Sunday Night Chats

No sex....

After our youngest headed off to college, my wife Sheila decided we needed to improve the communication in the house. She chose Sunday evening right after dinner for our little chats. We were supposed to discuss any major household needs, possible vacation destinations and other things that needed to be done. I expected the worst.

The first Sunday chat went well, what did the house need, pest control, roof condition, which rooms would need to be painted first. We ended the session with a list and priorities. Sheila was all smug with herself on how it went.

The first crack appeared on our second Sunday chat when we began talking about the life expectancy of our cars. Although her car was newer than mine, she no longer wanted to drive the minivan we so desperately needed while driving the kids' sports teams around. Sheila want a certified preowned Lexus or BMW.

"Sheila honey, you can buy any car you want as long as you pay for it," I said.

"Why do I have to pay for it, you paid for the minivan and your jeep," she said.

"Yes I did, we both work, so there's no reason you should expect me to buy you a luxury car. For the first time in a decade, I don't have a car payment and I'm in no hurry for another one. I think I can easily get five more years out of the jeep and your minivan will last longer than that. This isn't a need, it's a want, so go ahead. Just make sure you can afford the car payment."

Sheila turned a bright red and went storming off, slamming the bedroom door on her way. When we were younger that meant I wasn't getting any that night, but I couldn't remember the last time I did get any. I usually slept in what had been our oldest son's room, so the closed bedroom door wasn't significant.

Sheila started off week three with the car again, telling me she talked to my friend Matt who worked for a Lexus dealer. I needed to be reasonable she said.

"I'm sure Matt told you that certified pre-owned was just a way for them to jack up the price," I said.

"But I can't afford a new one on my own, will you split it with me?"

"No Sheila, go buy a Camry, it's almost the same thing."

"I deserve a Lexus after driving minivans for the last dozen years."

"Yes, you drove minivans, cars I paid for, cars I insured, and I was responsible for all the maintenance. You want a Lexus, it's all on you, car payment, insurance and maintenance. I'm going to watch the game."

Sheila stewed at the kitchen table for another half hour, jotting notes in a little journal she began keeping. Her shitty attitude lasted through the week. Normally we took turns cooking dinner, but Sheila skipped her turns that week. I wasn't bothered by eating the previous night's leftovers.

My parents owned a cabin on a lake in the mountains. Nothing extravagant, two rooms and a loft. The bathroom was an outhouse up the hill. The cabin belonged to me and my two sisters who never went there. It held sentimental value to all of us so there was no interest in selling.

That Friday morning, I left Sheila a note that I was heading to the cabin right after work and would be home in time for dinner on Sunday. She sent me a text saying I better plan on cooking.

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the mountains although I spent most of the first 24 hours cleaning. It had been months since anyone stayed there and nature was invading. The canoe was past tense, and the dock scared me so there wasn't going to be any fishing. I worked my ass off and was pleasantly sore when I drove home on Sunday and arrived just in time for our Sunday chat. Of course I stopped to eat on my way home.

Sheila opened with the Lexus again and why wouldn't I help her to be happy.

"Sheila, we've been married for twenty something years and you should know by now that I don't change my mind once it's made up and you haven't presented any arguments that would even suggest I should. Unless you are going to change the subject of these Sunday chats, you're going to be talking to yourself."

"You're such an asshole Brad, why did I stay married to you for so long?"

"My thoughts exactly Sheila, now if there's nothing else, I need a real shower."

"You better plan on doing your own laundry from now on too."

"Sheila, I been doing my own laundry for the last decade and the family bath towels. Whose laundry have you been doing besides your own, because if it's another man, get him to pay for your Lexus."

The bedroom door slammed again.

Sheila stopped bring up the Lexus on our Sunday chats and shifted to getting the inside of the house painted which devolved into a conversation on whether to replace the furniture first.

"The furniture doesn't need to be replaced Sheila."

"We've had the same sofa for ten years; I want a new stuff."

