I stood up and glanced at the clock. It was just after 2:00 AM. I wondered why Katie had left me sleeping in my chair when she got home. I turned off the television and walked down the hall to our bedroom. The door was open and the lights were off. I quietly peeked inside. I was trying to avoid disturbing my wife. Lately she’d been a little short tempered and I didn’t want to upset her.
I was surprised to see that she wasn’t there. The bed was still made. The bathroom was dark. I looked at the clock on the night table on Katie’s side of the bed. It read 2:10. I hadn’t been mistaken about the time.
I quickly walked across the house to the kitchen and opened the door to the garage. Katie’s car wasn’t there. She wasn’t home yet.
I hurried into the living room and looked out the front window. The street was vacant. All the houses on our block were dark. I sat down on the couch and started to worry. The bars in our state closed at 1:00 AM.
Suddenly concerned that my wife had been in an accident, I called her cell phone. It went right to her voice mail. Her cell phone was apparently turned off. I thought about calling the police, but I knew they wouldn’t do anything. She was only two hours late.
It was Friday night. Katie had gone out with her girlfriends from work. She was part of the secretarial pool at Madison and Brooks. Madison and Brooks was a large insurance agency. Katie had been working there for a little over a year.
I’d met Katie Jordan six months before she’d started working for Madison and Brooks. She’d just graduated from a small liberal arts college in central Wisconsin with a degree in English literature. She’d moved to our city hoping to find a job writing advertising copy. It didn’t take long for her to learn that a degree in English Literature wasn’t particularly marketable.
Katie and I met at a local gym. We both liked to work out in the early morning. I was eight years older than her. Two years earlier I’d completed my masters degree in structural engineering at the University. As soon as I finished my degree I went to work for a local construction company. They paid me a handsome salary. I’d spent the two years since my graduation living the free and easy life of a successful young bachelor.
Katie was a five foot four inch brunette spark plug with a trim figure, a cute face and a quick wit. I was a shy five foot eight inch academic with an aptitude for science and mathematics. I wasn’t very worldly, but I was honest and I worked hard to be nice so I had quite a few friends.
It took me three weeks and an enormous amount of encouragement from my friends to muster enough nerve to ask Katie for a date. To my utter amazement, she accepted. Our first date ended in my apartment. We became lovers and Katie spent the night. The next day she moved in with me. Four weeks later we got engaged and six weeks after that we were married. I was the happiest man in the world.
After she moved into my apartment Katie became increasingly distressed about her inability to find a job. I tried to reassure her and urged her to be patient. I offered to support her and kept telling her that she would eventually find someone who was able to recognize her talents. Katie refused to be consoled. She was an independent woman. The idea of not being able to support herself was intolerable for her.
Desperate to find any kind of work, Katie answered an add for a position as a secretary at a local insurance agency. The personnel staff at Madison and Brooks immediately recognized her talents. They also understood that she was over qualified for the job they had available, but they wisely reasoned that if they could get her into the company they might eventually be able to find a more appropriate position for her. They hired her.
My new wife was twenty-three when she went to work for Madison and Brooks There were a number of girls in her office who were about the same age. Some of them were single and some of them, like Katie, were married.
On the Friday afternoon that ended her first week of work at the agency Katie called me and explained that the girls in the secretarial pool had a regular Friday night ritual. They all went to Brady’s Saloon to celebrate the beginning of the weekend.
Before I married Katie, my friends and I used to hang out at Brady’s. I knew it well and while I knew that it was a singles bar, I wasn’t particularly concerned. Brady’s also had great hamburgers, a large selection of tap beers and jumbo margaritas. I assumed that the margaritas were the attraction for the girls in the secretarial pool.
Brady’s had four large flat screen televisions strategically mounted around the bar and dining room. In the early evening the televisions were tuned to sporting events, but at nine o’clock the sporting events were turned off and the televisions and a high quality sound system started playing music videos. The tables in the dining room were rearranged to create a dance floor, and the sports bar became a night club.
My wife asked me if I’d mind if she joined the girls. I suppose that I could have been concerned that my wife was going to spend Friday night in a singles bar, but I trusted Katie. I also thought that it would be good if she got to know the women in her office. I gave her my blessing and told her to have a good time.
That night Katie got home just after nine o’clock. She was bubbling with excitement and more than a little tipsy. The girls at her office were all nice, and she’d had so much fun at Brady’s. She thanked me profusely for not objecting to her going out with them and asked if it would be all right if she went again on the following Friday.
