Time to Trade Up

This is a fictional story and the people involved bear no resemblances to anyone living or dead. All characters having sex in this story are 18 years of age or older.

I would like to thank NorthernHunter for his advice and assistance in creating this story.

This story does not include any violent or severe Burn the Bitch content. There are many other good BTB stories to choose from in Loving Wives if that is what you want to read. This story is longer than average so please keep that in mind it is 8 or 9 pages long. I hope you enjoy it.

Time to Trade UP

Marvin Johnson was on his way home from work in a very cheerful mood. So far, this week had been a success and he was looking for a great improvement in his life. He was the President and owner of Midwest Financial Services, a company that provided accounting, investment, and management services for his community. It was not outlandishly profitable but provided Marvin and his 20 employees a nice living.

It was a drive that had history with his family. His great grandfather, Nels Peter Johnson, was one of the founders of this town. Arriving to this prairie from Oskarshamn, Sweden in 1868 with his 5 children. He and his children broke the virgin prairie soil with oxen and wooden plows.

Marvin’s grandfather was the youngest of the children and had broken his leg in a farming accident, making it difficult for him to do the heavy work required on the land. Instead, after 4 years of schooling he started to work for a local storekeeper as counter clerk and bookkeeper. When he was 22, he married 18 year old Birgitta Olafsdotter. Ten years later he started his own bookkeeping service at the time Marvin’s father Karl was born. A bookkeeping service that Karl took over after he returned from World War II.

As the generations moved along, the heirs of Nels Peter became mayors, bank board members, school board officers, Church trustees and county commissioners. Business and civic activities were hard wired into his DNA.

At his last stoplight before arriving at home he glanced at the passenger seat and saw his every present brief case and a bright red 8X11 envelope. An envelope that was decorated in script writing; A TRIP OF THE LIFETIME FOR THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. In the envelope were the schedules, brochures and information on a 30-day vacation to France.

The dates were still open but Marvin had arranged everything with Betty, one of his lifelong friends that owned a travel agency.

They had gone steady in sixth grade up until she cheated on him with John Stanson by sitting on the teeter totter with him at recess. He did not like the pain of her being with someone else. They did kiss once during their senior year in high school. It was after Betty was crowned Homecoming Queen and Marvin was Captain of the football team that put on her crown and then kissed her.

He was to call Betty after he talked to Cheryl tonight for the best dates for their trip. He knew that Cheryl was at home already as she called him to see if he would be home soon.

Marvin had left town to attend his state university. He met Cheryl during her freshman year in college at a sorority-fraternity mixer. He was a junior but they enjoyed each other’s company. Her major was French and his was Business Management so they did not have much academics in common.

He was already in a relationship with young woman in the Nursing School so he did not call Cheryl for a date, that year. It was early in his senior year that they connected and spent more time together. The Spring semester found Cheryl spending her weekends in Marvin’s apartment.

After his graduation he worked for a branch of a nationwide financial services company. He stayed in town because he wanted to stay close to Cheryl.

A college town can be hard for a young man to leave. There were girls, drinking, girls, football games, drinking and college parties. Why would a young man leave? Marvin had a one reason to leave, his father said so. He was to come home and start working for his father in the family business. Something Marvin always knew he would do some day.

The next year Marvin strained the odometer on his car with Friday 4 hour drives to see Cheryl, then return home Sunday. Being the romantic guy he was, he gave her a Christmas present of an engagement ring. The two mothers thought a June wedding would be a great event.

Cheryl now works at the local junior college with dual jobs in order to maintain her full-time status. The job she loves is teaching French, both entry and advanced level. Occasionally she will help out in the Philosophy curriculum when they start discussing French philosophy. Since her college major was French, it was not unusual for Marvin to see her curled up reading French newspapers and magazines on line at their home.

Her second job is working in the school placement area finding employment for graduates and part time summer work. She had been at the junior college since their two kids were in the 6^th and 8^th grades. Both have left home leaving Marvin and Cheryl to live as empty nesters.

He smiled as he saw his house come into view, a gift from his grandparents. They gave it to him because of his love of golf and the house was only a block away from the country club clubhouse. It has been a great place to raise their kids, make wonderful neighborhood friends and live a comfortable life.

He might just get lucky tonight as a result of his travel gift for their 25th-wedding anniversary. Their sex life had suffered the past 6 months or so. Winter blahs had set in, making it harder to get out and socialize. Cheryl had suffered from empty nest syndrome as their son left town to go to college and their daughter graduated and had taken a job in Kansas City.

Menopause had not been kind to Cheryl and made her moody, angry and difficult to live with. This was different from the bright, enthusiastic, lovely young woman Marvin had married 25 years ago. He hoped the trip to France would add some spice and happiness to both their lives. This trip had been a dream of hers since attending her first French class in high school.

She was not in the most popular girl in high school but was not a nerd either. The boys in her high school were into cars and sports. The most popular boys dated the most popular girls. The rest just watched the world go by. Cheryl spent a lot of time with her French studies and dreaming about France as she went to bed each night.

Marvin opened the front door and saw Cheryl sitting at the kitchen table. He smiled and said “Good evening Dear, how are you on this fine February evening?”

Cheryl looked up, showing no emotions said “Hi, I thought you would be home earlier than this. What’s with the big red envelope? Don’t you remember that Valentine’s Day was a week ago?”

He replied “I had planned to be home earlier but I had to run a very important errand, sorry to be later than I thought. The envelope is something for later on this evening.” He then put his brief case on the coffee table in the living room with the red envelope on top, face down and went to the kitchen table.

Cheryl had a bottle of red wine and two glasses already on the table. It was apparent that she had already drank one glass and was starting on her second. As she poured him a glass she asked “How was your day?” It came in the form of a conversation starter; but it did not appear that she really cared what had happened to him that day.

He started to answer then saw a pen and paper in front of her wine glass and wondered if he was going to be given a lecture on what he had done wrong this time. Instead, he replied “My day was ok, from the looks of the list in front of you it appears my evening will be more important than my day was.”

Cheryl sighed and said “Yeah it might just be. I have been doing some self-analysis of myself and where I am in life. More importantly what am I going to do the second half of my life. Many events this past few months have put me on this path of awareness. I will have my sorority sisters 25^th Class Reunion later this year. Two have recently died of breast cancer and one from COVID-19.”

She took a deep breath and said “My duties as being a mother, chauffeur, nurse, referee and councilor to our children are complete. All I have left is waiting for grandkids to come along for me to visit with them for a couple of hours every month or two.”

Cheryl looked him right in the eyes and said “Which brings me to our marriage.”

Marvin gulped and nodded that he was paying attention.

Cheryl continued “We will have our 25^th Wedding Anniversary this June. That is a very long time for two people to be together. Half of my sorority sisters are on their second or third husbands by now. Where are you and I going from here? What has kept us together? But more importantly what will we need to keep us together for the next 25 years? Where will the spark to keep the fire ablaze come from?”

Marvin’s mind was racing down a road with too many dangerous curves. He had to be very careful. He started off by saying “I understand where you are coming from. I have some of the same concerns about my own life. Some men find themselves in “The Middle Age Crazies”; buying a Corvette, wearing gold chains and chasing young waitresses.”

“Luckily, I have a wonderful wife and have not caught that disease. With that in mind what can I do to make this next half of our lives exciting and worth waking up each and every morning? If you have something on your mind for us to do, Please tell me and I will promise to do my best to make it work for us.”

“That is why I love you Marvin” she replied. “Most men would ignore a wife’s problem. They’d say “It’s your problem, you are the only one that can fix it.” Here is my proposed solution; I have always lived under the roof of someone else. I grew up in my father’s house then into the sorority house at college. The month after I left the sorority house I came here to live under your roof. The roof of the house your grandparents gave you as a wedding present. Someone else has always been sheltering me. I have not been on my own, ever.”

She continued “Living with you has been fun but it has not been necessarily fulfilling lately. I am the wife of the President of the Chamber of Commerce, wife of a church board member, wife of the president of the country club. Wife of this, wife of that, wife of everything. No notoriety for myself, just wife of the leader.”

“Marvin, you are the sun and I am just one of many small moons rotating around you. I have to get out of this orbit or I will go crazy. I have to get away from you to become myself again. I love you desperately but I need my space away from you. You are a wonderful husband, father, friend and lover. But you are just too damn wonderful. There is no room for me around this wonderfulness. I have to leave.”

She hesitated then said “With this thought in mind, I want a time-out, hall pass, freedom frenzy or whatever you want to call it for six months. For the next six months I will live somewhere else with no contact with you. This will be hard on both of us as every waking hour I will wonder what you are doing.”

“At the end of the six months, I will come back to you and we can work out a plan for the rest of our lives. I expect to be the fun-loving young woman you fell in love with in college. I know you have not been happy with me being so crabby the last few months. This may take some counseling on my part and maybe your part also, but I feel this is the best for both of us.”

Stuttering Marvin said “No contact whatsoever. I understand giving you some space but no contact seems drastic. Our lives have been so entwined that it would be difficult to separate them. Tell me exactly how this would play out as I don’t understand yet.”

She replied “It would like we were not married. You and I would go our separate ways. Pursue our own interests, hobbies and experiences. I have been reading about Post Modernism lately. Post Modernism emphasizes diversity of human experiences and multiplicity of perspectives.”

“This is exactly what I want to pursue. I have already signed up for the Zoom class “Empowering Women; Changing the Balance Between Men and Women” with the famous Indian yogi Rhasheedguru. The junior college has some classes on Feminist Theory, Contemporary Feminism and Diverse Perspectives that I want to enroll in. I am very excited to get my journey into empowerment started.”

She continued, “Our time apart is just like a divorce but without the hate and distrust of each other. We will be like lovers separated for six months. Military couples do this all the time and get along just fine. You would go about your life and I would be free to have a diversity of human experiences with interesting people.”