"Again, another want, not a need. You pay to have your wants satisfied and as far as painting is concerned, I'm going to be busy fixing up the cabin for the next couple of months, the damn dock is ready to fall into the lake."

"Why should I care about the cabin Brad?"

"It's an asset that we are part owners of and like any asset, it needs to be maintained in order to hold its value."

"And are your sisters going to contribute to these costs?"

"Of course, they offered to each pay half for the supplies of any jobs I do myself. I don't think I'll take on the dock, so we'll split those three ways."

I spent most of the summer at the cabin, more to get away from Sheila. The kids began joining me when they came home for the summer. Sheila tabled our Sunday chats until they went back to school. I was due to retire in a couple of years and the idea of retiring to the cabin became very appealing. Especially since Sheila decided early on that she was more of a Hilton type girl and not suited for a cabin.

Once the kids were back on their campuses, Sheila wanted to resume our Sunday chats. They turned into Sheila bitch sessions about all my sins that I committed. She had to take the trash out because I was up at the cabin. When I came home I occupied the washer and dryer. More and more of the household chores were becoming her responsibility. I wasn't sure what she was talking about there. It was on the third or fourth of our renewed chat sessions that I learned to shut up and let her vent. My mind was usually thinking about the cabin and the problem with mice.

The worst part was when the winter set in. The cabin had a fireplace, but it was never intended to be used during the winter. That meant more quality time with the lovely Sheila and our Sunday chats. Sheila was frequently noticing my lack of attention and my complete lack of responses. Fortunately, the kids came home for the holidays, and I had a reprieve until February. I prayed that she had forgotten about them, but my prayers went unanswered when I was summoned to the kitchen.

"When are you going to start painting the rooms I want redone Brad?"

"Sounds like another want Sheila and is there a reason you can't repaint the rooms?"

"But you always do the painting around here, why are you going to be such a dick about this?"

"Well Sheila, these Sunday chats have made me rethink a lot of things. Obviously when the kids were small you had most of the responsibility for them. Of course, I was the one who took them to every practice, lesson and game."

"But you were their coach, you had to go."

"We're on a tangent here Sheila. Painting is your 'want' and you are responsible for your 'wants,' paint it yourself or hire a contractor, of course you'll be financially responsible for all the costs."

The bedroom door slammed again. Sheila argued the painting issue the next three Sunday chats and I had more and more trouble paying attention. Once I was able to get back to the cabin my attention span was that of a child which was why I really pissed her off one night.

Sheila was talking and I was thinking about getting the cabin fumigated to get rid of the mice when she slammed the table.

"Damn it Brad, are you even listening to me. I just said I think we should open our marriage, and you sat there staring into space. Well, what do you think?"

"Are your serious or are you fucking with me?"

"Yes, I'm serious Brad. How did we stay married this long?"

"Was that a rhetorical question or do you really want an answer? And are there any ground rules to this open marriage thing? I can imagine you wouldn't want me bringing any women home with me and are there any women you consider off limits. Like your friend Stacy whose been hitting on me for a decade and getting bolder every year. Did you see how she grabbed my ass while we were under the mistle toe last Christmas and what about Melinda, she's a little more subtle but more my type."

"They are both ten years younger than you and I don't care who you hook up with. Besides it's much easier for a woman to find a sex partner than a man!"

"Sheila, in general you are probably right. But I weigh almost the same as I did when we got married and my pants still have the same waist size. I still have most of my hair. You've easily put on 50 pounds or more since then and how many dress sizes? Not to mention the bingo arms and saggy tits. I'm sure you'll find some drunken fool looking for a wet hole, but none of your partners will be a step up from me. Whereas the two woman I just mentioned are way out of your league."

The bedroom door slammed again behind a crying Sheila. Maybe I was a little mean, but I was flabbergasted by her suggestion to open our marriage. Then I started thinking about Diane, the blonde who owned the cabin near mine, I never saw a man with her, and she was always very friendly with me when our paths crossed.

