Mildreid. In fact, I wouldn't mind doing what we did the other night with her?" She giggled seductively but still teasing.

"And, I love Helen, like I do Pam or a sister. We have something we share in common, you! But, do you know why I want you to be with her? It's because when we are together, we fuck, beautifully so. When you are with Helen, the two of you make love like two soulmates. I know, she told me. I saw some of it the other night. You give me what I want. You give Helen what she needs. I think you give Mildreid what you both desire and that's a whole other ballgame there, Jack. I'm jealous of that and so is Helen."

"Janet, just lay here with me. I'm OK with all of it. Let's go back to sleep. You have a busy morning. Just leave me your itinerary so I can reach you if I need to."

They left me their itinerary. It was a 6 day jaunt through Germany and the Netherlands and back with a stopover in Belgium. I was envious to tell the truth. However, the work world beckoned. Mildreid had started taking over several administrative management functions. She had the smarts and background for it and I saw some serious managerial talent in her. However, I had a problem.

We were having an affair, of that there was no doubt. She spent every night in my bed while the ladies were on their excursion. I am sure a couple people in the office were aware of it, Ingrid for sure and I was pretty certain Margarete was aware. Hans and a couple others might also know. I could have a problem if I promoted Mildreid to a head role.

My boss, Bill, presented a solution of sorts to that dilemma when I had my weekly call. My Ops manager back in Sonoma was pregnant and she and her husband had decided she was not going to come back to work fulltime. That meant I needed somebody to fill that role in about five months. Before I offered the role to Mildreid, I needed to have a talk with two ladies.

I explained the situation and I was immediately surprised by their enthusiasm. In fact I was bowled over by it. I should explain first. My household had become something of a revolving door and it could be said that it had expanded to two apartments, mine and Mildreids. David and Marylyn had moved on to Italy for another business venture and left Millicent and Kiera in Germany. Millicent was travelling back and forth every two weeks and Mildreid offered them her spare room.

Millicent and Kiera slept together. That threw me for a loop but Mildreid told me they were not lovers just the closest of friends and they shared nearly everything except Millicent's husband. OK. In any event, all the ladies were fast becoming close friends. For that matter Dietrich started referring to the bunch of them as my harem, all five of them, six when Ingrid was around.

I made the offer to Mildreid and she wanted to think on it for a while. I had no problem with that. We still had several months before any moves would be made. I did have a long sit down discussion with her to explain that this was a serious, demanding role and was not being offered based on any quid pro quo between the two of us. In fact, I had the role report to Bill just to keep the lines clean. He was OK with that when I discreetly explained the situation.

Janet and Helen flew back stateside after extending their stay another three weeks. Janet was worried about her mom and Helen needed to close on a condo she arranged to buy. That left me on my own again although Mildreid was still continuing to warm my bed. The two ladies made plans to return in a month.

So, my life in Germany continued along that vein for the next few months. Janet and Helen made the trip back a couple more times and on one occasion, I flew back with Mildreid to introduce her to the Omega staff once she accepted the position. It was around that same time that 

Mildreid and I sat down for a good talk about our relationship. I knew we couldn't keep this up and still maintain a healthy business relationship in the workplace, not in the States. The only way that could continue is if we became man and wife and neither of us was going down that path. Human nature itself took care of our relationship issue. Mildreid met a man while she was doing an orientation in Sonoma and started seeing him regularly. She confided in me from the beginning and not too long after that we had our "goodbye" sex. It was great, sensual, erotic and romantic, all in one. We went away to an Italian villa on one of our returns and enjoyed a weekend together. When we left to return to Germany, we did so as close friends and kept that weekend to ourselves. The man in her life knew about the two of us when their relationship started. He didn't need to know how we moved it to just a good friendship.

Eventually, my German experience came to an end. I had Margarete take over managing the office after a long session of swilling Riesling and discussing office politics. I rationalized that if it didn't work out, I'd find somebody else. The office held a big party in my honor and for Mildreid as well since she was flying back with me. By the time I left, I had modelled the Heidelberg offices after our Sonoma home office and unless anybody was hiding their displeasure, it was an agreeable arrangement for all.