He asked, “You said you would be acting like a single woman and interacting with interesting people. Will that include be dating other men?”

Cheryl smiled and replied “Probably, but maybe no one will want to take me to dinner and a movie.”

Very coldly he questioned “As a single woman probably dating, are you also probably going to have sex on these dates?”

“Probably” came her casual reply. “How else can I increase my sexual experiences as a woman without having a man fuck me. My only sexual experience is you. You had sex with other women before me. I want to be on the same plain as you. You use your previous sexual experiences to please me. Now let me have some experiences so that I can please you.”

“You are forgetting one small factor.” Marvin said. “We are married. I vowed to have all my future sexual experiences with only you. You made that same vow. I have remained faithful; I expect you to do the same.”

She said “Well, we will just have to see what happens in the next 6 months. Maybe I’ll have sex, maybe I won’t have to worry about it. We’ll make that decision at the conclusion of my sabbatical.”

He countered “Then maybe the opportunity of you coming back into my life will not exist. You can just go on with your life with someone else, not me.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, it’s just some sex, no big deal.” Said Cheryl “After no sex with me for 6 months you’ll be happy we are together again. Please don’t make a big deal over this. I’m looking to improve myself and the confidence I get from seducing other men will make me a better lover with you and a more complete woman in all other aspects. Afterall I am not your grandfather’s kind of housewife.”

He commented “This 6-month period with no contact with me and outside sex seems extreme. Maybe we can work out some of your problems with counseling for both of us.”

She said “I don’t want to just talk about this, I want to do this. It has to be cold turkey otherwise I will continue to rely on you for everything and not improve myself. It has to be like we were no longer married for me to feel free enough to come back to our marriage with a better attitude.”

“I don’t know if I can handle this.” was the only thing he could say.

“No Marvin, we need to push the entire refurbishment of my brain as soon as we can. We go hard for six months and not let it drag on for a year or two. Making it sooner rather than later until we are back to being where we want to be as a couple.”

“When are you planning on moving out of our home?” He asked.

She answered “I have rented a condo for six months and will start moving stuff in this weekend.”

Marvin almost fell over backwards from his chair. “I….I…I…” was all he could get out of his mouth. Eventually he whispered “Can we talk about this a little longer before making such a momentous change in our life?”

She grabbed his hand and said “Thank you so much for talking with me about this. I think this will make our lives better in the long run. I love you so much for being understanding and not being a jerk or a bully.”

Grimacing he said “You give me too much credit. I don’t understand why you are doing this and I really don’t approve of it. It appears it will happen wither I give my consent or not. My feelings are not being considered in this decision.”

He needed to hit the “pause” button so he could react to this sudden mind-blowing event. He continued “I am reeling from your plan. Just don’t know what to ask or to talk about. My brain is on overload. Can we go to bed and discuss this tomorrow evening? Will you join me in bed or did the separation already start?”

She answered “Not right now dear. I want to work on some of the logistics of my move. I do expect to come to bed with you tonight.”

Marvin trudged upstairs to the master bedroom and fell into bed. He was stone tired and could not keep his eyes open. However, he could not fall asleep, too many questions, too few answers kept him awake. He bounced from pitying Cheryl for her problem, to pitying himself for not being more aware of her problem so he could prevent this separation from happening. Then rage stepped in; rage that while he was spending time and money arranging a 30-day trip of a life time to France for her, she was planning out her dissolution of their marriage.

Later that night Cheryl crept into their bed and cuddled up next to her husband’s back. As she gently kissed his shoulder, he felt her tears as she softly whispered “I’m sorry Marvin”.

Just as softly he said “I’m sorry too Cheryl.”

She replied “I love you.”

To which he asked “Is this the last time I will ever hear that from you?”

Cheryl whispered “I want to make our lives better after my adventure, not worse. I plan on coming back to you a much better wife and lover.”

It was a rare morning in their 25-year relationship that Marvin did not get up before everyone else. Today was no exception. Instead of fixing coffee and taking it to Cheryl while she was still in bed, a luxury she enjoyed, he went to the front door. He reached for his briefcase on the coffee table, slipped the red envelope into his briefcase and left.

He texted his good friend Roger at the car dealership and asked if he could stop by around 7am, knowing that Roger was always there by 6:30am. Marvin recalled that both Roger and his brother Dan have had recent divorces and he needed some practical and tactical advice.

After Marvin explained Cheryl’s planned separation for her to find herself, he looked quizzically at his friend.

Roger said “It sounds like she already has a boyfriend but is not ready to commit to that relationship. She wants to try him out prior to leaving you. If she is happy with her boyfriend in six months, she dumps you. If he is not worthy of her time then she runs back to you, saying “I have rejuvenated my life and ready to be your loving wife again”. You are the base she can use to improve her lover situation with very little risk on her part.”

Marvin questioned “How do I protect myself from being used like this?”

“Dump the bitch, the quicker the better” Roger exclaimed. “Put yourself in the driver’s seat. You need to make the decisions. The day she moves out you file for divorce on the grounds of abandonment. The divorce will take around six months anyway, so if she goes to dump you the divorce is ready to be finalized. If you decide to take her back you just refuse to sign the final document and you stay married.

“The key is that you get to decide what you do with her. Not her decide what she does with you. Remember if she cheats and you let her come back to you, it will be easier for her to cheat again and again.”

“One more hint for you, still be the good guy you are. Do not be an asshole or yell at her. It only puts up future barriers that will be detrimental to you, in the relationship and in court. Act like you are understanding and complicit in her plans. If she doesn’t have a boyfriend, it will be easier for you to work out your problems.”

“If you treat her mean, she will have a difficult time reconciling with you. One thing for sure, keep your dick in your pants. If she doesn’t cheat and you do then it will be big problems for your marriage. She may resort to revenge fucking and that adds more problems for you. You two are great together, I want you to get this marriage problem resolved not destroyed.”

“Great ideas Roger, I knew you could help me out” was Marvin’ reply.

Roger said “No problem Bro, you know all about how to take care of bank accounts before she gets to them don’t you? Plus get as much data, messages and emails from her devices as possible prior to her leaving. It will tell you if she is screwing around or just getting ready to screw someone other than you.”

As Roger walked him out of the building Marvin noticed a black BMW 430i convertible sitting in the lot. He asked Roger if that was his and Roger replied “Yes so far, the buyers at the used car auction this week were not paying attention and I got a good deal on this barely used beauty.”

Marvin said “Great, I’ll take it. Does it need any work? If not then have your guys clean it up and I’ll pick it up tomorrow. No haggling, just give me a decent price.”

While looking at Marvin’s vehicle Roger said “Are you trading up from your Honda.”

Marvin relied “I may do more trading up than that this year.” Marvin drove to the office to review what needed to be done that day. Everything could wait a few days so he told the staff he would be at home attending to another non-business-related crisis, but they could call him if needed.

On the way home he saw Betty’s car was at the travel agency so he stopped to clean up the aborted Paris trip. When Betty saw Marvin walk in the door she jumped up, squealed and said “How was the red envelope surprise? I’ll bet she loved it.”

He tried to retain his composure while he said “Cheryl says she is leaving me. She’s moving out this weekend so there will be no dream trip to France. What do I owe you for all the work you did on preparing this wonderful package?”

Betty slumped into her chair, shook her head and said “No, no. It just can’t be. Cheryl never says a single bad word about you. She loves you. I don’t know what to say. I am so sorry. What happened?”

Slowly he said “She says she needs her space to become her own person rather that the wife of a guy everyone in town knows and respects. Her words, not mine. It’s almost like she already has a boyfriend that she will be spending time with as I am out of the picture. Betty, she is one of your good friends, has she given you any clues about her becoming involved with someone else?”

Betty thought for a second and replied “She did remark that a new cute young guy had started in the counseling department. That was her only comment. Then she never spoke of him again. Not even a mention of his name. As far as cost goes you do not owe me a thing. I learned a lot about this kind of trip and will use it as a guide for my other clients.”

He requested “Please do not tell her the trip has been canceled. It was to be a surprise, only I was the one surprised.”

As he got into his car, he noticed his phone acting like a bumble bee. It had been on mute this morning and it had calls and texts waiting for him. All the texts were from Cheryl saying “please call me”. Heeding Roger’s advice, he dialed her number.

Immediately she answered “Marvin dear, where are you? I missed you so much this morning. Can you talk now?”

“Good morning Cheryl, I had a lot on my mind after our conversation last night and I thought a drive would help” is what he said.

She said “I can take the day off and talk now if you want. I know I shook you to your foundation last night and I am worried about my wonderful husband. Tell me what you want to do; meet now, at lunch, at dinner, after dinner? I need you to be with me as I am scared of what I think I want to do. I need your wisdom. Please Marvin.”

Almost being offended by her worry about him, he spoke softly with “I need more time to digest the ramifications of your separation plans. I’m going to go to the office, close my door, turn off my phone and contemplate the future. Let’s plan on having dinner together tonight, normal time and discuss this further. I’ll stop and get something for us to eat so you don’t have to cook or clean up the kitchen. Is that ok with you?”

She jumped at the chance and said “That would be great. I will look forward to seeing you. I love you.”

“Love you too” escaped his mouth before he had a chance to say anything else.

Next stop for Marvin was the bank. He paid off the joint credit cards with checking account funds and canceled those cards. The savings accounts for travel and Christmas funds were divided and put in two envelopes. Final step was to divide and close the joint checking account.

A new checking account was opened in just his name and he deposited his half of the funds into that account. Cheryl will receive her half in cash tonight.

Marvin drove by the junior college just to make sure Cheryl’s car was in the parking lot. He put his business card on her windshield with the note “Looking forward to seeing you tonight.” He remembered Roger’s advice to be as nice as possible until things become impossible. Keep the ego in check, she hasn’t cheated yet.