Sheila brought it up again on the following Sunday, again she said she didn't care who I fucked. I told her I wanted her proposed ground rules in writing and signed because when this blew up in her face, she wouldn't be able to throw it in my face in divorce court. She didn't care about any ground rules. I said no partners in the house, I'm sure you don't want to see Melinda running around in a little nighty. So that was our only ground rule.

My company had what they called flex hours; I could work four ten hour days or whatever as long as I had my 40 in and my jobs were on schedule. It was never an option for me with the boys sport schedules but now it was ideal, I could be on my way to the cabin on Thursday night. I sent Sheila a text to let her know I would be leaving for the cabin on Thursday from now on. The outcome of our Sunday chats to improve our communication meant that most of our communication was now through text messages. Since cell service pretty much sucked at the cabin, I had three days away from Sheila. Before I left on Thursday she sent me a text saying she was going out on Friday. I ignored it.

On Saturday of that weekend, I saw the Diane, the blonde from the next cabin waving at me and thought I heard her call for help. Walking to her cabin was a trek uphill through the woods so I jumped in my jeep and drove over there. One of her cedar roofing shingles had blown off during a storm and she had stepped on it, putting a nail through her foot. We wrapped an ace bandage around her foot to stabilize it and I was able to scoop her up and put her in my Jeep. While helping her get settled I realized that she was really pretty.

While sitting with Diane in the waiting room, my phone started exploding. I burst out laughing when I opened a text from my wife's friend Sandy.

"Sheila said you guys have decided to open your marriage. If that's true, when can we get together, you know how long I've been trying to seduce you!"

The next one was from Melinda, "I was looking over Sandy's shoulder while she was typing that text, I want first dibs. Sheila said you told her that I was more your type. You are certainly my type and would love to spend a long weekend at your cabin and I don't care about outhouses."

There were the same kind of texts from women I barely knew or didn't know.

Diane asked me what was so funny.

"Two weeks ago, my wife said she wanted to open our marriage, it wasn't my choice, but I said okay. I know she went out with her gal pals last night and she must have told them because I've been solicited by a half dozen women since then."

"I didn't know you were married; I've only saw one woman at your place, and I assumed the was your daughter."

"Married 23 years and it's probably 22 since the last time my wife visited the cabin. She's much more of a Hilton girl. That was my daughter."

"So, are you going to take advantage of these solicitations," Diane asked.

"No, despite agreeing to Sheila's request, I'm pretty old school where you're either married or you're not. I'm not a big fan of new age horse shit about open marriages. From what I read; most open marriages end up in divorce during the first year. Sorry for getting on my soapbox."

"Don't be sorry, my ex-husband tried that same shit with me, I said no which is why he's my ex-husband now."

I showed her the text messages and she laughed.

The nurses brought Diane back to an examining room and brought her out in a wheelchair an hour later. I notice her pants were missing.

"I'm fucked Brad, totally fucked. I can't put any pressure on it for 24 hours, and I won't be able to drive home. How the fuck do I get into my cabin, let alone the outhouse and then home. I'm not even allowed to put pants on for a week. They're going to give me fucking crutches, they'll be useless outside the cabin."

"May I be your knight in shining armor, my lady. You're light enough for me to carry and I can easily drive you home."

"I hardly know you Brad, you're going to carry me up the hill so I can use my outhouse?"

"Whatever my lady needs, I am there to serve."

She let out a loud fuck and tried to pulled her shirt down to cover her panties.

"Well, my knight, let's get out of here."

I scooped her up again and plopped her into my Jeep and we headed back to her cabin, stopping along the way for some takeout.

"Let me sleep on your couch Diane so if you need anything during the night, I'll be able to help you."

"No, you should sleep in my bed."

There was a moment of silence when we both realized what she said.

"I'm sorry, the pain killers are kicking in, my bedroom is pretty tight. I should sleep on the couch; there's more room for me to navigate with the crutches there."

After eating, I drove back to my place for a change of clothes and then headed back to Diane's. She had fallen asleep sitting up on the couch. I laid her down with a pillow under her head and found a blanket to put over her. Finally, I was able to cover her panties.

