Another We Need to Talk Story

I wrote this story so long ago I can't remember when. I usually jot down a dream and sometimes it turns into more. Recently I read a similar story somewhere on literotica, where sometimes it seems like nothing is new.

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Our weekday mornings use to be so hectic, my husband and I getting ready for work while getting our three kids off to school. There were some mornings, especially when the kids were young, that I thought I would lose my mind and would literally be shaking as I drove to work. One by one the kids matured, and the morning chaos faded into a dull routine. It was worse as they headed off to college. Then it was just my husband and I with our set routines and the mornings were generally boring compared to a decade earlier.

Until that Friday morning five years ago.

As my husband kissed my cheek on his way out the door he said, "we need to talk tonight after work."

I said, "I have plans to meet the girls for happy hour."

"You'll have to cancel," and then he was heading to his car.

In the years since, I have read a few 'honey we need to talk' stories but at that time I had no idea what those words could portend.

Jack never used that tone with me when he said, "you'll have to cancel." The kids had heard it many times and it generally meant they had fucked up. I hadn't fucked up, at least I didn't think so. That tone haunted me throughout the day. The ring camera alerted me that Jack had come home shortly after noon. Not totally unusual but he would normally call me to let me know and ask if there were any household chores that he could do with his free time. That was the way he was, always thinking about what I needed.

The rest of the afternoon was consumed with mundane meetings that I had trouble paying attention to, my mind was focused on what was going on with my husband. So many things were flittering through my mind that I almost ran a red light driving home.

Jack was sitting at the dining room table with a glass of scotch in his hand, Jack never drank this early. The kids were driving before they ever saw him pick up a drink.

We said our hellos and he suggested that I get comfortable before we talked so I headed to our room to change. While changing, I noticed Jack's closet door was ajar and I could see his suitcase which would normally be stored in the guest room closet.

Fuck I thought, he's leaving me. I sat down on our bed and started crying before I finished getting changed. I don't know how long I sat there with my face buried in my hands, and then Jack was sitting next to me, holding me.

"Why are you crying Jesse, did something happen to one of the kids?"

"Are you leaving me Jack? I can see your suitcase in the closet. Is that why we needed to talk tonight."

"Jesse, I am not leaving you. Please finish getting dressed and join me downstairs."

I put on a pair of sweats and felt like I was heading to my funeral as I walked down the stairs to join Jack. As I sat down, I saw a manilla envelope by his side and a fresh batch of tears erupted as I thought Jack was divorcing me. Again, Jack was holding me, helping me calm down.

"Jesse," he said, "we're bored and bored people do stupid shit, and we need to fix that before we destroy us."

Jack opened the envelop and pulled out pictures of me with Tom, a male coworker over several different days, either having lunch or drinks. I never thought we had left the friend stage but in the pictures, we were holding hands, or his arm was around me. There were also pictures of us dancing and he was holding me close, holding me in a way that only my husband should hold me.

"We never did anything Jack, I swear, just lunches and happy hours. We never even kissed; we never crossed the line."

"I know Jesse, but it looks like you're on a slippery slope. I'm not saying you would do anything to violate our wedding vows but let's change course before it does. And in full disclosure, I was on my own slippery slope with one of our consultants. I didn't cross a line either, but I had the thought. I'm not accusing you of having a similar thought. Let's work together to fix the boredom and find that excitement we enjoyed with each other."

"Jack, did you hire a private investigator to follow me?"

"Yes I did Jesse."

"That's fucked up Jack, you don't trust me."

"Should we go to your lingerie draw to see all the sexy bra and panty sets you've bought in the last few months, stuff you have never worn for me. Or how about those dresses you've purchased over the same period, all much shorter and sexier than anything more than six months old. Or we could talk about how for the first time in our relationship you changed the passcode on your phone."

The tears started flowing again when he mentioned the lingerie draw, I had bought that stuff with Tom in mind. I had no intention of ever letting him see me in just a bra and panties, but it made me feel sexy when I was with him. And I liked the way he looked at me when I wore a sexy dress.

"Jesse, I didn't ask you to talk so we could hurl accusations at each other, I asked you to talk because I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Jack was pleading for us, and I don't know why my mind flipped in a different direction. Fifteen minutes ago, I was crying because I thought Jack was leaving me or divorcing me, now I was beginning to wonder if that was a bad thing.

Unfortunately, my mouth was faster than my brain.

"Would it be so bad if we did go our separate ways Jack, you're bored, I'm bored out of my fucking mind. I'll admit I do find Tom exciting; you found that consultant exciting. Why can't we find a way to have that excitement."

The words were flowing out of my mouth, and I could see Jack's face breaking but I could not shut my mouth. I never saw Jack cry but there were tears in his eyes now, tears I caused but I was still rambling on. And then I saw the other envelope and finally shut my mouth.

"I guess this little talk was too late. When I thought about this chat over the last week or two, I realized there were two possible outcomes or maybe three. I really wasn't sure how far your relationship with Tom had progressed. My preferred outcome would have us refocusing ourselves on our relationship. I feared that I waited too long and you would have a different opinion so I had my attorney prepare these divorce papers. You should find an attorney and have him look at them. I tried to be fair. I was wrong earlier; I am leaving you and Tom's wife will receive a copy of the pictures tomorrow."

Jack got up from the table, I stared at the same place he was sitting as I heard him go upstairs to grab his suitcase and then heard him leave our house. I sat there so long I peed myself and still couldn't move. The sun had gone down, and I was sitting in the dark, my sweatpants had soaked up most of my pee but my socks were wet.