At home he started to gather the information that he needed. He knew her passwords were in a small book in her desk. He reviewed all of her emails; received, sent, trashed, favorited, and archived without an apparent boyfriend. He made a copy of her entire Contacts list, reviewing each name for clues.

He looked through all files that have had activity in the last 60 days. The history of web searches on different search engines were reviewed without any unusual activity. There were several articles in women’s magazines about starting to recover your self-esteem from being overshadowed by your significant other. He noted those articles for further study so he can know what her thoughts might be.

Cheryl’s cell phone was part of a bundle of services including internet and cable. It was easy to get all her texts for the past 60 days plus frequently called phone numbers. He wrote down the numbers of the five most texted numbers. All were on her contacts list and the only name on her list of contacts that was unknown to him was Roberto.

Marvin left the house to go back to the office to list out his concerns, thoughts and comments for the most important meeting of his life.

Later that afternoon as he was pulling into the driveway Marvin could see that Cheryl’s car was in the garage. He approached the front door and remembered Roger’s admonishment. Be nice until it was impossible. He opened the door to see his wife walking toward him with a glass of wine.

She looked at him and said “I heard the garage door open and could not wait to hold you in my arms.” At which time she threw her arms around his neck and pushed her lips onto his. He returned the favor because it was the first bit of passion he had experienced in several months. And he was going to enjoy it.

She broke their embrace and said “Why did you get an 18-inch pizza? Together can’t eat that tonight in one night.”

“I know” he said. “The leftovers are a start of me having to feed myself in the evenings.”

“Ouch, I forgot about how much that will change your life.”

“Yeah, it’s obvious you are not thinking about the changes to my life” he groaned.

The first glass of wine and slice of pizza was spent talking about who they spoke with that day and what was going on around town.

Breaking the ice, he said “So tell me about the apartment you have rented?

Showing her excitement about her big move she said “It’s a 1,200 square foot, 2-bedroom apartment on the third floor of the new apartment complex being built north of Nealy on 46^th street. It comes with a parking garage, clubhouse and pool. It is building number one of a five building development.”

“They needed quick revenue so I got a nice price on a 6-month lease. They figure that all buildings will be completed in 6 months and they can start raising the rents then but needed cashflow now. By then I will be back in this house.”

He complimented her with “Now that is smart money management Cheryl”.

He asked “Does it come furnished?”

She grimaced and said “No, I may have to rent some furniture for 6 months.”

He said “Take what you need from this house. What is here is too much for me to use. Especially take the master bedroom furniture as you have that special mattress for your back. Take the bedroom tv also, you are the only one who watches tv in bed. We can work out a plan for other furniture so you won’t have to rent so much.”

Grinning she said “Thank you for being so considerate. You really are a great person.”

He wanted to sarcastically say “Yeah, look what all that consideration is getting me, a wife going out the door” But he didn’t say it.

He did say “I don’t think you can get all your belongings into a 1,200 square foot apartment. What are you going to do with the overage?”

“Yeah, I thought about that too. I guess I’ll have to leave it here for the time being.”

Marvin said “I don’t think that will work. If you leave, all of you leaves. You can’t have this being base as you start a new life.”

Pleading she said “I don’t have a place for it to go. My apartment is too small for everything I have here. Why can’t you keep it here? I’ll be back in six months; it wouldn’t hurt you to keep it here.”

The reply was “As I said before; you leave, your stuff leaves. I don’t want to see your mementoes while you are out partying with other guys. It leaves a bad feeling in my gut.”

Coldly, she said “You can be so considerate as to make sure I get my bed but then be such a jerk about my unneeded stuff. A real jerk. What can I do with my stuff but leave it here?”

“Since you want to become independent why are you asking me? You are leaving me for that reason but now you want my help. You can rent a storage unit. They are all around the city. By the way who are you having move your stuff to your apartment?”

She asked “You have a pickup truck in the garage so I thought I would get you to move my stuff to the apartment. Can you do that for me please?”

“Here we go again, you desperately want to leave me but yet need me to do things for you. You leave; then you do not get either of my moving or storage services. I will tell you this; if we agree for you to come back to this house, I will help you move back in. If we agree.” said Marvin.

“What do you mean ‘If we agree’.” Cheryl snapped “That is a given that I come back here! Where else would I go? My plan is to come back here a better wife, more confident person and experienced lover for you. It will put us on new and better footing for the next 25 years. ”

He replied “Lots can change your established plan. One; you get enamored with one of your new boyfriends and decide you want another 6 months, a year or 2 years to play house and expect me to wait patiently for you.

Two; you have so much fun and have so much great sex with lots of guys that I would consider you as ‘used goods.’ No normal guy wants to have the town slut for his wife.

Three; While you are getting your thrill machine going, do you think I am going to sit in my garage waiting for you to drive up and join our marriage again? No way is that going to happen.”

“Cheryl, I have done some soul searching myself since our first talk on this topic. While I don’t have a wife around, maybe I need to be considering if I should trade up.”

“Trade Up? What does that mean?” she questioned.

Marvin explained “Just like when your car gets old and doesn’t perform, you “Trade Up” and get a new model. I would look to trade up too, a younger more entertaining wife instead of my old one.” Marvin really wanted to say “trade up to a younger, thinner, prettier wife” but thought it would not be helpful.

“Listen Buster.” she snarled “I’m doing this to improve my wifely performance for you. You don’t need to be out on the marketplace for a new wife. I do not like this idea at all.”

Calmly he said “And I do not like your idea either but you told me I have no say in your decision. You were going to do this no matter what I say. You gave no thought to my feelings about having a cheating wife. So, as you do what you want with the next six months, I will do what I want for six months. We’ll just have to see how this all ends up.”

Cheryl began sputtering “The two are not the same. I am looking for other men for sexual interaction, I look to you for intimacy. Sexual interaction is purely physical, with little or no meaning.”

She was on a roll and said “Intimacy is where you have heart to heart love. We already have our intimacy and will continue it upon my return. You just can’t do this Marvin, you just can’t. I need you to be there when my six months is up.”

Sternly he said “Thanks for letting me be your Plan B in case your free pass does not work out for you. You can stop me from trading up by not moving out. You move out, then I consider myself as unmarried as you do with your probable dates.”

Cheryl thought this is not working out the way it was supposed to. The husband is to be sensitive to his wife’s needs and allow her to explore her potential opportunities and adventures.

In order to change the subject Marvin handed her a large envelope and said “I used our joint checking account to pay off our joint credit cards and then canceled them. Then I closed out all of our joint accounts and your half of the money is in this envelope along with the documentation of division of the proceeds, 50-50.

You will need to open new accounts with the cash. I did not touch the credit cards you have in just your own name.”

“You are making this too difficult and too structured for me just taking some time away from you” She replied. “It’s not that big a deal.”

He replied “But it is a big deal to me. When a wife leaves her husband it’s a very big deal. While we are working on the logistics of a split up you will need to get a health insurance policy from the junior college. My policy will cover you for the rest of the month but you will need to get that in place.”

Continuing he said “You wanted to be a big girl and do big girl things by yourself. Well, this is what big girls do when they are on their own. They do not have a man looking over their shoulder to help out when needed. You said you wanted to be away from me so you can grow and expand your experiences.”

Cheryl grimaced and said “Is there any more shit you are going to unload on me? Or are you going to wait and spring it on me?”

Solemnly he said “Yes, there is one more thing. Probably the worst thing of all. The day after you pack up and leave, I will file for divorce under the grounds of abandonment. Before you stab me to death with your fork let me finish.”

He let out a big sigh and said “You want a 6-month free pass. A divorce will take at least six months. At the time your exploration in self-awareness is supposed to be over, the legal proceedings will be finishing up. If we agree to get back together again, then we do not sign the final divorce decree. The legal action is dropped and we stay husband and wife.”

Continuing he said “If you decide you have found a new life or love, we sign the divorce and neither of us needs to wait out the time of a divorce. This being said, let me reiterate this to you again. I do not want to divorce you. I love you and want you to stay with me. Grow old with me. But I will not stand by while you have sex with others without having the divorce proceedings in place. I want it to be public so I am not viewed as Cheryl’s cuckold husband sitting at home while she experiences new boyfriends. Can you understand my position?”

Quickly she countered “No one will know who or even if I am having sex with someone else. No one will ever know.”

Right away he said “Just like no one will know that you and Roberto go to lunch a couple of times a week.”

“Are you following me?” Cheryl shot back.

“I have had no reason to follow you. People I know just said they saw you with a young Hispanic guy. I presume it was Roberto. It was him, wasn’t it?”

Ignoring the question Cheryl snorted. “You are a real asshole. An absolute asshole. I try to improve myself and you throw up all these road blocks. It is just not fair. Not fair at all. It appears I am making the right decision to move away from a jerk like you Marvin Johnson.”

With that, she stormed out of the house, slamming the door and driving off. He thought, “Typical, when she does not get her way and has no come back remark to bring to the conversation she jumps in the car and leaves. This time it may be a while before she comes back. And if she doesn’t, that’s ok because she was leaving anyway.”

Marvin spent the remaining evening taking pictures off the walls. Any picture that had his wife in it was carefully placed into a box, hopefully she may see the light and cancel her 6-month odyssey. He did not want to create an irreparable problem. Included in the box were their wedding pictures and wedding album. Any pictures or nick knacks he wanted to keep he took down so her movers did not get them into her moving boxes. The house had an empty, cold look with the picture boxes stacked along the living room wall.

He was also glad that she thought his giving up the master bedroom furniture was generous. It was not out of generosity; he thought her favorite French Provincial furniture in a Mid-Century Modern house was completely out of place. He was glad to be rid of it.

The accusation of being a jerk stung him. He did not want to come across as being that kind of uncaring guy. Afterall, he really did not want her to leave, he did not want to divorce her either.