In her bed I was overwhelmed by her scent having to deal with a painful erection or not dealing with it actually.

She was calling me in the middle of the night, and I ran to her side.

"This fucking sucks Brad, I have to pee so bad."

"Do you want me to carry you to the outhouse?"

"No, there's a bottle like they use in the hospital in the cabinet next to my bed, can you get that for me and some tissues please?"

I ran to get it, and then I had to help Diane move closer to the edge of the couch.

"Can you step outside my knight? I'll never be able to pee knowing you can hear me."

She called me back in a few.

"Fuck can this weekend get any worse," as she handed me the bottle full of her urine. "Can you dump that along the foundation, it keeps the mice away." I also picked up the tissue she used to wipe herself.

"You don't know what that is Brad."

"I have two sisters, a wife, and a daughter. I know what it is."

She was trying to lay back down, and the blanket fell to the floor as I tried to help her. There was definitely a lack of pubic hair under her panties.

"I'm sorry Brad, I'm going to have to give up any thoughts of modesty this weekend."

She had taken another pain pill and was out in seconds. I wish I had one because seeing her panties was definitely arousing me. How easy it would be to just throw her over the couch and take her.

In the morning, I was up before her and found the needs to make coffee. The aroma woke her up and I handed her a cup.

"You are certainly my shining knight, but you know what's going to happen twenty minutes after I drink this coffee."

"I'm assuming you'll need a lift to the outhouse."

"Yes, and I'm assuming when you volunteered to be my knight you had no idea what you were signing up for."

"Seriously Diane, I'm very happy to help and a good knight never questions his lady's needs."

Carrying Diane up to the outhouse was the easy part. Like most outhouses it was pretty small inside making it impossible for her to use the crutches to get herself situated. Finally, I was able to help her sit on the toilet seat and close the door. There was a bunch of cursing from inside and she finally asked me to open the door.

"Fuck me Brad, I can't lift myself up and pull down my panties. Can my knight please help me to stand up and remove my panties before I shit all over the place."

"Ok, I'll close my eyes."

I tried to keep my eyes closed but the panties got stuck on a nail or something on the back wall, so I had to look with my face inches away from her pussy.

When she was done, the panties had a big rip in them, and she decided to toss those and put on a fresh pair when we got back to her cabin.

"You know Brad, the pain medicines are dulling the embarrassment I should be feeling and I'm going to be mortified when they wear off on Tuesday. I may never be able to look you in the eye again."

"My lady, your humble knight would prefer to die a thousand painful deaths than never to have the light from your eyes shining on me again."

I helped her pick out a fresh pair of panties and a skirt as we prepared to leave. Unfortunately, with the extra room on her bed, she was able to get the panties and skirt on without my help.

"Don't look so disappointed my knight," she said with a smile.

We loaded my jeep with our combined stuff and headed to her house. On the way she called one of her girlfriends to come over and help her once we got to her house. This knight's services would no longer be needed. I was going to miss being needed, it felt good especially helping a beautiful princess in distress.

I offered her a ride back to her cabin Thursday night and she accepted since we left her car there.

The bedroom door was shut when I got home Sunday night. I wasn't complaining. There was a happiness flowing through my body like I haven't experienced in years and the sound of Sheila's voice would definitely piss all over it.

On Thursday, I left work a little early so I could pick up Diane and get back to our cabins before dark. She was getting around pretty good and was rocking the jean shorts she was wearing. She caught me checking her out and flashed me a smile.

At her cabin, I helped her get her stuff in and headed back to my cabin which all of a sudden felt very lonely.

When I got up in the morning, Diane's car was in the driveway, and she was sitting on my deck.

"I made my knight some coffee."

She had a thermos and poured me a cup.

"You have to let me repay you some way, how about I begin by taking you out for a breakfast."

Somewhere in my mind I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish at the cabin this weekend, but that list was gone. Diane and I dragged breakfast out till noon and returned to her cabin with sandwiches. She was still hobbling a bit but was able to show me the things she had hoped to accomplish that summer. After the shingle incident, roof repair was on the top of her list. She looked at me and I said her knight doesn't do heights.

