Poke-her Night Ch. 01

"I'm divorcing her but, look, you guys have kids, okay. No one is gonna judge if you stay and make it work."

"How could she do it? Am I that bad?"

"It's not about us, Billy. It's about them. Don't let this bring you down, all right. We're all here for you."

"Damn right!" intoned a voice behind me. I turned to see Warren standing there. I hadn't even heard him come into the room.

"You heard?"

"No, but we've got his back no matter what. I don't need to know what it's about."

"I caught Shelley and Donna with some old college boyfriends, and they weren't playing board games."

"That would explain the rather frantic women sitting in my living room."

"I can't see her right now, Henry."

"I feel the same way. Warren, can you keep them occupied so we can sneak out the back."

"No sweat."

He turned and was gone, and I took Bill by the arm and pulled him toward the door. He was absolutely devastated. I was practically dragging him, as if he couldn't will his feet to work.

"We'll go down and out the back, jump in my car, and head to a hotel. My treat."

"Yeah, yeah, okay."

I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. I heard Warren tell the girls 'they'll be right out', which hopefully would keep them planted in the other room until Bill and I could make our escape. We moved as quietly as possible down the hall, through the kitchen and out the back door. I was parked around the front of the house so we had to make our way there.

I was afraid the noise would attract attention, so we jumped in the car and I started it and sped off quickly. I hoped it would just seem like regular outside noise but didn't want to take the chance that Shelley or Donna would think it was us and make chase.

I purposely drove to a nearby town, passing several hotels along the way with the idea that Shelley and Donna would likely search the ones nearby. I wasn't sure what Bill was going to do but I planned to hit the bank first thing in the morning and start splitting assets. I could see no scenario in which Shelley and stayed married and I was going to protect my half of the assets.

I tried to get Bill to talk about it, to work through his feelings and what he might want to do. Normally a very talkative guy, his unwillingness to talk was unnerving, and the expressions on his face when he got lost in thought concerned me. But in the absence of getting him to open up, I just did my best to let him know his friends would be there for him, whatever he decided, and then I tried to get some sleep.

When I woke up I saw the other bed was empty. Briefly concerned about Bill doing something foolish, my senses eventually zeroed in on the flow of water from the shower. I was immediately relieved.

After calling off from work for the day, we dressed and went to a Denny's down the street for breakfast. He was finally starting to speak, and it was a painful combination of hurt, sadness and anger.

"How could she do this to us, Henry? How?"

"I don't know, Bill. At some point we'll have to sit down and talk to them."

"What if she leaves me and takes my kids?"

"We'll have to cross that bridge if we come to it, but from what I saw it didn't look like she was in love with the guy. Shelley either, for that matter."

"You gonna talk to Shelley, too?"

"We'll talk but it won't change anything. Since we don't have kids it's an easier decision for me."

"You're absolutely sure? I mean, if it really didn't mean anything..."

"Completely sure. Any thoughts on what you're gonna do?"

"I wanna forgive her but I guess it depends what she says. Maybe she doesn't want me anymore. I mean, why else would she be with this guy?"

I chose not to point out that it was both guys. I was afraid that was more than he'd be able to handle.

"I won't try to guess at her reasons, Bill. I guess you just need to hear what she says and then make a decision then."

We turned our phones back on, having shut them off last night, and they both pinged with message after message and voice mail after voice mail. At first mine were just from Shelley asking me not to do anything rash and to please talk to her, and a couple from Donna begging me not to say anything to Bill and promising it would never happen again. Too late, ladies. Too late.

There was also a couple of calls from Warren letting me know what was going on. It turns out they heard my car start - Shelley recognized it immediately - but the guys managed to delay them a couple minutes by trying to convince them to give us some time. They went back to Donna's house so they could retrieve the kids, and I wondered if Shelley crashed there or went home to wait for me.

After breakfast we headed back to Warren's house to pick up Bill's car. The place was mostly deserted but as I finished putting Bill into his car after reassuring him everything would work out (which I didn't really believe but it's what he needed to hear) I saw Maureen standing on the porch. She wore baggy sweatpants and an over-sized t-shirt.

A word about Maureen: she's tiny. She stands less than 5 feet tall and is less than 100 pounds. She is slim with small breasts and not much in the way of hips. So, most everything she wears is baggy and oversized. She has long brown hair and is very pretty. At this moment she was leaning again one of the porch posts.

I gave her a grim smile and walked over to her. Standing on the porch made her right about my height.

"You okay?" she asked me.

"Not especially, but I'd rather be me than Bill right now."

"Any idea what he's gonna do?"

