Bull with a Conscience Ch. 04

I thought about her dilemma for a minute. Here was a woman who loved her husband and desired to stay faithful to him, even though he was insisting that she find someone else. I could tell she didn't want to disappoint her husband by saying no, but she didn't want to compromise her values of marriage by saying yes.

"So why did you call me, Lisa? What is it you are looking to do here?"

I could hear her sigh over the phone. "I called because I told him I would. I was hoping maybe that would get him to back off a little bit over this. I really don't know what I expect."

"What if we meet, and see what happens after that? If you don't want to have sex, I'm not going to push it on you. But maybe just meeting together will also help take the pressure off."

She replied, "That's not a bad plan. Would you do that for us? You don't have any idea who we are, and I know that usually calls to you mean spending time with women."

"Look, Lisa. What I do is provide a service for couples who request to have another man enter their relationship. It makes them happy, and it makes me happy as well. So this would hopefully be making you happy, whatever happens. I can tell you've got a problem, and I want to see if I can help you with it."

She asked, "Could you come to our house and meet us here? It's very difficult to get him out of the house, but we could do it if need be."

"No, I can come to your house. When would you like to meet?"

We settled on Tuesday, which was five days away. During those five days, I played all kinds of scenarios in my mind, without having any idea which one would be most likely to occur. I hoped for Lisa's sake that maybe just the fact she could tell Rick we were meeting might get him to relax a little bit.

I drove the work truck to their house in the city and pulled up right at 6:00. Lisa greeted me at the door with a nice, warm hug. There were toys stacked in bins off to the right of the main entry, and she told me that she and Rick had two boys ages 10 and 6. She then warned me about going into see Rick. Because of his handicap, it was very difficult to understand him for someone meeting him for the first time, but that she would tell me what he said to me so we could communicate.

We walked into the dining room area, and immediately I was greeted by a sad sight. Rick was sitting up in a chair specifically designed to place him in a sitting posture. I tried hard not to stare, but I also didn't want to look away all of the time, because I felt that would not be fair to him. Lisa introduced me and I sat down, with her taking a seat right next to Rick.

She told Rick that I was the guy they had looked at online. He said something to her, and she was right - I had no idea what he was saying, but it appeared that Lisa understood him. She turned to me and said, "He wants to know if you and I have talked about what he would like to see happen."

I looked at Rick and said, "Yes we talked, but to tell you the truth, I don't think Lisa would be comfortable doing it. The last thing I'm going to do is be with someone who doesn't want it. I have to respect her wishes."

Lisa looked at me and mouthed the words "Thank You." I hoped that maybe she had finally realized that despite the fact that I sleep with other men's wives at their request, I really was a gentleman that respected the wishes of others. If Lisa wasn't ready to do this, that was fine with me.

I heard Rick say something to Lisa, and then she turned to me. "He wants to know if we could at least maybe go out together somewhere. Maybe just like a date together, nothing more."

I looked at Rick and said, "If Lisa was comfortable with that, I would love to take her on a date. I know she's very busy here, so maybe she might enjoy an evening where she could just have a good time."

I thought I detected a slight smile on Rick's face as he spoke to Lisa again. She blushed as she turned to me and said, "I have to tell you that before the accident, Rick and I loved to dance, and he says I was always the best dancer on the floor."

I smiled at her and said, "One of my most favorite places to go is a supper club here in the city called Murray's. They make great food, and on the weekends they usually have a live band that results in a lot of dancing."

Lisa's eyes widened as she exclaimed, "That's the place we always went to! We would try to go once a month, if not more! We'd get a sitter for the kids and enjoy a date night for just the two of us."

Rick spoke to her again, and she looked at me and asked, "Would you take me there some evening? He's really like to see me get out and have a good time."

I stood up and walked over to Rick and said, "Rick, I would gladly take your wife on a date to Murray's. I promise I would be the perfect gentleman for her and protect her from anyone else who thought otherwise."

