Scarsdale, NY: Friday 19th December 2014:
With Donovan having flown off to college in the UK, Sue threw herself into her community work with a vengeance to help fill the hole left by our only child leaving home. Donovan, Sue and I normally volunteered at the local shelter and soup kitchen on Friday’s, and Sue was now doing an additional two evenings a week, which were usually Tuesdays and Thursdays. And this is where she met the man who was about to have a major impact on our marriage and relationship.
A chance meeting at a Christmas fund-raiser
I knew nothing of this man until a Christmas Party we attended in late December. It was the Friday before Christmas, and the party was a fund-raiser for the homeless shelter.
We were chatting to another couple we sometimes worked with at the shelter, Richard and Jill, when a tall and heavily built black guy approached our group and greeted everyone with a cheery ‘hello’.
Richard, Jill and Sue greeted him back, and I learned his name was Francis. I recalled Sue mentioning a couple of times a volunteer of that name, and putting two and two together I worked out be was probably another volunteer from the shelter. We made room for him to sit at our table and he soon joined in the conversation we were all having about Christmas plans. Francis, who was a little older than the rest of us, said his three grown-up kids were all coming back for Christmas, as it was only the second Christmas ‘without Heidi’. As the conversation continued, I worked out that Heidi must be his late wife, who apparently had passed away about a year and a half ago. Obviously, when I figured this out my heart went out to the guy. He was only a few years older than us and had lost his wife. It really made me think about how you can never take your happiness and your loved ones for granted.
He seemed a nice guy and as no one else was doing it, I introduced myself and explained that I was Sue’s husband.
“Oh, so you’re Pete. Wonderful to finally meet you,” he grinned, “Sue talks about you all of the time. About all of the interesting places you get to visit, all those countries you get to help out.”
We were soon deep in conversation, as he quizzed me about the type of development consulting we did and whether I’d ever done any work in his home country of Nigeria. As I’d done a fair bit of work there, we ended up talking about these projects and about the challenges and difficulties the country faced. He was obviously an educated guy, and it didn’t surprise me when it came out that he was a doctor, adding that he actually worked in the same hospital as Sue, but in a different department.
We were chatting away like we’d know each other forever, and it felt really good to have made a new friend. I’ve got better as I’ve got older, but I’ve never been particularly comfortable in the party environment, as I’m a bit too serious and not great at small talk. Richard interrupted the conversation Francis and I were having, holding his glass up and shaking it to indicate it was my turn to head to the bar and refill everyone’s glass.
I couldn’t argue, so off I trooped off to the bar to top up five glasses. The queue was two or three deep, and as I waited to be served, I happened to look back at our little group. As I looked at them, I saw that Sue had broken away from talking to Richard and Jill and smiling and laughing with Francis.
Now over the years, because of my insecurities and fantasies, I’ve always been very sensitive to seeing guys hit on Sue or her flirting with men at parties or in bars. When she was younger, she was a fairly quiet girl, but as the years have passed she’s grown in confidence, she’s become far more outgoing.
From the early years of our marriage, we’ve talked about my particular fantasies and hang-ups and provided I know it’s harmless, Sue knows I enjoy watching her flirting and being hit on at parties. She knows it ties my stomach in knots, but that I also love the excitement and adrenaline rush.
Sue looked as sexy as hell. Being a disciplined gym user who watches her diet carefully, even at forty-one, she still had a great body. A couple of years ago, encouraged by a couple of friends who’d done the same, Sue got me to agree to her getting her boobs enhanced from 33C to 34D, which looked amazing on her slim five-foot, six-inch frame. I honestly didn’t think she needed the bigger bust, but she was happy with the change, and I certainly wasn’t complaining.
I’ve always loved showing her off and getting her to wear sexy clothes for my enjoyment and the enjoyment of other guys at parties, and tonight was no exception. As she stood there chatting and flirting with Francis, she was wearing a leopard-skin mini-dress with a short hemline and a halter-strap design that showed off her big boobs to perfection. With Sue wearing this sexy little dress, I saw sure that this must have been having quite an effect on poor Francis.
I continued to watch and there was definitely some serious flirting going on there, as they continued laughing and joking. I saw Sue touch Francis’ arm a number of times and spend an inordinate amount of time making eye contact with him. I was pretty sure that Sue was doing this on purpose, as part of the little game we often played, knowing that because Francis was a handsome black guy, it would get to me more than normal.
I was so mesmerized by watching this flirty teasing game going on between my wife and Francis that I’m sure I missed my turn at the bar, and Richard moaned loudly when I finally returned with everyone’s drinks, asking me what kept me.