However, he was not going to let her fuck other guys then walk back into his life like nothing happened. He did not want to be at a table at a club when one of her former lovers came over to take her out to dance and try convince her to leave with him that night as cuckold Marvin sat at the table.

There was a supermarket just three miles down the road that had a florist shop. He jumped into his Honda and sped to the supermarket and bought a dozen long stem roses. He set them in a location that she would see as soon as she reappeared. A peace offering, a let’s tone down the rhetoric offering, to calm things down.

Around 10 pm he heard the garage door open and he could tell the car door was shut with an attitude. The door opened with force and she stomped six steps into the house and stopped. Marvin was watching the news and looked up and pleasantly said “Good evening Dear”.

After a few seconds he heard her say “The flowers are beautiful, are they for me?”

“Of course they are. You are the only one around here that deserves them.” He responded with a grin.

“I appreciate the thought and am very glad you did that. I was afraid we were going to start fighting again as soon as I got in the door.”

He responded “I did not like how that conversation ended and wanted to tone down the volume while still working through your proposed adventure. I understand what you are trying to accomplish but we need to talk about your having sex with someone else. Are you ok with that?”

“Of course I am. But first, aren’t you going to ask me where I went?

He said “I don’t need to know where you are. I only want to know you are safe.”

She explained “I was safe in the local Starbucks, wondering what I am going to do. I have lots of things on my mind, heavy things, decisions that will change the direction of my life for as long as I live. I know what I want to do but the consequences could make my life wonderful or just fuck it up permanently. I just don’t know what to do just yet.”

Happily, he said “I am happy to have you stay here as long as you like, I prefer that to be forever.”

“You are the sweetest man in the world. I really love you”

He said “I love you too. This whole proposition of yours unexpectedly jumped onto me. I think if you let me have some time to digest this we can come to some kind of amicable agreement as to how we proceed. In the mean time you can have some time to get your stuff either moved or stored. That will give me some time to pick your brain as to how this house works, like stove, dishwasher and etc.” He desperately wanted slow this separation down to get in control of it.

She said “I would really like to discuss it more with you too.”

He said “Shall we postpone the rest of the discussion until tomorrow night?”

“Yes please” was her response. “I’ll straighten up the kitchen, why don’t you go to bed.”

He said “I’m headed that way.” Marvin had no idea if his wife would join him in bed. He crawled in, covered up and waited to see what would happen. He could hear the hall bathroom run water, not the master bath so he thought he was sleeping alone and closed his eyes.

A soft light was turned on and he heard “Excuse me sir, is this spot taken?” from Cheryl as she motioned to the area next to him. She had combed her hair and put on a baby doll night gown that put her finest assets on display.

He raised the covers and welcomed her into the bed. Just the smell and touch of her brought his cock to life. That cock grew even larger and harder as she gripped it and whispered “I want you”. He could not answer as his lips were busy covering her breasts with kisses and sucking her nipples.

His fingers found the wet folds of her vagina, forcing a moan from her mouth. As if by mental telepathy they both raised up at the same time to take off her night gown. She slid under him and spread her legs. Pulling him over with her arms without breaking their kiss.

It took just a gentle nudge of his cock to push the nether lips apart and open the pathway to ecstasy. He marveled at how wet and hot her pussy felt. It had not been that way in some time. He thought to himself “These are the good old days”.

She wrapped her legs around him and started thrusting with her hips, the universal signal for “All right big boy let’s get this going”. He got the message and started at medium speed, no slow and gentle start tonight. Marvin felt he must put on a good performance for his wife. Not only because it was his wife but because she was contemplating fucking other guys. If that happens, then he wants her to remember the spectacular way he had fucked her brains out tonight.

Her humming sounds soon changed to an ever-increasing moaning sound. Her mouth slacked open to get more air as her breathing was labored. He could sense her getting close, but close was not good enough. He paced himself to provide her first orgasm right away, knowing that he could speed up the pace to get her all the way to the Big O and still maintain his hardon.

A dozen more plunges into her pussy pushed her over the edge. Her eyelids fluttered open and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. A steady rhythm of “Oh, Oh, Oh” came after each breath intake. In the old days he would ease off and gently stroke his dick in her pussy until she came off the high of orgasm. Not tonight, overdrive kicked in and her pussy was now under final assault from his hardened dick.

The pounding was intense, the bed frame groaned, the canopy over the four-poster bed looked like a sail in the wind from the shaking. Sweat from his face dripped onto her face. Both were near a giant orgasm when he brushed her face with his hand barely enough to get her attention and said “I LOVE YOU”. She replied “And I love you.” With that she went over the edge into bliss and satisfaction.

As she came down from her climax, she urged Marvin by saying “fill my pussy with cum, cum in me now, I need it now.” With a roar he did just that, he pushed a huge load of his cum deep into her pussy.

While they regained their breath from the intensive exertion, she said “That was an impressive performance. See how much better you preform when you have some competition. Just me mentioning having sex with some other guy puts you to the next level. When I come back to you in six months you will become a monster in the bedroom. This is going to be fun as both of us increase our sexual prowess. I can hardly wait.”

Sharply he responded “You got that all wrong! I did not make love to you as I usually do. I was fucking you, since it seems that is your new thing. I used to do that for you, but you seemed happier with slow love making.”

He continued “You do not need to go elsewhere for sex. I can give you rough sex, slow sex, sex on the back porch, in a car or a cheap motel room. We can do role playing of hot wife at a club, picked up by me being a stranger. I will take you to a nude resort in the Caribbean if you want. I have asked before and you said absolutely no.”

“There is so much hypocrisy in this situation. It has been years since your mouth was anywhere near my dick. When we rarely have sex, it can only be in either missionary or you on all 4s. Now you feel you need new experiences. Where the hell was this desire for new experiences the past 5 years? Am I that bad a lover that you need to go on a quest for better sex partner?”

“Cheryl, we have never done those things because you were not interested. Every suggestion of something else got downplayed by you. Now you say you need a new man to give you those new experiences; experiences you could have had with me for the past 25 years but declined.”

Pleadingly he said “I cannot bear the thought of you fucking another man, Cheryl. It would break my heart in a thousand pieces. Especially when I can provide you with the experiences you say you want. You just must be more open minded with what I can do for you. Please do not ruin my world. You can stay away for 6 months if you like but please do not fuck anyone else. I could not take that.”

Trying to set a lighter mood she said “I know the thought of me having sex with someone else stings, but you will get over it. Hopefully it will not create any great problems for us and if it does, we can both go to counseling. We have had other crises in our marriage, but we weathered the storm, but it all turned out better for us. After all, what doesn’t kill us makes stronger.”

Sternly he said, “The phrase is correct but, in my mind, this will definitely kill our marriage not make it stronger.”

She did not answer. Neither one wanted to talk about her moving out anymore that night. It was just not the right time for that discussion. They had been married for 25 years; they knew what each other was thinking.

The next morning, he rose at the normal time, made coffee and brought it to his wife. “Good morning lover” he said as he put the coffee on the night stand and his hand on her shoulder.

She rolled over and gave her husband a big grin and said “Good morning to my spectacular husband. Thank you for last night.”

He replied with “Thank you so much, we both needed that”.

Marvin went about getting ready for a day at the office. Cheryl was taking the day off. He hoped she was rethinking her decision to leave him. She was planning on calling moving companies and arranging storage facilities. First thing was to call an attorney she knew. She knew she could not use the family attorney as her husband had probably already talked to him. She was able to get a 3:30 half hour appointment.

She had to go to the bank to open accounts in her name. She was still debating her decision to leave but wanted to have all the logistics completed even if she decided to stay in their home. The idea to leave was still intriguing but it came with some long-term problems.

Attorney Dan Parks let Cheryl into his office at 3:30 and asked her to be brief as he had an important meeting at 4. She told him of her leaving for 6 months to build confidence and belief in herself. She had plans to return to her husband at the end of the period. Although her husband said that option may not be open to her. It depended on her having sex with someone else. She said Marvin would file for divorce the minute she moved out.

Dan said that how Marvin had divided the accounts 50% to each and the documentation was very fair. He has seen much worse. She said discussions were cordial and no violence was even considered.

When asked if she loved him, she said “Yes, very much so.” Does he say he loves you? “Yes, he is very demonstrative about that. His big hang up is my having sex with other men. He just can’t get past that. I think he is being unreasonable.”

Dan said “There are a lot of men that think that way. It’s primarily men who won’t cheat on their wives that have that opinion. They usually make good husbands. The divorces I handle usually have adultery somewhere in the reasoning for the divorce. Adultery and divorce usually go together.”

She countered “But this is different, I may be having sex with other men to improve my opinion of myself as a woman of the world. I have been with only one man in my lifetime. After the 6 months I will go back to Marvin, just like before”

Dan said “It doesn’t make a difference. Adultery is adultery no matter the reason, cause or timing. Marvin is doing you a favor by not filing for divorce on the basis of adultery. It would be very embarrassing for you. Whatever the reason for the filing Cheryl, I will be glad to be your attorney in any divorce proceeding. I will be there to protect your rights and right now it appears Marvin is being a fair person.”

She finished up her errands and research then headed home and was surprised to see a slick black BMW convertible in the driveway. She wondered whose car it was and why was Marvin’s Honda not around. As she walked to the house no one was in the BMW and the garage door to the house was unlocked. As she carefully opened the door to the kitchen, she saw her husband grabbing a beer out of the refrigerator. She questioned “Whose car is in the driveway?

He said “That’s my car. The Honda is gone and I traded up for the BMW.” The words ‘traded up’ created a sick feeling in her stomach.

She said “I didn’t know you were looking to get rid of the Honda. I thought you really liked that car.”

He said “I know, it just felt like the thing to do.”

She asked “Where did you get the money for such a nice car? We have always talked about important decisions together prior to acting.”