"He says he'll decide after talking to Donna. I think he's more concerned that she doesn't want him than anything else. He wants to stay, I think, but isn't sure if that's an option."

"From what I heard last night Donna is desperate to keep him. The same for Shelley and you."

"I'm pretty sure that ship has sailed, but I'm hopeful for them."

"You gonna listen to what she has to say?"

"Of course. I just can't envision anything she could say that would justify this."

"I don't think she'll try to justify it. Maybe just explain it and hope you forgive her."

"We'll see, I guess. I'm gonna get going."

"Let us know if you need anything."

I trudged back to my car. I was heading home and wasn't sure what I would find there, or if I was ready to face whatever it was. But putting it off wasn't going to help or make things any easier.

I pulled into the driveway and Shelley's car wasn't there. I assumed that she spent the night at Donna's but didn't discount the possibility that she sought comfort in the arms of one or both of last night's lovers. As I walked into our bedroom I wondered if it had ever hosted one of her poker night funfests. I had the same thought about the guest room. In the end I decided since I didn't know I'd have to assume the answer was no, so I gathered my things and started moving into the guest room.

I was about midway through the move when I heard the front door slam open and Shelley's voice calling my name. I didn't answer and just kept moving my stuff. She came around the corner and seemed like she was going to come to me but the look on my face stopped her in her tracks.

"Baby, I'm so sorry."

"You didn't look sorry last night, at least not until you found out I was there. That only means you're sorry I found out and nothing more."

"Henry, please..."

"Please what, Shelley? Jesus Christ, what the hell do you want from me? You've been screwing at least two other guys and who knows how many beyond that."

"There was no one else."

"And I don't believe you, and probably never will again. We work a lot of different shifts, Shel, so how will I ever know what you're doing when I'm at work. Not to mention all those rooms at the hospital. You got away with this for months. All I think you're gonna do now is be more careful!"

"Honey, I promise I won't!"

"What the hell good is that, huh? You promised once and it meant nothing."

"Can't I please explain, baby? Please!"

"Fine, Shel, but only because I'm curious how this started. Go ahead."

"I dated Eddie in college. We enjoyed each other's company and the sex was fun. We both knew we weren't forever so we became good friends and...fuck buddies until college ended. After graduation he got a great job overseas and I met you. And 10 years later I love you more than I ever have."

"Save it, Shel, okay. Talk is cheap so don't tell me about your love for me."

"But...okay. Anyway, about a year ago he came back to the states, and a few months later he found me on online. We chatted for a while and then he asked if we could have dinner. With our schedules the only night was one of your poker nights."

"And you thought this would be okay?"

"That was how Donna got involved. I didn't want to be out alone with another man so I brought Donna along. If Eddie was disappointed he didn't show it, and greeted her as warmly as he did me. We had dinner and that was it."

"For that night anyway."

"Well, yes. And since it had gone so well the first time I agreed to do it again. This time Eddie brought Bruce, who was one of Donna's old boyfriends that he knew as well. She was excited to see him the same as I was Eddie. We had a great time and again nothing happened."

"That night."

"Are you gonna keep saying that?"

"Until I hear something that warrants a different comment, yes."

"Anyway, we met a few more times for just dinner but then the guys wanted to stay out later but we couldn't because of the kids so we ended up going back to Donna's house."

"Which is also Bill's house."

"Yes, that was shitty of us, but at the time it was all still platonic. Nothing had happened except some old friends catching up so being in the house wasn't a big deal."

"I bet Bill would have thought it was a big deal."

"I know, and you're right, but we didn't see it that way. It just became the thing to do. Donna would get a sitter and we'd meet up over at her house. We did that a few times before things started getting...friendlier."

"Is that what you're calling it?"

"It started out as fun and games. Eventually we played truth or dare and some of the truths were revealing and kind of sexy, and then dares started getting a little riskier. One of the guys would dare Donna and I to kiss each other, or one of us to kiss one of them."

"And you didn't see where this was headed?"

"To be honest, no, well, not at first. Even when Bruce dared me to bare my breasts I still thought of it as all in fun. It's not like I've never done that before."

"Not without me and not in private with old boyfriends, you haven't. Unless that's another secret you're keeping."

"No baby, I promise. Anyway, one night about 5 months ago the dares got a little crazy. We were feeling more comfortable so when Eddie dared me to take my top all the way off instead of just pulling it up, I did it. It wasn't long before Donna followed. Then they dared us to play with each other's boobs and we did that, too. We both got so hot that when the guys started touching us neither of us thought to stop them. That was the first time we had sex with them."

"I could probably understand a one-time slip. I wouldn't have been happy and we'd have had some things to deal with but...but you kept doing it, damn it!"