We arrived late in the evening and were met by Mildreid's new interest, a friendly fellow who managed one of the wineries in the area. We parted company and Mildreid and her friend headed in one direction and I headed for my condo. I had asked Ann to have somebody come in and clean it and freshen up the place. She went a mile better and restocked it with fresh groceries and condiments as well as an abundant supply of imported German Weißbier. I had grown fond of it.

It took a few days to settle back into a routine but one of the first things I wanted to do was take a short vacation and unwind. Janet knew I was back but we hadn't hooked up yet and with that in mind I walked down the walkway toward her condo. I guess I didn't expect another man to answer the door. Just as it opened up, I caught a glance of Janet walking back into her living room sans everything except a pair of panties and a pair of heels on her feet. Our eyes met and I caught her surprise. I hadn't really caught her since I didn't really own her affections yet I have to admit there was a pang of jealousy. I was back and she knew it so 'arrangements' should have been pushed to the side but I was also being a hypocrite. I wasn't the monogamous man from that old weary past anymore and I shouldn't have expected that of Janet.

I guess I took the easy way out. I said I'd talk later, excused myself and grabbed the keys to the Porsche. It was the middle of the afternoon so I pointed myself toward San Rafael and called Ann looking to see if she and Jason might want to have dinner. Interestingly, she already had dinner plans, with Jason and her mom. I started backing away from the conversation somewhat awkwardly but she would have nothing of it.

"Dad, we are going to Yet Wah and so are you. It was just the three of us and now it'll be the four of us. Besides we haven't seen much of you for the past year and we need to catch up."

I was going to object but she is my daughter and she gets her way. I guess I also was just a bit pleased Helen was going. It would be the first time we sat down as a full family in well over three years. Besides, it's a great Chinese restaurant and I didn't want to miss it or at least that's what I told myself.




The Resurgence of a Weary Man Pt. 04



Janet did call me before I reached San Rafael and I made everything all right with her. We were still good although I also knew in my heart I was looking for something and still didn't know what it was.

I arrived at Ann's after a nice drive down and we got caught up on the business. I had wanted to talk to them for a while about it. Softech was in a high growth mode but some of the biotech players were starting to sit on capital in anticipation of expected new regulations from the FDA. Biotech was a key industry for the company and I felt there were probably too many eggs in that basket. I wanted to expand into general manufacturing as well as establish a greater presence in the high tech sector to the south of us.

Jason showed up a while later, at Ann's insistence, and I guess we had an informal 'board meeting'. The kids had developed a field of expertise in biotech. They knew the demands and expectations of the equipment and software solutions they were supplying. Expanding out into more lateral business sectors was a bit of discomfort. I needed to push my young entrepreneurs. 

"Listen, we are three years into this. We have a good, established line and we have street cred. To continue growing, we need to do one of two things or a combination of both. We need to either R&D new products or we need to take our existing products to a broader market. I think we will end up doing both.

Ann, you need to get more aggressive in the markets and Jason, I think you should get back into the R&D shop. That means you are going to need a manager, somebody to step up and run production. That's just my opinion and like you have been doing, the two of you will call the shots."

They both looked at me like I was pushing them out of a nest. I guess I was actually. They had become comfortable sitting on the track observing the view and didn't see the train coming at them. It was time for them to move. They didn't see it that day but later they agreed and Softech hired a new production manager while later securing several new contracts for upgrading light manufacturing automation operations along the west coast.

We left for dinner shortly after our discussions and met Helen at the restaurant. Helen didn't know I was coming and that surprised both of us. She was with another man when we arrived and he wasn't the real estate guy. If I thought I had a pang of jealousy when I saw Janet with the fellow earlier that afternoon, I was torn with it now.

Helen was dressed in an incredibly beautiful yellow dress that accented her cleavage. Her hair was perfect and had on just a dab of a particular perfume that I used to love. They were seated together at the table we were joining. Helen had a look of angst on her face and I know mine was one of hurt even though I tried my best to mask it. She could always see through any of my disguises. I whispered quietly to Ann.

"Did you know she had a date??" She shook her head slightly.

Helen made the introductions, as awkward as they were. He was a developer who lived in her condo complex. My eyes met Helen's and I could feel the pain in mine. Hers were of anguish and I knew what I had to do. I spoke softly and gently.

"Guys, I'm going to excuse myself. I shouldn't have accepted on such short notice and it isn't fair of me to intrude. "

I looked at Ann and Jason and told them I'd call them later. I was trying to be as polite as possible and still extricate myself from the horrible social setting. They objected but I could see it in Ann's eyes. 