Saturday night we were sitting in front of her fireplace drinking wine, it was so peaceful.

"Brad, just so you know there's a thousand ways I would like to pay my knight back if he wasn't married. I'm sorry Brad, I can't cross that line."

"Neither can I Diane."

"If you ever get divorced, I'm claiming dibs over Melinda."

Diane offered me her couch, but I declined, and she drove me back to my place, I had the overwhelming desire to kiss her goodnight but managed to get out of her car without doing so.

She was on my porch the next morning with coffee. Instead of going out, I prepared a couple of omelets. She was surprised I could cook.

"During our marriage, my wife and I always spilt cooking duties. Last year she quit because she didn't want to anymore." I gave Diane a short version of our Friday night chats.

Diane headed home early on Sunday, and I headed home my normal time after stopping to eat. When I got home. Sheila was sitting at the dining room table looking angrier than ever. I sat down across from her; she was tapping a card on the table.

"Who the fuck is Diane?"

"Diane is the woman who owns the cabin up the hill from ours. She put a nail through her foot, and I had to take her to the hospital."

"By the way Brad, I've cancelled our open marriage arrangement. But let me read from this card, My eternal thanks to my knight in shining armor, the first man to see my bits in a decade. Your Lady Diane."

"Yes Sheila, after they removed the nail she couldn't walk and wasn't allowed to put any pressure on that foot, so I helped through the next 24 hours and then took her home where a friend could take care of her."

"And just how did you get to see her bits oh knight?"

"She had to use the outhouse; it was pretty small. I was able to get her in, but she wasn't able to lift herself up and slide her panties down. So, I had to help her."

"Oh, I bet you loved that didn't you?"

"Actually Sheila, I couldn't imagine a less romantic place to help a woman remove her panties."

"And where did you sleep that night oh knight."

"Actually, I slept in her bed, and she slept on the couch because the bedroom was too small for her to navigate with her crutches."

"You saw her this weekend too?"

"Yes, I gave her a lift back to her cabin to get her car."

"And am I supposed to believe you didn't have sex with this woman on either weekend?"

"Well, since you decided to open our marriage it wouldn't be a big deal. But both Diane and I believe married people don't have sex outside their marriage."

"Fuck you Brad, you agreed to it."

"Yes I did, but I never had any intention of stepping out with someone else."

"Well, I don't believe you didn't sleep with Diane. I'm sure she was so grateful for her knight's help when she was in such need. And I decided last week to close our marriage after seeing all my so called friends throw themselves at you. That means you cheated on me and I could never stay married to a man who cheated on me so I'm divorcing you. I saw a lawyer on Friday, you'll be served next week. I suggest you get a lawyer."

With that, the bedroom door slammed. I sat there in shock, mostly about her reaction to Diane. The bit about rescinding the open marriage thing without notice was not a surprise which is why I had her sign that document early on.

I showered and got into bed. Before I went to sleep I checked my phone and the was a text from Diane.

"Brad, I just received an almost incoherent voicemail from a woman I am assuming is your wife. I am sorry, she must have opened the card I sent you. That thought never occurred to me, I am so sorry if this causes you trouble at home. I was trying to be cute and made a joke about you seeing my bits. I'm going to blame that on the pain meds. Again, I am so sorry. No good deed goes unpunished. I thought she wanted an open marriage."

I texted her back, "Diane, I am sorry you had to endure my wife. She has lost her mind. Sheila didn't like how all her friends were trying to solicit me, so she rescinded the open marriage without telling me. Please don't let it bother you; it's just a small piece of the craziness I've been putting up with the last year and I'm sorry she's dragging you into this."

Monday was a normal day at work, but I was out of it, I visited my boss and told him that Sheila was suing me for divorce because she thought I cheated on her. He told me to take whatever time I needed.

At lunch I received a text from Diane:

"I understand that Sheila filed for divorce, and I feel responsible, I am so sorry. I do know a really good divorce lawyer if you're interested."