As soon as she said those words, she wanted to slap her own face. She knew she was in the process of doing what she just chided him about. She had exposed herself as a hypocrite and she knew it.

Before he could call her on it, she said “That sounds terrible considering what I proposed to you this week. I am so sorry to pick on you when what I did without talking to you was a thousand times worse.”

Firmly he said “I guess we have one set of rules for me and a different set for you. As far as the money source, I traded the Honda and the balance comes from a special savings account for a special project that did not turn out. I had a lot of unassigned cash and I used it for the balance. Looks like a nice car, doesn’t it?”

She wanted to change the subject quickly and said “The living room looks different; did you take down the pictures to clean them?

He said “No, the pictures that have you in them are in a box in the hall way waiting to go to your new home if you leave. I’ll fix the holes and repaint the wall if you like. Then put them back up if you stay. Otherwise, I will reorganize that wall the way I want it.”

She did not like the idea of her husband redecorating her house. That is the wife’s responsibility, a responsibility she was abdicating. Instead of calling him on that point she said “Can we talk for a little while? I spent some time with Dan Parks today. He told me you were being very fair with me if you decide to divorce me. Marvin, I appreciate you being such a good man. You are too good to me and I am not as good to you as I should be. He said he would represent me if you filed for divorce. However, I do not want you to divorce me.”

She continued “After reviewing and contemplating this topic all day I have definitely decided that I want to move into the apartment and live a different life for six months.”

“The other night when I walked out of here, I had an encouraging event happen. A nice gentleman saw I was upset and bought me a latte at Starbucks and we spent the evening talking. He invited me to his apartment for an alcoholic drink and I declined. Declined because of your concerns. I had no interest in sex with him, I just wanted some company. I have just proved to you and myself I can have interactions with men without having sex.”

Without stopping she said “Since your major objection to my moving out is the possible sexual contact I might have with others I promise I will try as hard as I can to not have sex with anyone. It will be on the bottom of my objectives for my marriage recess. You have been very kind and understanding about this. Even Dan commented on this and advised me to make the right decisions as I have a great relationship with a wonderful husband now and it would be a shame if I were to damage or ruin this relationship.”

She straightened up and said “I have a moving crew coming day after tomorrow to move out all my stuff to either the apartment or into storage. I will leave you my address to forward any mail and to have the divorce papers served to that address. We can take turns calling the kids, I’m sure they will be furious with me.”

“Marvin, this will turn out just fine, it will be tough at first but we have lived through tough times before and grew stronger together. I’m sure we will again. Please remember I do love you and six months and one day from today I will be loving you like I did last night.”

He thought for some time before saying “I thought we were going to take this a little slower but obviously it’s your decision not mine. I was going to bring this up later but now I have to. Please take my golf buddies off your bucket list of those you want to fuck. Fucking any one of them will absolutely eliminate any possibility of us getting back together.”

“Also” as he continued “you will be taken off the member list at the country club as we divorce. You can be there as a guest of your Friday night ladies’ group but you cannot come in without a member bringing you in. You cannot charge anything at the club. If I am there when you are, I will treat you with respect and kindness, I hope you do the same for me.”

Slowly he stood up and said “As far as your leaving; I hope you have a nice time.” With that he turned and walked to the master bedroom, quietly shut the door, went to the bathroom to vomit while bawling his eyes out.

Cheryl sat on the couch trying to catch all her tears with her handkerchief. She had worked on creating this move for months and it did not go as she wanted. The thought was she would dance merrily into her new life knowing that Marvin, her rock, would be there to catch her if she should fall. Just as he has for the past 25 years. She wanted this so bad, but it now has dangerous repercussions that she hadn’t foreseen. She thought of herself beings a strong American woman, ready to handle the world all by herself. But she was still crying.

She tried to sleep in the guest room but was not successful. So many memories of her, her husband and her kids were in this house. All of those memories turned into apparitions that haunted her with one question; “Why Cheryl, Why” and she had no suitable answer. She got up several times that night and walked to the master bedroom door, got scared and walked back.

She heard him make coffee and prayed he would bring her a cup, sit with her and tell her it all be ok. Instead, she heard the door shut and the deep throated sound of the BMW leaving the driveway. A vehicle he had “traded up” for. It became apparent that this was his insinuation that he was ready to trade up in his female relationship if she left.

She trembled that he might trade up to a woman younger and prettier than her while she was learning about herself. What would become of her then? How could she trade up? Trade up to a much younger more fit man? That was doubtful. Maybe some man in his 60’s would want to trade up for her? Some trade, Marvelous Marvin to an old man worried about her spending all of his Social Security money and being at home by 9:30 at night to catch the news.

When Marvin got to the office it was dark, just like his mood. He immediately opened his computer and started making lists, sub lists, calendars and project deadlines.

After a night of suffering, he decided to make up for the years he had missed. Missed doing the things he wanted to do, but he couldn’t because his now potential ex-wife didn’t want to. He was going to take more golf lessons from the golf pro and drop at least ten strokes from his handicap. He bought a box of A. Fuente Rosado Gran Reserva cigars to smoke on the screened in porch on the back side of the house. Hell, he may even smoke them in the house.

He would not have to spend boring Sunday afternoons with her sister. He began to see what he could do to the improve his enjoyment of life just like Cheryl was going to do. She would not kill his spirit by leaving him, it would strengthen it.

Cheryl spent the entire day packing and preparing for her move. Deciding what goes to the apartment and what goes to storage was difficult. Afterall, these were items that were important to her. But she had to cull those things to fit into her new life. She was pleased when Marvin called and invited her out for dinner that night.

At six that evening Marvin arrived at home, sporting some new fashionable clothes with a cool looking wool hat. He opened the door to the BMW for Cheryl, like he did when they were first dating. Even though it was chilly, he had the top down as they roared down the block.

He took her to a new French restaurant, and they had a great meal. It was great because that was all they talked about. Every other topic that was important to them had already been covered or was too sensitive to be discussed. He had the top down as they drove the long way home, neither looking forward to their last night together. There was no frozen wall between them, they just had nothing to say to each other.

When they arrived home, she asked him to sit with her awhile. She started the conversation with “I have to commend you for being a gentleman about my wish to reimage myself. You did not scream, holler or forbid me from starting on this journey. I’m sorry I called you an asshole earlier this week, I was upset. You have been very patient with me and I appreciate it.”

He replied “The reason I did not become demonstrative was this chasm between us has been growing for almost a year. We have not had the same loving vibes we used to have. You have been distracted and distant from me. I have tried everything I could think of to bring us together again. But it was not to be.”

He continued “You are in a spot where no one can bring you happiness; you have to do that yourself. I hope this separation can bring the joy back into your life and that we can be together again. I doubt that will happen. That is why I will file for divorce tomorrow; I do not see us ever being together again if you plan to conduct yourself as a single person.”

She said, “You are a forgiving man, you always have been. Up until now that is. Remember when Molly had sex with her boss on a business trip? Tom forgave her and they are happier now than ever. We can have that reconciliation also.”

He said “You are not including all the facts in your example. Molly and her boss were drunk and celebrating a big contract. Spontaneous reaction to circumstances. Neither planned on it happening. You are planning on fucking someone else despite my objections and despite your wedding vows to be faithful.”

Deliberately he said “You plan to intentionally humiliate me for your own sense of power and liberation. That displays a total disregard for how I feel. I do not want to wait another six months after you get back from fantasy land for a divorce. You fuck somebody, then you get divorced. Simple as that.”

He continued “When we meet again in six months, I will ask you if you have been faithful to me and I will expect the truth from you. I will not have a private investigator follow you. I won’t tap your phone or put a video recorder in your bedroom. The truth will always find a way of getting out. You are on your honor to do this. No honor then no marriage.”

Cheryl snapped, “Contrary to what you think, I am not planning on fucking anybody. That is not on my agenda. But if it happens then it happens, we will just have to deal with it as we get back together. To throw away what we have had for 25 years because I sought the pleasure of another man for an evening is a dated concept. I desperately want to remain your wife for the next 25 years but I feel I need to be separated from you to regain a good self-image and attitude. I’m sorry we do not agree.”

Marvin kissed her good night at the door to the guest room and went into the master bedroom alone. A bed he shared with her that was leaving his house, just like Cheryl.

The next morning, he rose as usual, got dressed as usual and made coffee as usual and took a cup to Cheryl for maybe the last time. She hugged him and told him how much she loved him. She put her arms around his neck and said, “Marvin my love, I will be back in six months to complete our love story.”

He nodded his head and went to the office. Why? He did not know, but he had no other place to go.

Later that morning Cheryl walked around the house with a box of tissues as all her worldly possessions were packed in boxes and loaded on a truck. The workers had seen this reaction before. Divorces, deaths, bankruptcies and job changes created the same rush of emotions. Marvin had removed all his clothing from the bedroom dressers so Cheryl would not have to do it.

The storage unit items were loaded first, the rest went to her new apartment. That was a $100 a month payment she had not counted on. As she stepped out the front door she turned around and wondered if she would ever see the inside of this house again. She guessed she would know that answer in six months.

ooOoo

WEEK: 1 OF 26 After the movers had unloaded all Cheryl’s worldly goods in the correct locations, she sat down on a box with the intent of preforming a horrible task. Calling her children to tell them she had left their father to go on a social development adventure. She and daughter Cindi had always been close and mostly of a like mind so she called her first. Cindi answered with a happy “Hi Mom”.

After some small talk Cheryl got to the dreaded topic. She said “Cindi, I have moved out of the house to complete my self-analysis to become a complete and more well-rounded woman, Cheryl 2.0 if you will. My plan is to return to your father at the end of six months as an enlightened woman. This will be hard on your father and I but I feel it is for the best for both of us.”

Cindi said” Does Dad think it is for the best?”

“No” said Cheryl “He plans to file for a divorce on the basis of abandonment on Monday morning.”