She mouthed 'I'm sorry. I love you' at me when I made my escape.

Unfortunately, I had ridden with Jason and Ann and now I stood there outside the restaurant thinking 'what now?' I stood there for several minutes.

"Can we go for a walk?"

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes as she took my arm. We started walking down the sidewalk.

"Ann, you don't need to cry. I'm a big boy and have been for a long time."

She gripped me harder.

"She loves you so damn much. She is in there crying and he doesn't know what the fuck to do. Jason is holding down the fort but you need to let her talk to you. She didn't know you were coming and hell, talk to her, Dad. Please?"

"Ann, she was dressed to kill, not to have dinner with her kids."

"Dad, I helped her pick out that dress and convinced her to wear it. I wanted to see her in it!"

I looked at my little girl and I believed her. 

"OK" is all I said.

We turned and walked back toward the restaurant and I sat on one of the benches next to one of the walkabouts on the sidewalk. I saw him walking toward me and glanced up.

"Mr. Davis, I'm sorry for all the misunderstandings here this evening. I would never have joined Helen for dinner with her kids if I had known of her feelings or if I ever knew you would be here as well. It really was nothing more than dinner. Please accept my apologies for my intrusion." I looked up at him and shook his hand.

"It was nothing you did, sir. I might have done the very same thing were the circumstances reversed."

We parted company and I waited on the bench. Helen came over and sat down next to me. She looked right in my eyes.

"Tom, when are you going to take me back? When are you going to claim me as yours? We both know you are going to at some point. I just want to know when. Am I asking for too much?"

She wasn't crying any more. She was smiling instead and I took her in my arms and asked her.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Home"

"Perhaps, but let's eat first."

I rose and went in to speak with the maître d' and explained the situation with some delicacy. He agreed to reseat us away from the turbulence of our earlier meeting and we enjoyed a wonderful meal together, as a family for the first time in well over three years. Before we left, I made sure to generously tip both the waiter and the maître d' for their understanding and accommodations.

When we arrived at Ann's, I explained to Ann and Jason what I was doing and we said our goodbyes. I pointed the Carrera toward Helen's condo, with her directions, and when we entered her place, I turned her around and slipped that yellow dress off her shoulders and fucked her on her new leather couch. We didn't make love. We fucked like two whores. I fucked her like I fucked Janet and the two English tarts. I wanted to use her pussy and I wanted her to use my prick and she did. It was hard, slow, fast and when the time came, I nutted deep inside her cunt.

That night, she was a woman I wanted to sate my desire for sex. I took what any aroused man would from a willing woman. I fucked her cunt. I even ejaculated in her mouth with her on her knees the second time. When I was done, I knew I had fucked the woman who walked out on me over three years ago, better than the prick bastard who snuck her away from me and better than the development man who sniffed her pussy earlier in the evening. When we went to sleep that evening, it was that well fucked woman who rested her hand on my chest and had her knee and thigh draped over mine.

The next morning, I rose and fixed her breakfast. When we finished, I informed her we were going on a trip, a vacation before I went back into the rigors of my job back here in the States. The Porsche headed toward Sonoma with Helen's two bags crammed in the storage space. When we arrived, I lugged both of them in the condo and told her to pack just one. If we need more, we'll buy them and to leave the rest of it here. I did the same and retrieved a couple things I knew I would need later.

Helen was a little sore on the ride. I was hard on her the previous night. I made sure I owned her, that I could mark her as my own bitch, if just for that one night. For an odd reason that was important to me and I satisfied that need. Now, when we fucked, it would be making love, every time and often.

We drove up the coast, stopping as we wished, and spent the night in Eureka. The next day we continued on to Portland and decided on the Downtown Marriott as a place to stay. That night, I made love to Helen, slowly and attentively. We explored Portland and the surrounding area. I had never spent any time here and had always wanted to. We sampled the food trucks, browsed the shops and milled about the waterfront.

When we tired of Portland after a couple days, we hopped an Alaska Air flight to Anchorage and did the tourist thing for a couple more days before returning to Portland. At dinner that evening, I put two things in front of Helen. The first was the letter she left for me when she walked away from our marriage.