For the first time, Rick spoke and I understood him. He smiled at me and said, "Thank you." Lisa leaned over and gave him a kiss. I could see the strong bond of love between these two. The last thing on my mind was finding out how good Lisa was in the sack.

I stood up and told Rick how nice it was to meet him. As I headed to the door, Lisa went with me. She grabbed my arm and said, "Thank you for what you told him in there. You made him understand my feelings. I nice date out will be a good compromise, I think. When would you like to do that?"

"I need to go home and look at my schedule, but I can email you even tonight if you'd like. Rick is right when he says that you deserve an opportunity to have a little fun. I promise you it will be a delightful evening."

She reached to open the door to let me out, but for some reason it stuck. She pulled harder, finally prying it free from the door jamb. She looked at me and shook her head.

"This door has been sticking for months. This was the kind of thing Rick could take care of with his eyes closed, but now I have to find somebody to take care of it for us."

I looked at the door, and then the jamb. I realized what the problem was immediately - it was a quick two-minute fix. Since I had driven my truck, I had the tools, so I told her to wait right there, and went out and got what I needed. I came back and quickly resolved the problem. When I had her try the door again, it worked perfectly, and she smiled.

"Thank you for fixing that! You're a handy guy. Can I call you for other things?"

I loved seeing her smile, and immediately I wanted to help if I could. "Of course - do you want me to look at anything else before I go now?"

She showed me a couple of other things. One was another quick fix that I was able to do right then and there. The others were more serious, and would require some parts that I did not have access to at the moment.

"How about this? When we get a night selected for our little date, how about if I come over earlier and tackle some of these things for you?"

Lisa looked at me with a look of surprise. "You would do that for us? I would pay you - it would be so nice to know someone who could help out with things like that."

"Of course I would. If I have the ability to fix things for you, I would be glad to help your family out."

She thanked me again and gave me a hug as I left. I felt really good on the inside - it was nice to be able to help someone whom through no fault on their own was living a difficult life. I had made this drive home many times in the past months. Usually it was after meeting with clients, which was good on its own. But this time was different. I've always reasoned that fucking women as a bull was providing a service. But actually helping Rick and Lisa went way beyond that.

******

I was able to schedule time to help them on a Saturday two weeks out. I emailed her and had her give me a list of things that needed to be repaired. Given the list she sent, we arranged for me to show up at about 9:00 a.m. so I could get to as many things as possible. We also scheduled our date for that evening, so it would be a long day, but I felt it would also be a very good day.

I arrived on time and began work. I took care of some of the more serious problems first. The first job was replacing a bathroom faucet. As I was working underneath the cabinet, I heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hall, accompanied by excited yelling. From under the counter, I met their boys for the first time. Denny was 10, and Joey was 6, and they were each full of the kind of energy you would expect in boys that age. They immediately had a thousand questions for me, which I tried to answer, until Lisa came in and led them away.

In a few minutes she came back into the bathroom without the kids and apologized for their intrusion. I told her that they were fine, and I enjoyed their questions. She told me a little more about each one - their grade in school, their favorite things to do at home, etc. They seemed like normal little boys to me, although not having kids of my own, I certainly wasn't much of an authority.

I finished with the new faucet install in about 30 minutes. The next job on the list was to fix a stuck storm window in one of the boys' rooms. This room just happened to be where Lisa had taken the boys when she had rescued me in the bathroom. This time it was easier to visit with them as they worked. By the time I had the window fixed, I had become pretty good friends with Denny and Joey.

This same pattern continued throughout the day. I was able to get many of the items on the repair list cleared. A couple I had to leave undone, either because I could not get the parts I needed, or because I didn't have the right tools for the job. Eventually I had both boys "helping" me, handing me tools or turning a screw a little bit, just so they thought they were really being important assistants as I worked. Lisa would come in and smile as she watched them crowd around me. Once, she even wheeled Rick in, so he could watch his budding master handymen in action.

When I was finished, I showered in their bathroom and dressed for my date with Lisa. I had told her that it would be casual dress, and she matched pretty much my outfit - blue jeans, a western style shirt, and boots. I don't know if she purposely tried to dress the same as me, or if it was just a coincidence, but I thought she looked great.

