You Can Handle It Ch. 01

Barbara doesn't think she should be a grandmother. At 45 she is still willowy and turns heads when she walks through the mall. Unfortunately, thinking is not usually involved when creating children (or grandchildren). Barbara and I had gotten married fresh out of college. A failure to read the fine print on the prescription enclosure led to a failure of the birth control pills when Barbara took an antibiotic for the flu. We became parents at 22. Our daughter was even more careless with her boyfriend, but when the stick turned blue, he immediately asked her to marry him. We became grandparents almost a year ago.

Barbara stayed with her sister, Beth, in Atlanta and helped Diane during the first two weeks after she delivered. As the six-week deadline approached for Diane to return to work, Barbara told me that she was returning to Atlanta to baby-sit Johnny and help Diane and Rob transition when Diane returned to work.

"I can stay with Beth," Barbara explained. Barbara and Beth are twins. Back in college they were known as the B&B twins, sweet and smooth but with a kick. Beth's husband had divorced her two years before and Beth had an empty condo now with her children all off at school. "Her guest room is large and you can come there for the weekends as well as you can to Greenville."

I've got a one-person consulting business and I travel 3 out of 4 weeks around the Southeast. I'm always home on the weekends though. "Honey, I know I travel a lot, but on the weeks I am here, you won't be."

"Bring your portable and work from Beth's place. Nobody will even know."

"You know that I almost always have work to do for my old clients in Greenville when I am home."

"Well, I've been here alone most of the time for the last two years," she stated in that wronged-woman voice that husbands know so well. Our youngest child had also left the nest. "For over twenty years I've done what you wanted and followed you where you wanted to go. Now I want to go somewhere. You can handle it for a while."

"How long is this going to go on?"

"Day care is really bad and expensive for babies. I may have to help for twelve, maybe eighteen months."

"EIGHTEEN MONTHS! That's crazy. Rob and Diane are adults. They can handle this like all the other parents in America do."

"You have your business. Now, I have mine. I'm going to Atlanta."

I could tell that the discussion had ended, but I had to try just once more. "The only bed that Beth has in that guest room is that double bed. We can't sleep there." The last time I had folded my six-foot four-inch frame around my wife in a double bed was on our honeymoon. I knew she wouldn't be comfortable in such a small bed either.

"Well, we'll buy Beth a king-sized bed to go in there." Beth had a queen-sized bed in the master that Barbara and I had used occasionally, but even that I considered too small for our sexual workouts.

My last objection overcome, I let the matter drop. There was some undercurrent in the discussion, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

In truth, to me this would not be much change. I arranged for one of the neighborhood kids to take care of the lawn. That was a chore I hated anyway. When I was in Greenville, I could cook frozen dinners as well as anybody.

The adjustment was not hard to make. On the weekends, I'd drive to Atlanta. Our social life picked up. Barbara and I had been mostly stay-at-homes in Greenville. Almost every Saturday in Atlanta, we had an activity. Mostly we went out to clubs with Beth and her boyfriend. Sometimes Beth would throw a party and invite over the forty-something singles or we'd go out to someone else's for a party. It was nice to be back into dancing like we did when we were dating and the parties were as much fun as when we were in college. The first few months went by without a hitch.

------------------------------------------------------

One week I finished up my consulting a day early. I could get out of Montgomery before the afternoon traffic and be in Atlanta after the traffic had died down. I'd surprise Barbara, take her to a late dinner if she hadn't eaten or out for dessert if she had.

For the amount she paid for the condo, Beth didn't get much parking. She has a two-car garage, now occupied by B&B. Other than that, you have to park in a visitor's lot about sixty yards from Beth's door. When I got to Beth's condo, I pulled into the visitor's lot and started to walk down. Suddenly, I saw a man and woman come out of Beth's condo. I saw the woman's face clearly but I didn't get a good look at the man because I was so shocked at the woman.

I ducked behind some foliage and watched as they walked past. They were talking easily. He had on a sport jacket. She had on a black skirt and purple blouse that looked very feminine with a scoop neckline that showed the beginning swells of her breasts. They were walking close to each other, shoulders and hips occasionally brushing.

Beth and Barbara are identical twins. They can fool most people, even those who are around one of them frequently. But I had spent twenty-five years learning to tell them apart. This was Barbara.