"Helen, I want you to read that and when you are done, if you know in your heart that the old Helen of that day is dead and buried, never to be resurrected, then I want you to walk over to the fireplace over there and drop that letter into it."

She read the letter, slowly, and then rose from her chair and walked over. Before she burned the letter she looked back at me. When she returned, I continued.

"Helen, I'm not the same Tom you left behind that day. I'm a very different man. My tastes and desires have changed. My interests are more varied. God knows my experiences have been varied. One thing I do know is that I do love you. I have always loved you and always will. If you can say the same thing, I want you to pick that up and put it back where it belonged."

She looked at it for a while, her eyes glistening with tears. Without saying a word, she picked up my grandmother's ring and slipped it on her finger, next to her wedding ring that she had been wearing since after my first meeting with her back at the Waterside apartment. She began weeping softly as I held her hand.

We left the next morning to return to Sonoma, stopping again in Eureka. It was late in the day when we arrived and I asked Helen if she wanted to stay or go back down to her place. She agreed to stay and we grilled for the evening rather than go out. I hadn't told Helen about seeing Janet that afternoon but apparently Janet had texted Helen about it.

"Tom, would you mind if I went over and saw Janet for a while? The two of us really need to talk but I might be gone a good while."

I nodded my agreement and she grabbed a bottle of wine out of the rack and headed out the door. I resigned myself to an evening of TV or a movie but instead, my text alert went off. It was from Kiera Wilson.

"HRD U WR BCK. COME JOIN US @ DNTN JOES

Friday night at the Downtown Joes, I knew I was asking for trouble. I left a note for Helen on the table where she could see it and texted her telling her where my key was. I didn't want to knock on Janet's door again.

I spotted her when I entered. Kiera was with Pam and Nigel, Millicent and a guy I didn't know, Mildreid and Marylyn. A chair was quickly gathered and I sat myself in their midst. I hadn't seen Kiera in this kind of setting before. She was completely off the clock, away from work and the bosses and she looked it. She was wearing a black mesh tank top with a red bra underneath and she had her grey tone leopard skin tattoo on full display. Eyebrow, nose and lip piercings completed the look along with a flash of purple hair coloring on one side, combed back and slicked. Even through that, I still saw the beauty I saw in Heidelberg. Mildreid came over and gave me an intimate hug and kiss and scooted her seat between Nigel and me.

"Where is the new boy toy?" I asked.

"It didn't work out." She replied. I didn't push it. I guessed she would tell me if she wanted to. Marylyn interrupted instead.

"Tom, where is Janet and Helen?"

I wasn't going to go into the details.

"Helen is over at Janet's this evening. I didn't want to bother them at the moment but I sent Helen a text and left a message as to where we would be."

I could see Marylyn punching a text into her phone. A new round of beers was brought to the table and we all toasted to good fortunes. Then Marylyn made a toast to the new family members, Margo and Cynthia Hegland, the twins born to Pam and Nigel. That was news to me. I knew there was one coming but not two. It was cheers to all.

A while later, Helen and Janet joined us and a table was pulled over to make space. Janet came over and whispered in my ear.

"We'll talk later. Don't drink too much" and then she kissed me sensually on the side of my face.

Helen was just grinning. I started thinking I hoped they walked and didn't drive. Most of the crowd was staying at Janet's parents place. Mildreid was still staying at Four Sisters, a nice Inn in Sonoma. 

Before long, everybody was getting completely loaded except me, Kiera and Mildreid. Helen broke away for a bit and nursed her lips on my ear.

"Tom, when it's time to go, Janet and I are going to rock your world."

She then licked my throat and winked. OK, so she was getting sauced. I looked at Mildreid and she just had that shit eating grin on her face again. That was a harbinger if ever one existed.

When we left, I had both Helen and Janet on my arm and Helen reached over and grabbed Mildreid as well. It was almost a déjà vu of that night in Heidelberg several months earlier. We entered my condo and Helen pushed me down onto the couch and straddled my lap while two amused women looked on.

"Tom" she purred. "I am your woman and you are most definitely my man so, what is going to happen here tonight can only happen if I am agreeable to it and believe me, I am most agreeable, OK?"

I didn't have words to say so I merely nodded. Helen just crooked her finger toward Janet and Mildreid and beckoned them. Both of them stood to either side of me with Helen in the middle. I don't know who started the music but all three of them seductively, if not somewhat drunkenly, slowly stripped in front of me.