Katie had obviously had so much fun and was so happy that I really couldn’t see how or why I would ask her not to go. I told her that I was pleased that she liked the women at her office and added that while I would miss her on Friday evenings, I understood why she might want to celebrate the beginning of the weekend with the girls from work. I also told her that I thought it was healthy for married couples to have a little bit of freedom.
Katie was so happy that she showered me with kisses and then pulled me into the bedroom where we spent the next two hours making passionate love.
When we got up the next morning my wife suggested that since Friday night was now going to be our freedom night, Saturday night should be our date night. It seemed like a magnificent idea to me.
That night Katie and I had a wonderful steak dinner. After dinner we cleaned the kitchen together and then we cuddled on the couch and watched a romantic comedy on television. After the movie we retired to the bedroom and spent the rest of the evening making love.
The following Friday Katie did go out with the girls again. I thought about trying to hook up with my old buddies, but Brady’s had been my hangout. If I went there I felt like I’d be intruding on my wife’s night out. Instead I opted for a quiet evening at home. I rented an action movie and ordered a pizza.
My wife got home around 9:30. As soon as she walked in the door we retired to the bedroom and spent the rest of the night fucking like rabbits. Once again Saturday night was date night and Katie and I turned it into another memorable evening.
We fell into a rather nice routine and followed it for the next seven months. Life was good.
About five months ago things began to change. Katie started to get home from freedom night just a little bit later. At first it wasn’t much later, 10:00 and 10:30 rather than 9:00 and 9:30. I wasn’t concerned about it, I just assumed that she was having a good time with her friends. When she did get home we still went right into the bedroom for some very hot sex.
She also started to talk about a woman named Andrea. Andrea was one of the women in the secretarial pool. She was thirty-seven and divorced. I gathered that she was the ring leader of the Friday night outings.
Two months ago Katie didn’t get home from her Friday night outing until almost 11:30. When she finally did get home she apologized profusely and told me that she was having so much fun that she’d lost track of the time. The next morning while we were having breakfast she asked me if I was upset with her because she’d come home so late. I told her that I wasn’t. I understood that it’s easy to lose track of the time when you’re having fun.
Katie explained to me that she was torn. She wanted to come home to me, but a number of the single women stayed at the bar and partied until 11:00 or 12:00. She said that she understood our obligations to each other as husband and wife, but was still envious of their freedom.
I really couldn’t see why it was an issue. Eleven or twelve on a Friday night still wasn’t all that late. I smiled at my wife and told her that if she wanted to stay and party with these women it was alright with me. I still believed it was good for her to have a little freedom. She also seemed to enjoy the opportunity to let her hair down and blow off a little steam once a week. Katie thanked me, but then she was ominously quiet. There was something else on her mind.
I asked her what was bothering her. She looked at me for a moment and then she cautiously said that after nine o’clock people started dancing at Brady’s.
I told her that I knew that. She said that lots of men asked her to dance, but she always turned them down because she was married to me. She didn’t think I would like it if she was dancing with other men. For a moment she was quiet and then she very tentatively reminded me that she used to love to dance. She also pointed out that she knew I didn’t enjoy it very much so she never pressured me to take her dancing.
She was of course right. I don’t enjoy dancing. I have two left feet. I’m a terrible dancer and I deliberately avoid situations where I might have to dance. I also knew that my wife did enjoy dancing. Still my gut was stabbed with pangs of jealousy when I pictured Katie on the dance floor at Brady’s in the arms of another man.
I took a moment to consider the situation. I was torn between my petty feelings of jealousy and my desire to make Katie happy. I did what I always did when I was confronted with a dilemma. I relied on my training as an engineer. I analyzed the situation and selected the most reasonable solution. I quickly decided that my wife actually wasn’t asking for very much. We weren’t religious fundamentalists. Neither of us believed that dancing was inherently evil. I also felt that a successful marriage was based on mutual trust. In my heart I recognized that this was one of those situation where I was going to have to trust my wife.
I smiled at Katie and told her that I trusted her and if she wanted to dance with a man while she was at Brady’s it would be fine with me.
When she heard me say that Katie smiled, but then stared at me for a moment. Finally she asked if I was really sure it would be okay.
I told her that I was sure.
The following Friday Katie didn’t get home until 1:15. When she finally did get home we were both too tired to make love, so we went right to bed. It was okay. The next night was date night, and she did a wonderful job of making it up to me.
The next Friday Katie again didn’t get home until 1:15.