I watched until they got in a car and left. Then I went to my car. It was too dark to pull a Sam Spade routine and follow them, so I sat there thinking about what to do. I called Beth's number on my cell phone. Maybe I hadn't seen what I'd seen.

"Hello."

"Hi, Beth. Can I speak to Barbara?"

"Hi, Jeff. Barbara isn't here. Diane's been really tired this week. Barbara's over there. She asked you not to call. It might wake up Johnny. She said she's looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. How are things in Montgomery?"

The conversation continued for several more minutes before I let it die. If Barbara were over at Diane's her car would be there. I pulled out of the parking lot and drove by our daughter's house. Of course the car was not there. I decided to head to Greenville. All the way up I turned over those astonishing fifteen minutes in my mind. Barbara had definitely been going out someplace special. She was dressed well. She was very comfortable with the man who had picked her up. The back and forth banter of the conversation and the closeness of the two bodies showed that. Then Beth had established an alibi that would cover Barbara's whereabouts until the next morning. What did Beth know about the planned activities?

I didn't know what to do. I didn't want my marriage to end. Should I confront Barbara? If I did, what would happen if she flat-out lied? What if she had a simple explanation after I accused her of cheating?

A personality quirk of mine, and I'm sure many other computer consultants, was that I hated confrontations. Even on something like this where anyone would expect a big flare-up and argument, I was hesitant. I needed more evidence. I showed up the next evening as everyone expected.

"Hi, honey." (kiss) "How was Johnny last night?"

"A little bit fussy. Diane was able to feed him and get him down but he woke up early for the next feeding. Fortunately, I had convinced her to express some milk into a bottle and I fed him last night so she was able to get some rest. I grabbed a nap today, but I'm still a little tired."

She did look tired and ended up going to bed early. I wondered exactly what had tired her out last night.

On Saturday Beth invited us to go out dancing. I demurred and convinced Barbara that we should have a quiet dinner for just the two of us. I wanted to try to show her that I cared for her and that whatever was going on could not be as good as what we had.

Instead the evening turned into a disaster. I couldn't stay focused on the conversation.

"What's wrong," Barbara asked.

"Just a problem that came up on Thursday."

"Can you tell me about it?"

Should I confront her with what I knew? I hadn't figured out the best approach to the real problem yet. I described a totally fictitious system problem that could have happened anywhere. We went back to Beth's and had sex before Beth's return. I was not a good lover that night. I was too preoccupied and while Barbara didn't complain, I could tell that she hadn't had a rousing orgasm and possibly no orgasm at all.

If she was cheating, I wasn't giving her lover much competition.

We were at coffee hour after church the next day when a man came up and greeted the twins.

"Hi, good-looking!" He hugged my wife in a full-contact hug, bodies meeting all the way down below the hips. When the clinch broke, Barbara looked at me and then down quickly. She also flushed slightly.

"Oh, another good-looking gal!" He hugged Beth briefly with just one arm around her shoulders, bending slightly so that only their cheeks and collarbones touched.

"Jeff, this is Harry Winston. Beth and I have known him since we were in middle school."

"Hello, Jeff." He stuck out his hand and smiled at me with a wolfish grin. He clearly enjoyed the situation and thought he had the upper hand.

"Hello, Harry." The four of us talked for a while and then we broke up to go back to Beth's place.

"You said that you've known Harry since grade school," I prompted as we were driving.

"Since middle school," Barbara corrected. "He was a boy's counselor at Camp Macinack and taught swimming to everybody when Beth and I went there for two summers when we were twelve and thirteen. He moved to Atlanta last year and Beth ran into him at church."

"I had such a crush on him back then," Beth interjected. "I think all our cabin thought he was dreamy."

"ALL your cabin," I said looking over at my wife.

"You know how adolescent girls are. Just look at Leonardo Di Caprio if you want to assess the judgment of the young female of the species."

I let the subject drop but there was something about the way Harry had greeted Barbara and then spoken to me. It was like a dog marking its territory. Except this dog was trying to mark my territory.

-------------------------------------

I drove to Birmingham early Monday morning. I wasn't sure that Barbara was having an affair but something was going on that wasn't kosher. I talked to her Wednesday night like I tried to do every night that I was away. Sometimes I'd call her; other times she would call my cell.