Cindi yelled “What have you gone and done Mother? This is impossible to comprehend. What prompted this?”

Cheryl said “I have been reading about modern women that have been floundering in the shadow of their prominent husbands. This feminine freedom plan puts me on the same level socially, emotionally and sexually with your father. He is afraid that as I interact with new people, I will start to have sex with my new acquaintances. I have told him that having sex with other guys is at the bottom of my list of accomplishments during this period. It is not ruled out completely but I will not seek it out or look for it in a new relationship.”

Continuing she said “By rare happenstance if it does happen, I will do it only for the sexual interaction of it, not the intimacy. I save that for your father, so he should not be so fearful of my activities. He is not as enlightened on this topic as I am. He is filing for divorce as a formality because he does not want to appear to be married to me as I am on my own and possibly dating other men. That is such a Victorian attitude.”

Cindi said “I hope you know what you are doing. If you continue with this idiotic idea you could end up with lots of sexual interaction but absolutely no intimacy. Dad will not put up with this, he will follow through on the divorce.”

Changing the subject, Cindi askes “Now that you are acting like you are single what does this do to your travel plans to France?”

“What travel plan? I don’t know anything about any travel plans.”

Cindi shouted “You mean to tell me you were scheming and planning on leaving him while he was setting up the trip of your life. Betty, Dad and I have been working for months to put this travel package together. He leased an apartment for 30 days on Champs Elysees with a balcony that overlooks the Eifel Tower. He even cleared the time off with your boss. You probably sprung this ridiculous idea on him prior to him telling you about the trip.”

The blood drained from Cheryl’s face as she said “Oh no. I had no idea. Why didn’t he say something about this? I would have postponed the separation.”

Cindi’s response was “You blew up the marriage before he could give you this gift. If you would have done this to me, I would have rubbed that canceled trip in your face. I’d let you know what a fool you are. Dad didn’t do that. He is that kind of man. You insult and disrespect him and he does not go nuclear on you. Mother, you could find a thousand guys to fuck but you could never, never, never find a man as good as the one you are flushing out of your life.”

With that, Cindi terminated the call, leaving Cheryl stunned and surprised. They had always been close. She needed to call Marvin and find out about this mystery trip. After dialing several times with the connection being broken off each time, she surmised she was blocked. He probably is directing her emails to spam also.

After work on Friday, while she was preparing her evening meal she sheard a knock at the door. She opened to door to find a man who asked “Are you Cheryl Johnson?

When she answered “Yes I am”

He handed her a brown envelope and said “You have been served.” Before he left, he took advantage of her shock by taking a picture of her.

She thought “So this is it. Twenty-five years together and I get a brown envelope. Luckily, it’s just for 6 months, otherwise this would be a terrible event.”

WEEK 2: Cheryl looked at her contact list and dialed Betty at the travel agency. Betty answered with “Hello Cheryl, I thought you would call me one day.”

She asked “Is it true that Marvin had arranged a 30-day trip to Paris?”

Betty sharply said” Yes he did. It was the most romantic, thoughtful trip I have ever put together. The bright red envelope made it Valentine’s Day all over again. You would have been blown away with what he arranged. Too bad you will miss it.”

Cheryl asked “Was he upset with me?”

Betty snapped “What do you think? He spent all this time, effort and money to do something wonderful for the most important person in his life and instead she tells him she is leaving for the opportunity of fucking someone else.”

“Cheryl you are one of my closest friends, I hate to talk to you like this but I just don’t understand what you did. Please don’t even try to tell me. I do not want to know. By the end of that stupid six months, you will have to stand in line to get a date with your ex-husband. We are still friends so let’s drop this subject.”

After the call she drove to Marvin’s building. His BMW was there so she went into the building, saw Karen his personal secretary and said “Hello Karen can I talk to Marvin please?”

Sheepishly Karen replied “Marvin is not in right now”.

“But I saw his car out front Karen.” Cheryl said.

By now, Cheryl could sense that everyone in the office was staring at her. Watching what was happening and wondering what will happen next. These were people that she knew and enjoyed talking with them at company parties. She said “Thank you Karen” and turned to leave.

She heard Karen say quietly “Good bye Cheryl.”

“So this is what no direct contact means.” thought Cheryl. She felt she was losing the control she thought she would have in this situation. While she sat in her car looking at Marvin’s BMW, she called her son, Robbie. He always answered her calls, even if he was in class. He would just acknowledge the call and say he will call back. This time no answer, so she left a voice mail message and left to return to her apartment.

After Cheryl left his office Marvin came out to thank Karen for telling her that he was not in. “I know it was hard to lie to her but absolutely nothing good would have come from Cheryl and I arguing in the office. Thank you for not putting the entire staff in that awkward situation”.

A week later the Johnson home looked more like The Marvin Johnson Sports Bar. Motivational and encouragement posters were on the cabinet doors; Tee times, golf lessons, and drinks with the guys after work were noted on the calendar. Pictures of Augusta National and St. Andrews replaced pictures of Marvin and Cheryl on vacations on the family room walls.

He was throwing himself into high gear. No more coming home because Cheryl wanted him there. Post it notes on the refrigerator door reminded him of foods he liked; BBQ and Chinese food that Cheryl hated. He looked forward to grilling steaks and eating melons on the patio without her bitching about juices spilling on the deck.

She liked the house to be quiet while she was home. A whole house stereo system was programed to play Smooth Jazz, Margaritaville and some Reggae music, depending on his mood. Everything Cheryl did not want to hear in the house. He also purchased more masculine looking bedroom furniture.

Instead of Cheryl laying on his right side, there was a large body pillow that he could cuddle until the pain was gone.

After two weeks of him doing the activities he wanted to do, he realized that his house needed some cleaning. He called the placement department at the junior college on a day he knew Cheryl did not work there. He knew all the employees since his wife worked there part time. He asked Mary, the department manager, if she could find a pretty college girl that could sweep and dust for him. Mary, good naturedly teased him about losing his housekeeper.

Marvin enjoyed the joke and told her that whatever the new girl charged would be only a fraction of what the previous housekeeper cost him. This brought a big laugh from Mary and she told him she was glad he had not lost his sense of humor. He knew this would get back to Cheryl.

Every day Cheryl left a phone message for Robbie to return her call.

WEEKS 3-5: For the next few weeks Marvin and Cheryl moved through the motions of working, living and learning a different life style. She was attending her classes but were slightly put off by the hard-core feminists that were her classmates. They had more of a “Hate for men” than “Wife Improvement” attitude.

WEEK 6: This was the week scheduled for the first mandatory marriage counselling session as part of the divorce process. Marvin knew this would be a waste of time because Cheryl was so solid in her feminine freedom adventure that she would balk at any compromise.

Marvin had his first session solo with the counselor, Diana Marco. After the pleasantries were exchanged Diana asked “Marvin, do you love your wife?”

He replied “Absolutely.”

She asked “Do you think Cheryl loves you?”

“She says she does.” Replied Marvin.

“Then why are you getting a divorce? queried the councilor.

He said “She and all of her belongings moved out of the house. She told me not to contact her for 6 months. She stated she wanted to act like she was single again and have relationships, including sex, with other men. That sounds to me that she does not want to be married to me. That is why I filed.”

“How does that make your feel Marvin?

Looking directly into Diana’s eyes he snapped “What a stupid question! How do you think it makes me feel? If you are trying to find out if I am violent, I can tell you that I love her and would never physically hurt her. She is good person. I feel she is confused as to who she is and who/what she wants to be.”

With expanding irritation, he continued “Trouble is that she is running directly into a mine field while throwing rose petals thinking this escapade will have a happy ending. I hope you are successful in getting us reconciled but I am moving on with my life while she drowns herself in self-analysis.”

Diana asked “Since you filed for divorce right after Valentine’s Day can you tell me about that day?”

He responded “I bought two dozen red roses, bought her the favorite chocolates and had a $200 dinner and drinks at an expensive, hard to get into restaurant. She gave me a card, very sweet statement inside it but it was their words not hers. She signed ‘Love C’. We went to bed and I received a kiss that took a nanosecond and then she turned her back to me and said “Good night”.

“Thinking about this now makes me realize I lost her somewhere along the way. I can see why she wants to leave as she is not excited about our future so I am firmer on finalizing the divorce if she feels that way.”

Diana thought “Oh Great. I’m supposed to try to get these people together not split them apart. My job just got harder.”

Week 7: Cheryl came to Diana Marco’s office for her reconciliation meeting. Diana asked the same questions in the same order as she did with Marvin. She received the same answers from her as Marvin until the question of why the divorce.

Cheryl said, “I do not want a divorce. I have told Marvin I will come back to him in six months and resume our life together. I just want to feel free as I never had the opportunity to do what I want when I was younger. I’m not getting any younger or prettier. All my friends have interesting sexual experiences and I don’t. Is that so unreasonable?”

Ms. Marco asked the same question about Valentine’s Day?

“Nothing special, same as everybody’s, I guess. Some flowers and dinner. No big deal.” responded Cheryl.

Diana then said” Cheryl, Marvin said he wants only to have a divorce if you have sex with other men. He loves you and wants to live his life with you. Can you step back from this idea of having sexual experiences with other men to save your marriage?”

Her reply was “I don’t understand his making that demand. I plan on returning to him after the six months. He will like the newer more experienced version of me. We can go back to being the loving couple we always have been.”

WEEK 8: Marvin was on the junior college alumni board and had done some projections for a possible fund raiser that he needed to present at the next meeting of the board. He called and got an appointment with the Executive Director of the Alumni Association, Tara Wilson. He could have emailed the projections to Tara but she was too pretty to remain on the other end of an email. He was welcomed into her office with a sparkling smile and happy voice. She said “I’m glad to see you again and that you came over as I wanted to go over some of these items with you.”