Several weeks ago I started to notice some dramatic changes in Katie’s behavior. She was moodier and more withdrawn. At times she avoided eye contact with me. While I was usually asleep by the time Katie got home and she was generally too tired to make love, she always woke me up and cuddled with me before she went to take her shower. Suddenly she stopped doing that. Instead I would wake up in the middle of the night and find her asleep next to me already showered.
She also started going out to dinner with Andrea on Tuesday nights. She always got home by nine o’clock, but it was still another evening each week that she was gone. Last Wednesday just as we were finishing dinner I asked her if she now had two freedom nights each week. Katie stared at me for a minute and then she frowned and told me in an indignant tone of voice that she worked hard and enjoyed relaxing with her friends. She shook her head in disgust and added that just because I was an old stick in the mud who never wanted to go out, there wasn’t any reason that she had to also become a pathetic recluse.
I looked at Katie for a moment and then I sighed and stood up. I silently gathered up the dirty dishes and carried them into the kitchen. While I was rinsing the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher, she came into the kitchen. She watched me for a moment and then she told me that she was sorry that she snapped at me and apologized for the awful thing she’d just said.
I told her that lately she seemed to be aloof and withdrawn. She often appeared to be preoccupied. I had the impression that something was bothering her. I also admitted that I was starting to feel a little neglected.
Katie put her arms around me and kissed me. She told me that there was nothing wrong. She reassured me that she still loved me and she promised to try to pay more attention to me in the future. She also asked me if I wanted her to stop having dinner with Andrea on Tuesday evenings.
Starting to feel embarrassed about my display of petulance, I told Katie not to worry. I was probably just feeling a little depressed and then I said that she should feel free to continue having dinner with Andrea on Tuesday evenings.
My wife kissed me. After helping me finish cleaning the kitchen she dragged me into the bedroom so we could make love. As I was eating Katie’s pussy I realized that it was the first time that we’d made love on a week night in over a month.
A pair of headlights swept across the living room curtains. It was Katie’s car pulling into the driveway. I glanced at my watch. It was 3:15. It had been two hours since Brady’s closed. I was sitting in dark. I heard the garage door open and then I heard it close again. After a moment I heard the sound of a car door closing.
I waited.
I heard the back door open. The kitchen lights went on. I heard my wife set her purse and car keys on the counter. I still waited.
The dining room lights went on. I watched Katie walk into the room and thumb through the mail that was lying on the dining room table. I was surprised by her appearance. Her hair was mussed, her makeup was smeared and the top two buttons of her blouse were undone.
Moving into the living room, Katie turned on the lights and yawned. She appeared to be very tired.
Suddenly she noticed me sitting on the couch. She stopped and stared at me. My presence was obviously an unsettling surprise. Nervously fussing with her hair and buttoning her blouse she said; “You’re up. I thought you’d be asleep.”
“I fell asleep while I was watching television. It was after 2:00 when I finally woke up. I was surprised that you weren’t home yet. I started to worry. I was afraid you might have been in an accident.”
Sighing, Katie said, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to worry you. I thought you’d be asleep so I didn’t call.’
“I tried to call your cell phone, but it was turned off.”
This seemed to startle Katie. She nervously said, “Was it? How silly of me. I must have turned it off by accident.”
I slowly nodded. There was a moment of silence and then I quietly asked, “Why are you so late?”
Katie stared at the floor. She seemed to be trying to figure out how to answer my question. Suddenly her entire body stiffened. She stared at me. An angry expression clouded her face. “Is this an interrogation? You have no business prying into my personal life. You’re my husband, not my jailer. If you don’t trust me just say it.”
Then glaring at me, she added, “If you must know, I was having fun with my friends and I lost track of the time. If you had any friends you might be able to understand how that could happen. Now I’m going to take a shower and then I’m going to bed.”
Katie turned and stormed into the bedroom. A moment later I heard the bathroom door slam shut.
I sat down and buried my head in my hands. For the first time I gave voice to a fear that had been lurking in the back of my mind for the past several weeks. Was it possible that Katie cheating on me?
I decided that I wanted to avoid my wife for the rest of the night. Her nasty comment about by lack of friends coupled with my suspicions that she might be cheating on me, left me feeling intolerant of any further outbursts on her part. Even though my suspicions were now very strong, I knew that I didn’t have enough information to effectively confront her. I also wasn’t certain about what I wanted to do. I loved Katie. Before I initiated a confrontation that might result in the end of our marriage I wanted to be absolutely certain that divorce was the appropriate recourse.