What the hell was I suggesting to Jack, that we have an open marriage that allowed us to take other lovers.

Jack was still a good-looking man; it made me jealous on how he easily maintained those boyish looks and never got a dad bod. He had his flaws, sometimes I teased him that he was like a robot and frequently saw the world in black or white. Which is the same way he came into this chat, either we were going to work on us, or we were done. Obviously that consultant found him attractive. And what did I have, a fledging relationship with a middle-aged man who had a wife and four kids at home. I had a thought about warning him about the pictures, just one of many thoughts that flowed in and out of my head as I envisioned life without Jack.

Hours after Jack left, I was finally able to stand up and head upstairs to shower. I remembered how many times I masturbated in the shower thinking about Tom over the last few weeks, especially after that night we danced. Essentially, I had already broken my vows, at least in my fantasies.

Jack would not be sleeping with me tonight. Early in our marriage he would have to travel on business, not too often but I remembered how much I missed having him next to me when I slept. It had been a long time since I last slept alone.

My mind started going in two different paths, the easiest one was to let the divorce happen and I wondered if Jack was already fucking that consultant. The other path was winning Jack back, I could start with a phone call or a text in the morning, asking that we chat again. And then what?

I don't think I slept at all and then the sun was shining in my eyes. Jack usually was up first and made the coffee. It had been so long since I last made coffee that I had trouble remembering how to do it. I felt like a zombie, drinking my coffee as I stared out the window, looking at our pool. My mind was flooded with all the pool parties we had. All of our kids were born during the summer, so every birthday party revolved around the pool and the grill. Jack flipping dozens of burgers or whatever was on the menu. At least today I had enough sense to hit the bathroom when I had to pee.

My thoughts were interrupted by someone banging on my door. There was a woman there who looked familiar and as soon as I opened the door, she slapped me hard. As I staggered, she came into my house, grabbed my hair and started calling me a slut and I had better keep my hands off her husband. She slapped me two more times before she collapsed on the floor. The pictures Jack sent her spilled out on the floor.

"I have four children at home Jesse, the youngest is still in preschool."

We both sat on the floor crying, eventually she got up, gathered the pictures and left.

My phone was buzzing, it was a text from Tom, telling me to never talk to him, never text him and to stay the fuck away from him. He had a slight chance of saving his marriage and that was his number one priority.

My husband left me, the man who made my panties wet wanted nothing to do with me.

What would the kids think. I know they loved their mother, but they idolized Jack. One night over dinner Jack told them his tale of a difficult childhood, then joining the navy and making himself a better person. From barely getting out of high school, leaving home and then getting his master's degree. The kids had stars in their eyes as he talked. Fuck, I heard the story before, and I had stars in my eyes.

The bathroom was calling again, and I got a good look at the bruising on my face.

That was going to be difficult to explain on Monday.

I picked up my phone and sent a text to Jack:

"Jack, I've been up all-night thinking about the things I said last night. Can we please talk again tonight, maybe go out to dinner. I need some sleep before we talk though."

Jack sent me a text saying he would be over at seven. I set my alarm for six, took a sleep aid and climbed into bed.

It seemed like minutes later that the alarm was going off. I jumped out of bed, grabbed some trash bags and tossed anything I bought with Tom in mind and hauled the bags to the curb. After a shower, I found something pretty to wear, not sexy, but pretty. I thought about makeup, changed my mind three times and settled on some eye shadow. The dining room reeked of urine, and I was washing the floor when the doorbell rang. It was exactly seven, so I knew it was Jack.

"What's with the trash bags out front, and what is that smell Jesse, and oh my god, what happened to your face."

"The trash bags contain my stupidity; the smell is from an accident somebody had last night, and Tom's wife came over to say hello."

"I'm sorry Jesse, I didn't think she would react that way."

"Don't be sorry Jack, I needed somebody to slap some sense into me. Do you want to chat now, or over dinner?"

"You called this meeting Jesse, your call."

"I am starving but let's start here. Please take a seat in the living room, the dining room isn't habitable yet. Can I get you a glass of scotch?"

Jack declined the scotch, I paced back and forth. I knew what I wanted to say but I couldn't get the words out. Jack was staring at me with that stone face I hated, he would be a great poker player if he gambled because you could never tell what he was thinking.

I lost it and collapsed at his feet.

"Jack, I am sorry for what I said last night, I don't know what I was thinking. Shit started flowing from my mouth and I couldn't stop it. I am bored and I did find Tom exciting, not Tom so much but the idea of Tom. Maybe the same way you thought about that consultant. You were trying to save us, and my mouth was hell bent on destroying us. I had to sleep alone last night, for the first time in forever. Such a little thing but it made me realize what a fucking idiot I was last night. I want to refocus on us and I'm going to start with a counselor, maybe we could go together.

Will you please come back to me?"

I looked up into his eyes, that fucking stone robot face. And then I saw his eyes begin to smile as he pulled me up into his arms. After dinner, we had the best sex in a long time or maybe it was just my imagination or the joy of having Jack inside me.

Like I said, that was five years ago. Counseling was a godsend, mostly I went by myself but sometimes Jack would join me. Everything wasn't perfect after that, but Jack never let shit fester too long. There were quite a few 'we need to talk' chats and we worked on ways to make things better. With the kids away at college, we started traveling a lot, whether a long weekend at a BnB or a week in the Caribbean. Jack actually got me to go topless on one of those islands.

I never opened the envelope with the divorce papers, instead I had it framed and hung it over my dresser in case I started thinking stupid shit again.