"I guess I'm going to need one, it's hard to believe. This started with her crazy idea and now I'm looking for a lawyer. How did you know by the way?"

"I am a lawyer; I'll send you the address for my office and let me know when you can get here. We're playing catchup."

My boss gave me the afternoon off, and I found myself walking into Diane's office. It was big enough to play basketball in. She had two secretaries, one for correspondence and a scheduling secretary. Diane look good in denim shorts, but she was stunning in her business suit. She gave me a hug and we sat down at her conference table.

"I need to apologize again Brad; I feel bad that I'm causing the end of your marriage."

"The marriage was over long ago Diane, and you had nothing to do with that."

Just then a woman walked in, she was older than Diane, but she still had those timeless looks.

"So, is this Diane's knight in shining armor? My name is Justine and if you agree, I'll be representing you in the divorce."

"Yes, you can represent me but neither my wife nor I have the money to afford high priced attorneys."

"Let me take care of that Brad, it's the least I could do for how you helped me that weekend. I know how out of it I was, and you could easily have taken advantage of me, but you were a true knight."

I was so far out of my league I didn't know what to say.

Justine said, "Diane has already given me all the details of that weekend, so you don't have to go through it again with me. I'm going to depose your wife and I'm assuming her attorney will want to depose you so I'm going to have my assistant run you through a practice session, give you some pointers and advice."

"I have this too," I said and handed her the open marriage agreement I had Sheila sign.

"Good planning Brad, it would be better if it was notarized but if she lies during the deposition I'll crucify her. I don't understand why she's suing you on grounds of adultery, in this state it doesn't make any difference financially unless you have a prenup."

"We don't have a prenup. The idea got kicked around by my sister, but Sheila was opposed."

"She has to have some endgame here because I'm going to cause her to spend a shit load of money. Why did your sister want a prenup?"

"My parents were wealthy. Most of the money went into a trust for the grandchildren. My sister oversees the trust."

"Does the trust own any property," asked Justine.

"Maybe the cabin near Diane's cabin. My sister is a lawyer, I never paid any attention to the trust."

Justine walked out and a young gentleman walked in, introduced himself as Justine's assistant and said we need to go over my deposition. Diane excused herself to go to another meeting and promised she would see me before I left. She still had the limp.

Deposition prep was mind numbing. He apologized a dozen times and said we were preparing for the worst. He took me through the weekend three times and nailed anytime my second or third time through wasn't completely consistent with the first time. Then he repeated the process for the open marriage document. Diane was waiting for me when I got out, I didn't realize the sun had gone down.

"Please let me take you to dinner Brad. I know how painful deposition prep can be, especially with Justine's assistant. He's the best.

"Let me have your keys Jack, my assistant will take your car home."

I gave her my keys and she tossed them to some guy as a limo pulled up.

Somebody else ran over and opened the door for us.

"None of this is mine Brad, Justine requested it, and I don't say no to Justine, and she never asks anything I would say no to."

Diane took me to one of those fancy restaurants you read about but never imagine ever eating in. There were no prices on the menu.

"It's a private club Brad. The Company pays an annual membership fee which covers all the food and drink."

"Do you eat here often Diane?"

"Only for business, mostly lunches maybe two or three times a month. Brad, you know my style, cutoff jeans and something cooked on a firepit. But the food here is fucking great."

Diane started apologizing again and I threatened to put a nail in her other foot.

"Justine spoke with your sister. Justine was impressed and it's hard to impress Justine. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets a job offer when this is all done. The trust is ironclad and was in place before Sheila married you, so she has no legal claim to anything in the trust which holds a lot of securities."

"What's it worth?"

"Easily $50 million, your father intended it to pay college tuitions for all his heirs for generations."

"What do you think the cabin is worth?"

"Maybe $110 k, and that's really for the land. The cabin itself would be a knock down in this age of McMansions."

"I have no idea if Sheila has any idea of the true value of the trust, but I can see her going after the trust as a whole and then settling for the cabin so she could torch the site of her betrayal."