After I heard Katie come out of the bathroom I watched for the bedroom lights to go off. I waited for another fifteen minutes and then I tiptoed into the bedroom and grabbed one of my pillows from our bed and one of our extra blankets from the closet. As I was leaving I could hear her crying.
I slept on the couch that night. It wasn’t comfortable and I didn’t actually get much sleep. I got up early and made pot of coffee. As soon as the coffee was ready I poured myself a cup and sat down at the kitchen table. I had some serious thinking to do.
I now had a strong suspicion that Katie was cheating. All of her behavior pointed towards it. Still, there was some some doubt and before I could act I had to be absolutely certain. There were also several other questions that had to be answered. Was she involved in a full blown affair or was she just having one night stands. If she’d just had a couple of one night stands, then maybe we could get some counseling and save our marriage. If she was having an affair I needed to know if she was in love with this other man. I also wanted to know if she still loved me.
As I thought about all of this I knew that I had to get some more information and quickly realized where to start. As I mentioned earlier, I used to hang out at Brady’s. That wasn’t that long ago and I assumed that I still had a number of friends there. It wasn’t going to be too difficult to get some reliable information about what my wife was doing on Friday nights.
I was just standing up to get another cup of coffee when I heard a noise in the doorway behind me. I turned. Katie was standing there. She was dressed. Her hair was brushed and she was wearing just a little bit of makeup. She was gorgeous.
She stared at me for a moment and then she said, “You didn’t come to bed last night.”
I wasn’t looking for a fight, but I also wasn’t about to start apologizing. Staring back at her, I answered; “I didn’t feel very welcome.”
Sighing, Katie said; “Frankie I’m sorry about what I said last night. I was wrong to act the way I did. I know you were just worried about me and you are my husband. You have every right to ask me where I’ve been when I come home at three o’clock in the morning.”
She didn’t say anything more. We just stared at each other. Finally I said, “Okay, where were you?”
“Frankie, it was a huge misunderstanding. I’m so sorry that I worried you. I would have called, but I really did believe that you would be asleep and I didn’t want to wake you.” She shrugged. “I also didn’t know that my cell phone was turned off. I let one of the other girls use it last night and she must have accidentally turned it off when she finished making her call.” She smiled at me.
I looked at her and said, “You still haven’t told me where you were.”
Katie took a deep breath . “Okay, at 12:30 one of the girls suddenly started crying. When Andrea asked her what was wrong she told us that her husband had announced that he was leaving her. Frankie, we couldn’t just send her home in tears, so we all went to Ellie’s dinner for a late night cup of coffee. We ended up talking for almost two hours.”
She looked at me. “Now do you understand why I was so late?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Do you forgive me for coming home so late?”
Nodding, I quietly answered; “Of course I do.”
The truth was, I didn’t understand and I certainly didn’t forgive her. I might have accepted Katie’s explanation if I hadn’t seen her when she walked in the door last night. Her hair was mussed, her makeup was smeared and her blouse was unbuttoned. She’d looked like she’d gotten dressed in a hurry. She didn’t look like a woman coming home after consoling a friend in a coffee shop. She looked like a woman coming home after a session of hot sex. I suspected that after they were done fucking Katie and her lover had fallen asleep. When she woke up and saw what time it was I’m sure my wife panicked and threw her clothes on as quickly as she could. Finding me awake and waiting for her when she walked into the house was an unexpected disaster.
Nonetheless, I didn’t challenge her story. I wanted Katie to believe that she’d fooled me. If I was ever going to find out what was really going on I needed her to think that I didn’t suspect she was having an affair. She would be much easier to follow if her guard was down.
Katie walked over and kissed me. As angry as I was with her I melted. I loved her so much.
After she kissed me she whispered, “Frankie, can we still have a date night tonight?”
I grinned at her. “Yes, I’d like that very much.”
Part of me was telling the truth. I really did want to spend a nice evening with her. That was the part of me that was still madly in love with Katie. The other part of me, the part that was angry with her for cheating, understood that I didn’t have any choice. If I didn’t want to have our date night I was certain that Katie would start to wonder why.
I made French toast for breakfast. We ate together and chatted about our jobs. It was just small talk, but it was still pleasant. After breakfast, Katie helped me clean up the kitchen. This was a pleasant surprise. Lately she’d been leaving most of the household chores to me.
Once we were done cleaning the kitchen I told Katie that I had to go into my office and finish a report that was due first thing Monday morning. She told me that she understood and said it would give her an opportunity to do some shopping. She also volunteered to pick up dinner. We agreed that both of us would be home by 6:00.