Janet took Mildreid's face in her hands and kissed her passionately while Mildreid tugged at her bare nipples. Both of them were standing there in just panties as Helen removed her remaining clothing and dropped down onto her knees as she tugged on the belt to my trousers.

She reached under me and pulled the trousers and my shorts down to my ankles and with her thumb and forefinger began stroking my fully engorged prick. My eyes traveled from what she was doing to the embracing and kissing of the other two women before me. Both of them looked at me while they were doing it and that only further heightened my arousal.

Helen lowered her mouth onto my cock and began giving me an outstanding blowjob. I didn't want to cum then. I wanted to enter her instead. That didn't happen. Janet and Mildreid broke their embrace and Janet sat down next to me, her breasts right at face level. Helen sat on the other side in the same manner and Mildreid brought herself to me.

"Tom, both of us have wanted to see you with her since she first told us about it." Janet huskily said.

At that point, Mildreid straddled me with my erect cock pointed straight into her soft, inviting pussy. She didn't mount it. She reached down and toyed with it, moistening the head with her wet juices. She brought her lips to my ear.

"Tom, I've wanted this so badly, since Italy, and your woman and your lover have given you to me."

She then lifted herself higher and brought her sex to my mouth, holding herself upright on the back of the leather couch. She fucked my mouth and then made love to it before she gushed in a moistening orgasm. Helen and Janet were kissing her hips and playing with her nipples as she came back down. Her lips found mine and I felt my cock enter her familiar warmth. Making love to Mildreid was like being lost and finally finding the comfort of your own warm bed.

She rode me in that position for a long time before allowing me to lie her down on the couch and make love to her face to face. At that point, nothing mattered. It didn't matter that Helen was right there stroking her hair. It didn't matter that Janet was on her knees kissing my ear and the side of my face. All that mattered was that my German princess and goddess and angel was lying beneath me making the same love that I was having with her. 

I hadn't used a condom and she whispered in my ear to cum inside her, to enjoy her fully. A few moments later, I did just that with an intense guttural orgasm. She wrapped her legs around me and held me like that for several minutes.

When we separated, both Janet and Helen pressed against me and thanked me for what I did. Mildreid just lay there in a state of bliss. I didn't know what to think really. I didn't need to be thanked. I should have been thanking them. The sensual lust was still enveloping me with two familiar sets of breasts pressed against me. Both women rose up and Janet took me by the hand and led me into the master bath.

We showered together and toweled. When we came out, both Mildreid and Helen were lying on the bed naked, caressing each other. When I lay on the bed, Helen proceeded to suck my cock again and Janet took her position lowering her pussy onto my face. It was smooth, shaved clean and fresh and her clitoris stuck out of its hood when I ran my tongue up through her vulva. As with Mildreid, she orgasmed from my efforts and when she had come down a bit she lowered herself on my cock with Helen holding it at the base.

She didn't make love to me. She fucked me instead. She squeezed that delectable pussy up and down my prick until I rolled her over and entered her looking right into her eyes.

"Fuck me" was all she said.

I did just that and eventually rolled her onto her belly and had her raise up her ass. When she did I fucked her dog style until I felt her vaginal orgasm gush around my prick.

"Cum in me, you hot fuck."

It took me a bit longer but in a couple more minutes I emptied my nut in her familiar pussy and bent down to kiss her back. She settled into the pillows and I rolled to her side.

"Verdammt, die heiß war" Mildreid whispered.

We lay there for a while, the four of us on that large bed. Several minutes later, Mildreid took me by the hand and we showered together as I did with Janet.

"Tom, there is one more woman for you tonight. She's the most important. She's the one you will wake up with tomorrow."

She looked up at me.

"Did I ever tell you I love you, Herr Tom?" Her eyes were moist from the shower as were mine but I knew the emotion.

"Every time I looked into your face, my little Frau, jederzeit"

We hugged each other and dried off. When we turned back into the room, fresh candles were lit and Janet sat on the side of the bed with Helen lying back on the pillows and fresh linen. Mildreid led me to the bed and I lay down with her. Helen began kissing me on the mouth and caressing my hair. I did the same with her and then I felt it. It was the warmest, wet mouth I had felt in several weeks. Mildreid had positioned herself between my legs and taken my full manhood into her mouth. Her fingers were toying with my ball sack and another finger found the entrance to my ass. She went knuckle deep and completely in her mouth. I went hard.