After a lively discussion over the projections Tara said “Not to pry but I hear you are divorcing Cheryl. I understand your situation as I was there 2 years ago and I’m still suffering when certain things trigger my thoughts. Are you two still speaking?”

“No” he said, “we parted amicably but she wanted no contact as she goes through this re-imaging self-analysis of herself and her life. No adultery on either side, no violence or alcohol problems, just going in different directions.”

She asked “I know this may be awkward for you but I have a problem that you could help me on. There is a formal charity dinner dance this Saturday night that I have to attend. I purchased two tickets thinking my boyfriend would go with me but now he is out of the picture. My problem is Patrick O’Kelly, I find him offensive, rude and he wants to have sex with me. If he sees that empty seat next to me, he will sit down and spoil my evening. I can’t tell him to get lost because he is a very generous donor to the junior college.”

“You are the only man in this town that has the presence to keep him away from me. Would you please help me on this problem by being my date? If you prefer not to, I completely understand considering you present situation.”

He said “I would really enjoy having dinner with you and keeping you away from “Handy” O’Kelly. Just tell me your address, the time and I will be there. I presume I should wear a tux?”

Tara grabbed his hand, not like a handshake, but as a friend and said “Thank you so much.”

The canceled trip to Paris still haunted Cheryl. She thought Marvin can be so romantic at times; I wish he would be more considerate about what I want to do. She did make contact with the guy at Starbuck’s and they have gone to lunch several times. It was apparent to Cheryl that this relationship would not flourish without sex. She thought it was too early in her adventure to push the infidelity button.

Saturday evening Marvin arrived at Tara’s house with a freshly washed BMW and well-fitting tuxedo. After ringing the doorbell, a young man answered the door and politely said “Please come in Mr. Johnson, my mother will be here shortly.”

He said “Thank you, did your mother give you that script to read to me” with a smile. As he grinned, the young man said “Yeah”.

As the two laughed at each other, a most beautiful woman came into the room. This was not the Tara that he worked with on projects related to the junior college. This woman had a cobalt blue dress that had narrow straps on the shoulders that held up her two full breasts. Breasts that were covered but had a delightful wiggle as she walked in on spike heels.

He stuttered “Tara? I did not recognize you. You are absolutely stunning.”

She said “Why, you do know how to flatter a girl don’t you.”

With that he said “Let’s get you into my car as soon as possible, I’m afraid some movie star will come in and take my beautiful date away from me.”

She turned to her son and said “Sean, be good, no visitors, be in bed by 10pm. Ok?” Her son nodded, smiled at her and said “You look nice Mom.”

Everybody who was anybody in town was at the evenings event. Heads turned as Tara and Marvin walked in and went to their reserved table up front. Marvin knew the men coming to their table were not there to talk to him. He had played golf with them that morning. Nothing new had happened, other than he was the escort of the best-looking woman in the building. Marvin also was a target of a number of divorced women who learned from the grapevine about the Johnson’s divorce filing. He worked the room going around to see his present and potential customers. All the while watching Tara do the same socializing as he kept an eye out for Handy O’Kelly.

Suddenly he saw Handy head for Tara like a cruise missile. He quickly excused himself from a discussion and headed for Tara. Just as Handy started to put his arm around Tara, Marvin slid in between the two of them. He put his arm around Handy and said with a big smile “Are you trying to steal my date Patrick? You would not be the first nor the last to try tonight.”

Tara played her part by tenderly putting her arm on Marvin’s shoulder and said to Handy “Yes I scored big tonight when I got Marvin to escort me. He would not come here tonight unless I promised to dance every dance with him. He is quite a negotiator, isn’t he?”

With that Handy said “Have a nice evening and walked off. Tara whispered in his ear “I owe you big time.”

He responded by saying “Just being here with you is more than enough repayment for me. Shall we sit down and eat?”

Their table of eight was the liveliest at the event as Marvin was in his element with stories, jokes and laughter. This was the most enjoyable time that he had experienced since Cheryl had walked out of their home and possibly out of their marriage.

As the band started to play the first song, he asked Tara to join him on the dance floor. With a grin she offered her hand as she got up from her seat. They danced several fast songs and when a slow song started, they moved together. Marvin’s arm went around her until he touched the silky bare skin of her back. He quickly moved his hand lower to not touch her bare skin but not so low as to be on her ass. Her smooth skin reminded him of Cheryl and the good times they had.

Moments after moving his hand Tara looked at him and said “I know and I understand. I was there two years ago but my world has changed. And changed for the better. I had friends that helped me through the rough spots. Can I be one of your friends that helps you recover?”

He moved his head to touch her head and nodded yes as he could not talk.

The rest of the evening was full of dancing, laughing and good times. When the party was over at 11pm she asked Marvin if he would drive her around in the convertible with the top down. She wanted the fresh cool air to rush through her hair and to cool her down so she could hug Marvin to warm her body and her heart. She asked him to walk her to the door to which he readily agreed.

Marvin grinned and said “I have not had this much fun in a long time. I can’t decide if it was because of you or 200 of my friends being around us. In order to find out which it was, can I take you to dinner some night next week? It’s cheaper than paying for dinner for 200 people.”

She laughed and said “I don’t know anyone who can make me laugh at such a simple thing of asking me out. For that reason, I accept, let’s go out Friday night.” She gave him a hug, longer than he expected and as she pulled away, she kissed him, quickly. Then went inside.

Marvin kept the top down and roared home. He had warmth in his heart.

Cheryl went with her friend Patty to one of the clubs for some entertainment. Patty had been divorced several years and understood the party scene. She knew that Cheryl was pretty enough and fresh enough to draw a number of guys to their table that night. And she was right, as the two walked in several guys took notice, came and asked Patty who her friend was. After introductions, Tim, Dan and Harvey bought the girls a round of drinks with the promise of dancing soon.

Tim and Cheryl took the floor for several fast songs. When the slow song came up Cheryl was unsure of the protocols involved with first physical contact during slow songs. Tim knew what to do, he put his arm around her and pulled her close, so close that her ample breasts smashed against his chest.

She thought, “well he now knows my tits are real.” She also thought his lips were too close to her ears. It had been years since any other man had been that close. She reminded herself that this was the interaction she was looking for, being with unknown people with unknown agendas. That thought changed when she recognized Tim’s agenda by the enlarged cock he was pushing against her mid-section as they danced. She enjoyed the closeness and warmth but did not want to go any further than this, not tonight anyway.

During the evening she received the names and numbers of several men who would like to go out with her. This made her feminine ego purr as she thought; “I am still desirable to men; I can pick and choose who I want to be with.” Both she and Patty went home late in the evening without male companions.

WEEK 9: On Wednesday several of the women in Cheryl’s office came to her carrying a portion of that morning’s junior college inhouse media. The article about Tara Wilson being a major part of the success of the Children’s Charity event on Saturday night was the lead story. There were several pictures of Tara and her unnamed date in the article. Very timidly they asked if it was her now estranged husband next to and dancing with the extremely attractive Tara Wilson. Numbly, Cheryl starred at the picture of her husband as the other women waited on her answer. She mumbled “Yes, that’s him.”

Thursday Cheryl went to see Betty at the travel agency and asked for a big favor; “I really need to talk to Marvin; can you call him and ask him please can he talk to me. I’m not lonely, I’m not sad, it’s just my kids won’t talk to me and maybe he can get the kids to contact me.”

Betty said “I will not get involved with the two of you. I will call Marvin and ask him if he will talk to you. If he does, I will give you the phone and go into the next office. If no, then I will thank him and hang up. Any questions?”

Cheryl answered “No questions and thank you for doing this for me.”

Betty called Marvin and asked if he wanted to talk to Cheryl and he answered “Not really, but maybe I should. You can put her on the line and I’m sorry you are put on the spot Betty.”

After taking the phone, Cheryl said “Good morning Marvin, I hope you are having a good day.”

He said “I was. What do you want Cheryl?”

She asked “Can we get together and talk. I really need to talk to you. It’s hard to talk over Betty’s phone. Please, can we meet for just a few minutes?”

He responded “So we are going to violate one of your iron clad rules for your convenience. I can’t contact you but you can contact me. It’s all about you changing the rules I thought we were to live by isn’t it.”

She said “Please Marvin.”

Reluctantly he said “Alright, today for lunch. Someplace we usually don’t go so people don’t think we are getting together.”

She responded “I can make you lunch at my apartment.”

“Absolutely not. I do not want to go into your shrine of sexual experiences. Alberto’s near the interstate, I’ll be there at noon. Anything else?”

“Thank you so much Marvin.” She said as he hung up the phone.

Marvin saw Cheryl in a corner booth as he arrived at Alberto’s. As he got near the booth she rose, opened her arms and hugged him. It was awkward as he just stood there with his arms at his side while she hugged him. She started the conversation on what she thought would be a light note. “You look very fit, cooking your own meals must be doing you good.”

Dryly he said “It’s not my cooking. Seems like every other night some woman brings me a meal and asks me how I am doing. One night they were lined up three deep to bring me home made food. I am very well fed and cared for by the local ladies.”

This pissed Cheryl off and she asked “Was that slut Mary DeFalco one of those ladies. She was always eyeing you whenever she was around us.”

With a smirk he said “Yes she was one of the first to stop by and I have got to tell you she makes the best lasagna I have ever had. She is welcome any time.”

She gritted her teeth and moved to the next topic. “Marvin, I know I have disappointed the kids and they do not understand what I am trying to do but I do miss the contact with them. Neither has talked to me in weeks. Did you tell them not to have any contact with me?”

“When they were down here, I told them you were still their mother and should treat you with respect” was his reply.

She quickly asked “They were here to see you and not me. That really breaks my heart.”

He snapped “Yeah there seems to be a lot of that going around.” Then he just glared at her for a moment. Cheryl stared at a spot on the table.