We went into the room where Rick stayed most of the time. The kids had gone to Lisa's parents' house to spend the night, and a home health aide had been hired to stay with Rick. Lisa bent down to give him a kiss, and I could tell that he was saying something to her. Whatever it was, as she was standing up, she playfully tapped Rick on the nose and shook her head. With a cordial "See you later, dear," she led me out of the room and through the front door into the warm spring night.

In the truck as we rode to Murray's, I asked Lisa what Rick had told her. She chuckled and said, "He told me that he expected us to get along so well that I would not be home until tomorrow morning. It was kind of a joke, but I still think he would like me to get some action. But don't worry - that will not be the outcome of our date. You will be a gentleman and dance with me and keep me company."

I laughed with her and said, "That's fine by me, although I'm not the world's greatest dancer. You may have to lead a time or two."

It was her turn to laugh as she told me, "Oh don't worry - when Rick and I first started dating, I had to lead on every dance for a while, until he started to pick it up. I'm sure that you'll be a better dancer than he was."

We arrived at the club, went inside, and were escorted to a table for two. We ordered drinks first, then an appetizer and finally our meals. All the while, Lisa filled me in on the accident and how it affected Denny especially, since Joey was too young to remember his dad active before the accident. Lisa told me that it affected them the most when they saw others boys' fathers playing games like soccer or football with them, realizing that their dad couldn't do that.

Soon we had finished dinner, and the weekend house band had started playing their usual country music. I stood up and walked around the table over to Lisa's side, and holding out my hand, asked, "Miss Lisa, would you do me the honor of being my dance partner for the evening?"

She smiled as she stood up and said, "Why certainly, Mister Frank. But I must warn you - I may dance on a first date, but that's about all you're going to get!"

She may not have danced since before Rick's accident, but you would never know. She led me through a couple of faster songs, showing me a couple of moves I didn't know existed. When the band would play a ballad or a love song, she would switch lead back to me. During the first slow song, we danced apart from each other, but with each successive slow song, the gap narrowed.

It was dancing to one of the slow songs that I leaned in and asked Lisa, "You've let me know how the boys felt about their dad's accident. Tell me how you feel - and remember, you can tell me anything. What you say stays with me."

There was a pause as we continued to dance, and then she looked at me and said, "To be honest, I'm pissed at the world for something like this to happen to us. But I can't let either Rick or the boys see that, so in front of them and the world for that matter, I keep a stoic face. I really do love my husband, and I know the accident wasn't his fault, so my anger isn't directed at him. It's just that the dream life I had planned with him and my boys will never be, and I am powerless to change that."

She laid her head on my shoulder, and soon I could feel the wetness her tears were leaving on my shirt. We danced that way until the end of the song, and then I led her back to our table where we sat. She looked at me as she wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Thank you, Frank, for listening to me. I haven't told anyone about my feelings, and yet I know deep down that I can trust you to keep them secret for me."

I reached out for her hand as I said, "Of course I'll keep your secrets. I can tell how this has been hard on you, and yet you have done a great job around me of keeping the strong and loving wife and mother face on all the time."

We spent the rest of the evening talking and dancing. She had told me she didn't want to stay late so she could get back to Rick. We left about 10:00 and headed to her house. When we got there, I walked her to the door. She thanked me and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and then went inside. As I got back in my truck, I tried to remember a day where I felt more fulfilled. There may have been a few that were close, but helping this couple through their difficulties was very high on the list.

*****

I began to make occasional visits to Lisa and Rick and their family. Sometimes it was to help with projects around the house. Other times it was just to visit, or to help Lisa take the boys places, such as the zoo. When it was time for wheat harvest, I invited the family out to the farm. Rick wasn't able to come, but Lisa and the boys did. I took each of the boys for a ride in the combine so they could see how the wheat was harvested. Even Lisa made one round with me. It was a new experience for all of them, and I was glad I could show them what I did for a living.