Helen did what the two women before had done but turned to face them. Her sex was buried on my lips. She was always a bit slow to arousal when we did this but for this night she was literally soaked. I took my time with her and another familiar mouth replaced the earlier one. Eventually, Helen had her orgasm and I laid her down in the center of the bed and mounted her like I had so many times before over the years. I pressed myself into her gently and lovingly. I was going to make love to her tonight, not fuck her and I did just that.

We lost ourselves in the passion and didn't notice the two other women leave. I continued to make love to my woman and orgasmed together. I kissed her face, her lips, her body and I led her to the shower when we were rested. When we finished I poured her a glass of wine and I had a run and coke.




The Resurgence of a Weary Man Pt. 04



"Welcome Home, Helen."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Epilogue

It's a different kind of relationship than we had before. It has been a couple of years now since the Ménage de quatre. I couldn't repeat it if I wanted to. Helen and I have not remarried although she now lives with me in my condo which is soon to be replaced with a new home in the country. Janet did find a significant other although she hasn't taken it to an exclusive relationship. Nonetheless, after a comfortable discussion among the three of us, we chose to remain close, intimate friends. I never did ask about their all night bender in Heddesbach. Some things are just left to the entertainments of the imagination.

Mildreid, on the other hand, is still very much in our lives. She gave birth to my new son nine months after that night naming him Thomas Wil Davis. She also shares our bed when Helen allows, which is very liberally. Thomas lives with his mother but when the country house is built I am going to ask Mildreid to live with us either in the main house or in the cottage I am building on the property as well. I have already set up a trust fund for Thomas and over Mildreid's objections, I created an annuity for her so that she would never lack financially.

Helen has fallen in love with Thomas and spoils him foolish, picking him up every time he cries. In German tradition, Mildreid wants him to call me Papa and he will call Helen Nana. It will eliminate any confusion down the road, we hope. When he is old enough, we'll explain the relationship.

Jason and Ann continue to grow their business and both have established new relationships with significant others. Ann and I had a talk about what her mother had said concerning marriage and trust. I think seeing us back together albeit in a somewhat unconventional fashion helped restore some of that trust issue in her life. She has met a nice young man and I know he is serious about her.

Jason has met a great young lady by the name of Julie and he told me is about to pop the question but he needs to talk with her mom and dad first. I'm guessing both David and Marylyn will have a good long talk with him about their expectations concerning their daughter. When it's over, he'll have her hand.

Omega continues to grow and with Bill stepping aside next year to retire, the board has already named me as the next chairman along with my current CEO duties. I might have to adjust Mildreid's reporting arrangements at that point but I'll cross that when it happens. Margarete did work out OK in Heidelberg and Ingrid actually settled her flirting ass down and married an auto mechanic. I know he is going to love blowjobs like nobody else.

Softech continues to grow and expand into new markets and the kids are learning how to live and work in the predatory world of business. Does that help them prepare for predators the likes of Charles Madison and Art Sajac in their personal lives? I think it does. That doesn't mean that Ann would never cheat on her future husband or that Julie might be seduced away from Jason, if that union ever happens. It means they might be better prepared to recognize external threats to their internal affairs and if I have accomplished that, I'm satisfied.

So am I the monogamous Tom of old, before our married world diminished through neglect and callousness? Honestly, no but I still believe that if I had nourished my marriage before it imploded and taken the time to talk with Helen, we might still be living in that age of innocence and that would not have been bad at all.

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Several of the characters in this series have come from the later chapters of "The Epiphanous Spouses" and from the same storyboard, the stories of "Pam" and "Millicent". The character Kiera has appeared in all of the related stories and I have yet to tell her tale. I told the story of Kiera's mother in "Darla' but it was a stand- alone and didn't really explore Kiera's character. 

As some might have already noticed, I like to build connections between stories and places leaving myself room to build a different plot twist with new characters and situations. In this modern age it is relatively easy to hop on a Boeing 767 and cross the country from Tennessee to California and beyond. It's even easier in fiction.

As for those who really do not like reconciliations, restorative relationships or the acknowledgement of remorse and its consequences, I'm probably not a favored writer. I might burn a bitch for fun once in a while but who constitutes the bitch might be more novel.