"How are things going," she asked. I filled her in on the status. "So you'll be there until Friday?"

Something about the too-casual tone of voice made my ears prick up. "Yeah. I don't see how I'm going to get everything done before 5 on Friday."

I called Beth's Thursday at 8PM.

"Jeff, Barbara's staying over at Diane's again tonight. Johnny's been a little hellion this week and Diane is exhausted again. Please don't call and wake him up."

Saturday I insisted on going over to Diane and Rob's. I told Barbara that she got to see Johnny every day but I didn't.

I greeted Diane. "So, I hear Johnny has been up to mischief this week."

"Just a chip off the old block," she responded looking at me. "And off the younger block, too," referring to Rob.

"Well, I hope your mom was able to let you get some sleep Thursday night."

Diane glanced quickly at her mother. "Yes, yes she was." Diane responded with a slight quaver in her voice.

I looked straight into her eyes. The pupils were dilated, and then she looked down guiltily. I knew she was lying. "Well, she said she wanted to be here in Atlanta to help you. I guess everything is working out."

That night I determined to show Barbara what she would be missing if she left me.

We got into bed as usual. I slid next to her and began gently caressing her tummy, as she lay flat on the bed. Bending to kiss her, my tongue gently toyed across her lips. My hand began to wander to other parts of her body but to nowhere overtly sexual.

Her tongue reached up to mine and the two began lightly caressing each other. This deepened into a full-scale wrestling match of the lingual muscles. Her arms pulled me to her and I began caressing her, stroking from her shoulders down to her ass. I lightly fluttered my fingertips over areas of exposed skin and then used the slipperiness of her nylon nightgown to caress her sides and arms.

My hand slowly approached her breast and lazily traced a spiral beginning at the outer edges of the swell and converging toward her nipple. I stopped just before touching her nipple and moved to stroke her back again.

When I repeated the sequence of touches, she began humming during our kiss. This time as I got close to her nipple, she rolled slightly bringing my fingers suddenly to the distended tip. I circled it with two fingers and then gently tweaked it. She broke our kiss and moaned, bringing her hand to cover mine and press down on her breast.

Now I started caressing from her breast to the juncture of her legs. As I slid the nylon over her wiry hair, I lowered my mouth to the nipple that had been neglected. I swirled my tongue around the soft bump, rapidly bringing it to a firm extension.

My hand snuck under her nightgown and her legs fell apart, encouraging my touch on the slick folds between. With feathery strokes I soon had her rolling her hips trying for firmer contact. My mouth released her nipple and I kissed down her tummy and settled between her legs. I swirled my tongue from her clit down to the bottom of her opening and back up. When I did this a second time she grabbed my head with both hands and pulled my lips firmly onto her clit.

I focused on her clit but flicked it at a slow pace. Barbara began to rock her hips, trying to encourage me to speed up or to create a movement that would be faster. I was able to move my head to control the pace. Slowly I increased the fluttering that she wanted so badly.

"Oooh, Jeff! I need this so much. Help me, baby. Harder! HARDER!"

I maintained my sense of rhythm and only allowed her to build gradually towards her peak. I slipped two fingers into her wet channel and began to give her friction there. My thumb from that hand slid down to the smooth skin between her channel and her ass. A light stoking there at the same time increased her desire. Suddenly, I flashed my tongue rapidly over her button.

"Gngh, gngh, gngh, AHHHHH!" She went rigid bowing her body between head and heels and then she collapsed.

I let her lie quietly for a few moments. I moved to kiss the inside of her knee and inch-by-inch worked my way back up her legs. By the time I got to her vee again, her nerves had lost their sensitivity and her thighs spread to welcome my tongue back. I didn't spend as long this time. She came quietly this time but I could feel the spasms of her pussy around my fingers.

Finally, I moved up and entered her. I couldn't wait much longer now. I rapidly built my tempo of thrusts. She wrapped her legs around my waist and bucked up into me. I felt my sperm begin their trip.

"Oh, Jeff! Do me now!"

The hula movements of her hips against mine finished me off. We both collapsed onto the bed and then rolled apart.

"God! You haven't done me that well since our last anniversary. That was nice."

"Who was that masked stranger? I really liked it, too, in case you didn't notice," I replied.

We cuddled until we fell asleep.