I also continued my "dates" with Lisa. After our first one, she had called me and told me how much fun she'd had, and how happy Rick seemed to be that I had gone out with her. We tried to arrange to go out every three weeks or so, but sometimes it was difficult to keep up with that schedule. Each date was the same - an evening at Murray's for dinner and dancing.

It was about this same time that I began to cut back on the bull business. I took the advertisement off of the website. I had plenty of repeat customers that were keeping me in a fair amount of sex, and with the time I spent with Lisa and Rick, my schedule was pushed pretty tightly. Eventually I even began to cut back on the regulars. I still tried to spend time with Caitlin at least once a week - sometimes with Steve, and sometimes without - and I kept a pretty good schedule with Melissa and Dave. Dave even let Melissa and I have a weekend by ourselves, and let me tell you - Melissa may be a tiny little thing, but that woman could take everything I could dish out and always be ready for more.

A couple of weeks after I had finished harvest, I got a phone call from Lisa, telling me that Rick had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance. I could tell that she was worried just from the sound of her voice. I asked her if she'd like me to come and at least help with the boys, but she told me her parents were watching them and that I needed to stay and take care of the farm.

So I stayed home, but my mind really wasn't on what I should be working on. A couple of times I felt like jumping in the truck and heading for the city, but Lisa had told me to stay, and I didn't want her to be upset that I had showed up, so I just tried to stay busy and keep the phone by me all day.

That night I struggled to go to sleep, so when the phone rang at about 2:30, I was awake. It was Lisa, and I could tell she was crying. Rick had died from a massive stroke he had suffered on the way to the hospital. All I could say was that I was sorry, and for her to let me know if I could do anything for her and the boys. She thanked me for all I had done, and said that Rick had enjoyed me becoming part of their family the past several months, and that she would talk to me again soon.

It was on a Wednesday when Rick died. On Friday, Caitlin came down to spend the night with me as she often did, but instead of jumping into bed like we usually did, we just sat and talked. I had let her and Steve know about Rick's death, but I hadn't seen either one of them since then. She could see that I was struggling, so we got comfortable on the living room couch and she started asking questions.

"How are you feeling?"

I looked at her and said, "I'm sad, because I feel like a very good friend of mine has died. Rick became a part of my life when they opened their lives to me. I should be glad that his suffering is over, but I also know how hard this is going to be on Lisa and the boys."

"Tell me about your relationship with Lisa. Didn't you tell me that Rick wanted her to sleep with you so she could experience sex again?"

"He did want that at first, but Lisa and I talked him out of it. There was no way she was going to be unfaithful to him, even at his insistence. She honored the commitment she made to him on their wedding day."

Caitlin put her hand on my knee and said, "So where is your relationship with her? What do you feel for her? Do you love her?"

I paused for a minute and then said, "Yes, I do, because I fell in love with the whole family. I think I could have been friends with Rick the same way I'm friends with Steve. I didn't have to do the things I did for them. I didn't have to take Lisa out on some evening dates so she could have a little fun on her own. I did those things because I cared about them, and wanted their life to be a little better, in spite of the devastating situation they were handed."

Caitlin looked at me and smiled. "Do you remember another woman like that? A woman you'd known for a long time as friends, thinking that you loved her and her husband, but just as friends? What happened to that woman? What happened to your feelings for that woman when you found out your love was potentially much deeper than just being friends?"

I knew she was talking about her. It seemed like a very long time ago that Steve and Caitlin were just my best friends. They were the ones that helped me the most as I began my post-divorce life. And it was Steve who had the courage to look past the risk of our friendship and invite me to fuck his wife, something he had found as a turn-on for him for a long time, but hadn't experienced it. Despite the close feelings I had for Caitlin as one of my best friends, I had never viewed her as a potential sex partner, and I was a little worried that suddenly fucking her might change our friendship dynamic. But we had made it work, and Caitlin and I still spent time with each other as lovers nearly once a week. And she still remains one of my best friends ever - either in bed, or out of it.