The conversation picked up where we left off, only this time Sue was part of our little group. She’d snuggled up next to me which felt good and having had my buttons pressed by her little flirting game, I was looking forward to getting home and having a hot session together. I was already thinking that her colored toy ‘Sean’ would be making a visit to her pussy tonight as I planned to make up an erotic version of the classic doctors and nurses game.
After a while, the band started up and couples headed out to the dance floor. Richard and Jill were first up in our little group, and I saw a look in Sue’s eyes telling me she wanted to dance.
Now I’ve always had a pathological hatred of dancing, being hugely self-conscious and lacking in rhythm. In fact, my dancing’s so bad that when I used to lead a small Youth Group in a local church, the kids even prayed for my dancing! But from when Sue and I started dating, knowing her love of dancing, I forced myself to try and get better. But dancing is still something that I only do under sufferance.
Seeing Sue’s eyes begging me to accompany her out on the dance floor, and knowing that Francis had no partner, I suddenly had an idea.
I raised my arm high and with an over-emphasized gesture asked Sue for her hand, which was greeted by a big smile, As she took my arm, I turned to Francis. “Francis, as you’re about to see, I’m the world’s worst dancer. Assuming Sue’s still got enough toes left to dance, would you help me out after this dance and do Sue the honor of being her dance partner for a while?”
Francis grinned. “Pete, I hear you. I’m no Fred Astaire, but I’d be honored to accompany your beautiful wife for a few dances. The pleasure will be all mine.”
With the deal-sealed, we headed to the dance floor and I enjoyed the lovely feeling of Sue’s bare arms encircling my neck as she beamed up at me.
“I don’t know whether to thank you for helping me to cheer up Francis, or give you a piece of my mind for wimping out on your husbandly dancing duties,” Sue playfully teased me, but her smile told me that she was fine with what I’d done.
As we danced, we gazed into each others’ eyes, enjoying every moment of what was thankfully a slow song which was well matched to my lack of dancing skills. We kissed a few times, and for whatever reason, both of us seemed in a very romantic and loving mood. As the song ended, I was actually feeling quite sad that I’d given Sue away to Francis for the next dance. There had been something special in that dance we’d just shared.
As we headed back to our table, my heart went out to Francis. Richard and Jill were still out on the dance floor and poor Francis sat all by himself with his glass of wine. As we reached our table, he looked at me, as if waiting for me to say something confirming I’d not changed my mind. I felt good inside that I could make this friendly widower happy by letting him dance with my beautiful wife.
Holding her hand out in front of him, I made a joke of it.
“She’s all yours, Francis. I’ve warmed her up for you, and she’s still got all her toes, I think. Over to you now.”
He stood and grinned as he patted me on the shoulder, taking Sue’s proffered hand. Sue smiled up at Francis, who was a good half foot taller than Sue even though she was wearing four-inch heels, and he returned her smile. As Francis led Sue to the dance floor, I remember thinking what a handsome couple they looked. And of course, many of boyhood fantasies about beautiful white wives with handsome and masculine black guys came rushing back.
Over the year I’d seen Sue dance with plenty of guys at various functions, and it always gave me this bizarre mix of a knotted stomach and extreme excitement. But this was on a different level. I felt like I was having kittens as my pulse raced and I tried to control my feelings. I think the fact that Francis was black, his size and that Sue obviously liked him all combined to ramp up the excitement and anguish beyond anything I’d known before.
As they danced, everything was very respectable and proper. The first song was another slow number, and I saw Francis’ mouth move and Sue nod her head as he then put his arms around Sue’s waist and pulled her in close. Their bodies were now pressed close together, and I was struck by how much bigger Francis’ body was compared to Sue’s. Even in her forties and after giving birth to Donovan, she still fits into a size two dress size, and Francis’ body appeared twice as broad as my wife’s shapely body.
As they slow danced together, Sue reached up to put her arms around Francis’ shoulders and they just looked at each other. Even though it was only a slow song, I could tell that Francis was a good dancer by the easy and confident way he guided Sue around the dance floor. A million times better than anything I’d ever achieve.
The next song was a faster number and Francis made a quick detour to our table to take his jacket off, before returning to Sue and spinning and twirling my wife’s sexy body in time with the music, their bodies seeming to move with natural coordination and harmony. Sue was obviously having fun, as they both laughed and smiled.
There were another two fast numbers like that and then another slow number. Francis and my wife resumed their slow pirouetting, their bodies pressed close together with Sue’s arms again draped around Francis’ neck. The laughing and joking from the fast dances had stopped, as they smiled at each other, just happy to look at each other without any words needed.
When the song ended, Francis smiled and said something to Sue, and as her head nodded, they made their way back to our table. It was quite busy, so Francis went ahead of Sue, using his size to clear a path and holding Sue’s hand as he pulled her through the crowd.