"I know, baby, I know. It was just...it was fun. We had a good time and I missed sharing that with him. It wasn't mind-blowing or anything and any orgasms I had were few and far between. It was really just something fun we enjoyed doing together."

"Does that mean you screwed Bruce in college, too? Was doing him a reliving of college as well?"

"No, I had never been with Bruce. That was...each of the guys wanted to try the other girl out, and since it was just fun we did it. It wasn't any different with Bruce than Eddie. Jeez, I wish you hadn't seen that part."

"Do you really think that would've made a difference?"

"I suppose not. It just makes me feel like more of a...slut. Stop it. I know what you're thinking and I really didn't see it that way at the time. Only after you caught us and I saw how you and Bill had been hurt did I see it for what it was. I'm so sorry, Henry."

"I am too, Shel. I really am. I just don't understand how you could do something so intimate with someone so casually. It's like I didn't mean anything to you."

"Please don't think like that, please. You mean everything to me. I can't explain it, not really. I can tell you what happened but I can't really explain how it happened, if that makes sense."

"It does, but that's the problem. You weren't in love with him. You weren't lusting after him. You just casually took your clothes off and let him inside of you, like it was no big deal and it meant nothing. Well it meant something to me, Shelley, and the fact that you could give it away so easily and without really knowing why tells me I just don't mean much to you. I'm sorry, I really am because I really do love you, but it's over."

"No baby please! Please just..."

"NO!" I hated raising my voice to her so I softened my tone. "No, Shelley, just no. I'm not going to constantly wonder what you're up to or make a bunch of changes so that you're never left alone. I won't live like that. I have to be married to someone I trust without reservation and that's not you anymore."

EPILOGUE

The divorce was amicable if not easy. Shelley kept trying to get me to stop it and try again but I couldn't go down that path. The truth was what she had done had seriously damaged my love for her and I couldn't bring myself to try.

The property split was pretty straightforward. We had been in a small apartment and saving toward a house so we simply canceled the lease (I was nice enough to cover the cancelation fee) and went our separate ways. We split the bank and investment accounts, etc. There were no requests for alimony and we had no kids. It was surgical in its precision. Just like that 1 had become 2.

About 4 months after that unfortunate night outside Donna's bedroom window, and with the divorce having been finalized a month prior, I had stopped on my way home from work to hang out and watch Monday Night Football. I didn't care one way or the other about the teams in the game but I enjoyed football and it was something to do. The poker game was on hiatus because Bill was spending his time working on his marriage and I guess I saw the poker game as having a part in Shelley's cheating and hadn't made the decision to go back. Hey, I never said it was rational.

In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, it was déjà vu all over again as Heather slid herself in the seat across from me at the two-person table I had staked out for myself.

"Hey handsome."

"Good evening, Heather. How are you tonight?"

"I'm good. I wanted to say again how sorry I am about you and Shelley."

"Thanks. I appreciate it. Out on a date again tonight?"

"Not exactly. Greg's at some conference for the next couple of days so I decided to go out, but no date. You?"

"Just stopping for a bite to eat and to watch the game."

"Then, would you like some company tonight?"

I set my beer down on the table and looked into her deep blue eyes. Whatever you might think about her lifestyle, Heather is a strikingly beautiful woman. She has long, blonde hair and medium-sized breasts that she usually had on full display.

"What sort of company are you referring to?"

"Exactly the sort of company you think I'm referring to."

"What happened to your policy about not having sex with Greg's friends?"

"Well, it's more a guideline than a policy. Besides, you haven't been around since that night you saw me out so that makes you more of an acquaintance than a friend. I promise you won't be disappointed. I'm a helluva fuck."

"If you do say so yourself."

She just smiled at that. I hesitated, not because I didn't want to screw Heather (Lord knows I did) but out of respect for Greg. I think she saw that on my face. She reached across the table and took my hands.

"Henry, I promise that Greg doesn't mind. And he'll never know that you hooked up with me. I never give him names or details of any kind. He'll be back in two days and I'll spoil the crap out of the man I love."

She looked so earnest, and I had never really forgotten that conversation with Greg. It was obvious that he didn't care what she did as long as she was there when he wanted or needed her. 'What the hell', I thought.

"My place then?"

"Shall I follow you or do you wanna give me a ride back here when we're done?"

"You're staying the night, Heather."

Then I'll need my car in the morning. Me following you it is."

The details of what happened that night are strictly between Heather and I, but I can tell you that we both called in sick the next day, and she is, in fact, one helluva fuck.

*****

This is the end of part 1. Thank you for reading and look for part 2 coming soon to a theater near you.