Calgary, October 2021
John was a happily married young man. He loved his wife and was terrified by the thought of losing her. He would never do anything stupid, but, and there always is ‘but’, he was missing the excitement of the early days of their love. He was missing the passion of their first meetings, the kisses, the wild sex, all of which, after five years of marriage, seemed to disappear. This is not to say that he was bored. As I already mentioned, John loved his wife and enjoyed being with her. Their sex was good, but it wasn’t the same as before, and John was wondering if the excitement of early days could be recuperated. He was even more wondering if it could be recuperated with another woman. “I have never done it with anybody else,” he was thinking regretfully. That was true. Mary, his wife, was his only lover. He met her at the university, where they both studied engineering. Mary was one of a few women in John’s class and when he saw her for the first time, it was love at the first sight. He knew it right then, and after talking to her at the university cafeteria, they both knew it. It was love at first sight.
What followed was what usually happens when two young people fall in love: Kisses in the park, going to the movies and most important, looking for a place where they could be alone. Luckily for them, that part was easily to arranged. Mary was living with her parents, but John, who came from another town, was sharing accommodation with another student. It was easy to set up a schedule such that each could have their own privacy. When John brought Mary in for the first time, it was unforgettable. After the initial hesitation, it was the first time for both of them, the instincts took over. The long kisses, holding each other in their arms, pressing the naked bodies at each other, all that was something which will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
As they started to know each other, their love only increased. Mary invited John to meet her parents and it turned out to be a pleasant visit. The idea that the husband of their daughter will be another professional was appealing to them. “When will be the wedding?” asked one day half joking, half serious Mary’s father when John was visiting. They both laughed, but they knew it was not a laughing matter. Marriage was a distinct possibility and then, after their graduation, became reality. The wedding was cheerful, everybody was happy, and the future looked bright. With their qualification they had no problem to find jobs, they rented a nice apartment and settled into a married life. Years went by and John started to feel restless. Having sex with another woman occupied his mind, but his pledge never to do anything stupid to endanger his marriage was in a way of his instincts.
Being an engineering type, John tried to find a logical solution. He rejected any idea of an affair with a co-worker. That could lead to no end of troubles. He also rejected a fling with wife of any of their friends, for the same reason. That left only one choice, Betty, their neighbour. She was married to Peter and was nice and friendly with John. Occasionally they were flirting, exchanging some sweet pleasantries. Betty was John’s only option. Being married, she wouldn’t make any demands and would want to keep it just as secret as he would. With this in mind, John intensified his flirting effort, and then decided for a direct attack. He knew that Betty returns from work before Peter, so one afternoon he waited for her at the parking lot.
“Hello Betty, I am glad to see you. Do you have a bit of time?” he asked.
“For you always, John. What’s up?”
“Would you like to go for a coffee? I want to tell you something.”
“Must be very important if you cannot tell me here.”
“Yes, it is.”
The went to the close-by coffee shop and John was visibly nervous.
“Betty, we know each other for a long time.” She didn’t respond, so John continued:
“We are both married, and I love Mary. I presume you love Peter.”
“So, where is the ‘but’?” replied Betty.
“But the excitement disappeared from my sex life. I wonder if it could be recuperated.”
“And you want to recuperate it with me. Correct?”
“Correct.”
Betty was quiet for some time and then she said:
“You know John, if I tell that to Mary, you would be in big trouble.”
“I know, but you wouldn’t tell her, would you?”
“No, I will not.”
Now it was John’s turn to be quiet. “I will let you know,” he ended the discussion.
At this point John’s plan turned from the initial concept to the execution phase. He talked to his friend Martin who had a cabin by the lake and asked him how often he goes there. He certainly didn’t want to borrow it but wanted to know Martin’s weekend habits. Just in case Mary talked to him by chance.
“Yes, I go there every weekend. You and Mary are welcome to come.”
“Thanks Martin, I might take you up on that.”
Then, when John came home, he told Mary:
“Martin invited me to his cabin during this weekend.”
“Good, I would also like to come.”
“Sorry, apparently it is some kind of men-only party. Lot of drinking.”
“Men only, you say?” Mary didn’t look convinced.
John, who was not experienced in cheating, didn’t notice Mary’s suspicion, and sent an e-mail to Betty:
“Is this weekend OK?”
The answer came right away: “Yes, it is.”
With this encouragement John booked a room in a close-by hotel and sent another e-mail to Betty: “The address is …. See you there.”
Saturday morning Mary was watching John leaving.
“Sorry to leave here like that.” John was apologising. “Next weekend we will go somewhere together.”
“Don’t worry, I will be OK.”
When John left, Mary looked out of the window and saw Betty leaving shortly after. Then she went to Peter’s house.
“Hello Mary, Betty just left,” said Peter when he opened the door.
“I didn’t come to see Betty; I came to see you.”
“For what?”
“For this!” and Mary gave Peter a long passionate kiss.
When Peter recovered from a shock, he asked: “What about John?”
“Don’t worry about John. He is with Betty.”
“He is with Betty? Where?”
“Probably in some hotel close by.”
“How do you know?”
Mary laughed. “You men aren’t very observant. Didn’t you noticed the looks John was giving her? The flirting? Now he came with this fairy tale about the all-boys party. I am sure Betty came up with something similar.”
“She did.”
“So, here you are. Let’s follow their example.” With that Mary grabbed Peter’s hand, dragged him to the bedroom and pushed him in the bed. Peter didn’t offer any resistance whatsoever.
“So, how was your weekend with boys?” asked Mary when John returned Sunday afternoon.
“It was great. How was your weekend?”
“Good. I enjoyed myself.”
“I am glad you had a good time.” John certainly didn’t want to go to any details.
Life returned to the old routine, but John started to feel guilty. He did something he swear he would never do: He endangered his marriage. What if Mary found out? To prevent such a disaster, John decided to confess:
“Mary, I have to tell you something which will make you angry, but please, let me explain,”
“You don’t have to explain anything. I know that you spent the weekend with Betty.”
John was stunned. When he could speak again, he asked:
“How did you find out?”
“It was pretty obvious. You were flirting with her, then you invented that story about the all-boys party, and Saturday morning you and Betty left in almost the same time. You wouldn’t be a good spy, John.”
“And you are not mad at me?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I spent the weekend with Peter and enjoyed it just as much as you enjoyed yours with Betty. And now, when we both got it out of our system, we will continue with having a happy marriage.”