He then said “I’ll call them this week and ask them to please call you. I will not make them call you, I will ask them to call you. Speaking of “Call you”, you may take offense at some of the names they will call you. So be prepared.”

Cheryl was now 3 for 3 in negative responses she did not want to receive so she moved to the next subject. “I saw your picture in the paper with Tara Wilson. Are you two dating?”

His response was “She did not have a date for that charity dinner dance so she asked me to be her escort. I have not had that much fun in a long time. She is a very pretty lady.”

“She asked you?” She queried.

“Yep, hard to believe a beautiful, talented, smart young lady would ask me out. Isn’t it?” he said as he looked directly into her eyes. Even though he was staring into her eyes he could sense the large “Gulp” that came from her throat.

“Marvin, there were a lot of items that I did not budget for and I am running short on funds. I know how you always kept my bills paid current so I would have a good credit score and I want to maintain that rating. But with utilities, new health insurance, rent deposits plus moving and storage expenses I am in a bind. Can I borrow $2,000 from you please? I will pay you back, I promise.”

He did not say a thing. He just looked at her with disappointment and irritation. Slowly he took out his checkbook, wrote her a check and pushed it across the table.

She said “Thank you so much, I am embarrassed to have to ask you for this. My plan was to become more of an independent woman and so far, that has not happened.”

“Are we done now? He asked.

“One last question” Cheryl responded “Can you tell me about a trip to France that Betty and Cindi told me you arranged?”

Another big sigh by Marvin then, “What’s to tell. I planned a trip for us so you could go to France. I knew that was something you always wanted to do. I had the paperwork with me the night you told me you were leaving me. I canceled the trip since it appears you are no longer in my life.”

Trying to hold back tears Cheryl said “That is the most unselfish wonderful thing anyone has ever done for me. You really are a wonderful and considerate husband. And I love you for it. Please remember I am not leaving you. When we get back together, I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

“Are we done now?” he asked.

When Cheryl nodded, Marvin got up, paid the bill and left.

Later that afternoon Marvin called Tara to ask if she was still willing to go out with him Friday night.

Tara said “Yes, it is on my calendar and I am looking forward to it. What do you have in mind for the evening?”

He replied “Since your junior college has a double header baseball game Friday night and the forecast is for a perfect spring evening, I thought it would be fun to go to the ball game, eat ballpark food and watch the games. How does that sound to you?”

She replied “How fun is that. What a great idea. Do you want me to get 2 of the faculty box seats for us?”

He said “No because then it will be like work for you. I’ll pick you up at 4pm and we’ll get seats when we get there.”

“Great I’ll see you then.”

Marvin got good seats on the third base side of the field. First order of business was to get a supply of sodas and popcorn. As they started to munch on the popcorn Marvin asked “I took a chance on asking you about the baseball game tonight. I did not know if you were an outdoor or sports person.”

Tara answered “I love all sports I did play softball in high school and some in college. This is a perfect evening for this. I have been here 2 years and have never come to a game. Thanks for thinking of it.”

He asked “Is your son also a sports fan?”

“He has played some sports but now he is thinking about golf but the logistics and transportation gets complicated by my work.”

Marvin thought for a few seconds and said “Our country club has a junior golf program this summer that is wonderful. Five hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week from 10 am to 3pm. First hour is instructional golf, second hour is playing 3 or 4 holes and at noon time they get hot dogs and hamburgers. After lunch they go to the pool until parents come to get them.”

“Oh my gosh, that would be perfect for him but what does it cost?” asked Tara.

He said “The only cost is his food. The club has this plan of making this so much fun for the kids they hound their parents to join the country club. You do not have to be a member now as I will sponsor you until you decide if you want to join. If you are interested, I will get you the information.”

Tara gushed and said “That would be great. Thank you for thinking about him and me on this.”

The balance of the late afternoon and evening was watching two fun baseball games and consuming hot dogs and popcorn. They laughed and talked like two high school juniors as they learned about each other. As the evening progressed Marvin was glad he had brought a blanket. Not so much as to keep them warm, but to have an excuse to snuggle up to Tara. Which she did not seem to mind. The evening ended with a hug, a short kiss and a promise for next week.

Week 10: Sunday the country club golf course was closed for the first Spring golf tournament. It was to be a scramble format where everyone on each team gets to hit each shot and the team uses the best of the four shots. The golf pro sets the teams by using handicaps to determine A, B, C and D players. Marvin was a B player and was very surprised to see Greta Gustafson as their A player. Greta played on the LPGA tournament tour for about 10 years.

During those 10 years she was one of the most photographed players on the tour. Not for winning events but for what she looked like. At 5’10” with long blond hair and an hour glass figure that was amply displayed with her shorts and tight golf shirts. She was a native of Sweden and her voice was soft with a sing song cadence. She had used her winnings and endorsement money to purchase and expand to be the largest insurance agency in town.

After introductions the four players got on their carts and headed to the first tee. Marvin was pleased to see he was carted with Greta. He said to her “We have not met before but I have seen you here many times.

Greta replied “I know who you are because of you giving the President’s Report at annual meetings. It’s nice to meet you.”

The D player gets to hit first and followed by the C, B and finally A player. As Greta bent over from the waist and put her tee into the ground it was obvious why she had such a following on the tour. That ass was absolutely the most beautiful back end of a woman Marvin had ever seen. With a twist of her torso, her long arms swung rapidly creating a large “Whack”. The screaming ball went 250 yards down the middle of the fairway. Greta smiled as she put her club back in her bag.

As she got in the cart Marvin said “Det var mycket bra”. (“That was very good.”) in Swedish. With that Greta’s head snapped around with a startled look.

Greta replied “Du tolar Svenska?” (You speak Swedish?)

He smiled and said “Ja” (Yes in Swedish) Then in English he said “That’s about the extent of my Swedish. Both my parent’s families were Swedish immigrants in 1868, thus the family name of Johnson.

With a beautiful smile she said “I’m looking forward to our game today. You are the first person in this town I’ve met that knows anything about Sweden.”

The remaining 17 holes were stages for laughing, joking and discussions of Swedish customs. Their laughter could be heard as they sang Swedish nursery rhymes. Marvin knew the words his grandmother taught him but did not know their meanings, which made it all the funnier.

With Greta’s long drives and Marvin’s putting, the foursome collected the first prize money of $100 per person in pro shop shirts, pants and golf equipment. Greta turned to Marvin and said “Playing golf with you was more fun than winning. We must do this again.”

Smiling he agreed and said “Absolutely. How about here Wednesday afternoon at 1pm. Then I’ll buy you dinner. It will be cheaper for me than paying you at a dollar a stroke difference in our scores”

WEEK 11 and 12: Cheryl initially told her sorority sisters she would not attend the 25^th anniversary of their graduation. After threats of a kidnapping and intervention by her friends she reluctantly agreed to join them. They knew of her struggle with Marvin accepting her empowering herself in the modern woman’s image. They wanted to be there to support their friend in her time of need and reclamation of her femininity.

Cheryl welcomed the three-hour drive to Dallas as it gave her time to detox from her stresses at work and in life in general. She moved her thoughts to the young women she started college with and where their lives were now. It will be interesting to talk to these long-time friends.

They had rented a corporate retreat building that had six main bedrooms, kitchen and central meeting room with sofas and stuffed chairs rather than tables and desks. The six bedrooms were split so each person had their own room with bathroom. Outdoors was a patio and hot tub that looked out over a golf course.

Friday was scheduled to be a travel day and get together evening. The plan was reservations for a sushi dinner with a pajama party back at the retreat afterwards. Cheryl took the afternoon off so she was at the retreat by 5pm. She could tell that most of the ladies were there by the laughter and squealing. When she walked in the door there was a wild exclamation of delight that she had finally arrived.

Many of the girls had started drinking, evidenced by the large number of liquor bottles on the counter. She was shown to her bedroom and invited to join in the frivolity in the central room. Comments were made about the latest member of the group to get a boob job or have liposuction. A contest was held as to who had the least scares from her boob job. Cheryl was one of the 4 women that had not inflated her chest with either saline solution or silicone. Four of the women who had spent the most time at the bar gladly pulled up their shirts for group inspection. One woman was chosen and she became the boob job queen.

The Uber ride to the sushi restaurant and back was a raucous disorganized trip that had all the women laughing. All were told to put on pajamas and go to the central area. After a round of margaritas from the kitchen blender each woman was required to talk about their career, children, marriage and lovers.

There were happy stories, sad stories and stories without an ending so far. Cheryl was one of 3 that did not have a conclusion yet. All saw the possibilities of wonderful or terrible things happening for the 3 women.

More than half of the women have been divorced at least once. The majority of those who spoke told Cheryl that she was on the right path. She was to take control of the marriage and tell her husband how it was going to be. He should comply happily or just deal with it. It was his choice but his best choice should be to make his wife happy and quit whining.

The ladies applauded Cheryl about how she took control and told her ungrateful husband she was moving out for six months as she empowered herself as a strong modern woman. They liked the “No contact” rule and her living as a single woman; not held to the constraints of matrimony.

They gasped as she said Marvin filed for divorce and was taking the opportunity to look into “Trading Up” with a different woman in his life. She told of his date with the young, beautiful Tara Wilson and trading up in his Honda for a BMW convertible as a sign of his seriousness.

Even the most rebellious girls toned down their rhetoric about making the husband “deal with it”. Most of the women said that after their divorces their ex-husbands married younger women and they married older men. Consensus was to tread lightly and not force him into a choice she did not want him to make.

After the late night, the group did not get started on their shopping trip until 11am. The plan was to lunch and shop until 4pm when they return to the retreat and rest for the balance of the afternoon and early evening. They had reservations at an Italian restaurant and they planned on clubbing after that. Each woman was told to wear their best “Man Catcher” dress and put $20 into the margarita blender with the woman who caught the best man would win the $240.