"Let me send that thought to Justine, unless her lawyer is an idiot he has to have a clue that her plan wouldn't work. He's not a very good lawyer and is the subject of a number of ethical complaints which focus on the lawyer promising the world which jacks up his billable hours and the promises turn out to be empty."

I was mind dead, and Diane picked up on it. She had the limo take me home and another car waiting for her.

My sister Marge called me on the ride home:

"Do you know who is representing you little brother?"

"No Marge, I went through three hours of deposition prep with Justine's assistant. I don't think I have a thought left in my head. So, who is representing me."

"Justine Bloomberg, as in the Bloomberg on the brass plaque on the entrance to the building. Her previous clients are some of the wealthiest people on the planet. How did you get hooked up with her?"

I gave her the open marriage story, the knight in shining armor story and my evening with Sheila.

"What's Diane's last name Brad."

"I don't really know; I heard it once. I'll think of it.

"Well, if its Samson.."

"That's it Samson."

"Diane Samson is Justine's right hand. Repeatedly recognized as one of the top lawyers in the country. I love you bro, but you couldn't afford an hour's of Diane's time, let alone Justine or her assistant. That three hours of dep prep was easily $10 k, Diane bills out at almost $2 k an hour."

"By the way, Diane said you really impressed Justine, and she wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a job offer in your future."

"I'm happy where I am Brad, master of my own practice. Listen if you need anything, please don't hesitate to call me."

I mentioned my theory about going after the trust, looking to settle for the cabin.

Marge said, "I can see her ambulance chase lawyer singing her that line, but believe me, she has zero chance. The best she could hope for is one half of your third of the cabin. Justine would shred them on that."

I'll spare the readers the boring legal drama that unfolded. The highlight was Sheila's deposition when she realized she had mixed up the date of our wedding and our first date. Her lawyer was in the deposition and was furious when he realized that we were married after the trust was formed. Diane couldn't believe the lawyer didn't check. Sheila was still trying to get something; my sister offered her $10 k to relinquish any right to the cabin. That's about what Sheila needed to pay her lawyer, so she took it. Sheila would also get half the proceeds from the sale of the house.

After that, the divorce progressed smoothly. With no big paycheck at the end, her lawyer started simply going through the motions. Sheila got the ten grand and half the house, and I never saw her again. The real story got to the kids when I sent them copies of the depositions and they pretty much disowned their mother. They also had a lot of fun calling me their shining knight.

Diane and I heated up to a level that plateaued. We would have some great sex when she was at her cabin, but her job kept her pretty busy during the week. I just wasn't satisfied being a weekend lover and there wasn't room in her life for anything more. Her trips to the cabin became less frequent and on her last visit she said she needed to break it off. I told her there wasn't much left to break off and she left with tears in her eyes. By that time, I had retired and spent my first winter on an around the world cruise which I enjoyed very much.

I couldn't wait to get back to the cabin though. The freedom to pick a direction and keep heading that way as long as you could avoid the trees and lakes. I was there over a week when I saw Diane's car in my driveway again one morning. She was sitting on my deck with a thermos of coffee wearing those jean shorts I loved.

"My knight, my knight, you have finally awoken," Diane said as she poured me a cup of coffee.

"It's been a long time since you've been here my lady."

"Yes it has Brad, much too long. You know I can be pretty blunt, so I apologize in advance. I am sorry for the way things ended. I somehow lost track of me. Justine noticed, she called me into her office last month and handed me my retirement papers and told me to go find my knight in shining armor. I usually do what she tells me so I'm here and hoping you haven't moved on with anyone else. You've been gone for a long time."

"There's no one else my lady, but I am very surprised to see you here."

"I'm not surprised Brad; the moment I said goodbye to you I knew I was making a big mistake. I couldn't figure out how to make you and the job work together. You know what I chose. I made a mistake, I knew it, Justine knew it, my secretaries knew it, but I didn't know how to undo it. Justine did so here I sit."

"Well, my lady, why don't we go to town and have breakfast."