As they reached our table, still hand-in-hand, they were both smiling and looking pleased with themselves, if a little out of breath. There was still no sign of Richard and Jill, and so I offered to go and get us all some drinks. Francis said it was his turn and got up, but I told him to sit down and that he could do the honors next time. He tried again, but I insisted, and he held his hands up in mock surrender and allowed me to get the drinks.
Playing a familiar watching game, but in a new league now.
I’d played this game of watching Sue with a dance partner at many parties over the years, and I was pretty sure she knew this was why I’d insisted on getting the drinks. It was a harmless little game I played, and it got both of us fired up later in bed. And if her dance partner had been a particularly handsome guy, then he might even join the roll call of the fantasy lovers we included in our love-making, with Jared or Sean re-named for the occasion.
And as I stood at the bar discretely watching them chatting and laughing, I thought that Francis would definitely be accorded this honor later. As we’ve become more comfortable in our love and marriage, Sue and I have been able to be totally open with each other when we see or meet someone we find attractive. And I could see that Sue clearly found Francis charming and handsome from the way she looked at him as they talked and the way she flirted with him. I was sure that later on when we talked about the evening, she’d openly admit how attractive and hunky she found Francis.
The rest of the evening continued in a similar vein, with Sue and Francis dancing much of the time. Occasionally I’d dance with Sue, and during the first time I danced with her again she smiled at me and started talking about my voyeuristic enjoyment of the evening’s events.
“If I didn’t know better, honey, I’d think you were enjoying me spending more time dancing with Francis than with my own husband,” she teased.
I gave Sue my best ‘who me’ look of innocence, but her smile told me she knew she was right.
It had happened at a few events in the past, but probably not for this length of time, with a single guy dominating her time so much. I don’t know if it was this or something else, but Sue sensed that I was more excited than when we normally played this game.
With a playful smile, she teased me. “Is it because Francis is black? Is that why you’ve barely moved from that damn chair all evening? Letting a handsome black doctor lead your wife around the dance floor, while you set there pretending not to watch?”
“I don’t know what you could mean?” was about all I could muster in my unconvincing defense.
Sue pulled me to her and kissed me lovingly. “Peter Jones. I don’t care what your motives are, and how strange they might be, the fact is I’m happy that your strange little quirk has cheered up a good man who’s lonely and missing his wife.”
I loved this woman, and she knew it from the tender look I gave her. We looked at each other for several moments, enjoying one of those special moments between a couple, before Sue lightened the mood with her teasing.
“And if there’s an added benefit, that I happen to get to dance with someone who can actually dance, and doesn’t have two left feet, then I should be happy about my husband’s strange little habit.”
Touché. She’d reeled me and sucker-punched me good.
By the end of the evening, I think I’d danced with Sue maybe five or six times in total, and she had spent the rest of the evening with Francis. During one of our few dances together Sue had told me that Francis was a bit worried that he was dominating her time, and Sue had explained that she’d checked and I was totally okay with it. But not content with this, my mischievous wife had then explained why I was okay with it, telling Francis that we sometimes played this game, where I liked to watch her dancing with other guys.
When she told me this, I felt myself blushing with embarrassment and looked at her as if to say ‘you must be crazy’. Francis struck me as the kind of guy who’d be very diplomatic, as you’d expect from a doctor, but nonetheless, how was I going to face him now without feeling hugely embarrassed. Judging by her smile, my discomfort actually seemed to amuse Sue.
Thankfully Francis said nothing to me about Sue’s little revelation, and after a while, I’d managed to put it out of my mind.
Finally, the band started winding up for the last song at around one a.m., and like the gentleman he was, Francis brought Sue back to our table so that I could have the last dance of the evening with my wife. I stood up as if I was about to lead Sue back to the dance floor, but instead, I kissed her on the cheek and took her hand and offered it to Francis.
“I’ve got this gorgeous lady as my wife three-hundred and sixty-five days a year. I think I can spare her for one more dance for a friend,” I joked with Francis, winning a big smile and another pat on the shoulder from the big-bodied Nigerian doctor.
“Thanks, Pete. That’s very kind. You and Sue have made my Christmas.”
I smiled back, genuinely happy to have put some joy and fun into the life of a guy who’d recently lost his wife.
Their last dance of the evening was another slow song, and I smiled as I saw them hold each other extra close during the song, as Sue nestled her head on Francis’ shoulder as they slow danced, enjoying the last dance of the evening. My jealousy switch was in overdrive, causing my gut to twist and turn, but I was happy that we’d given Francis so much pleasure.
The party had thinned out as it was now late, so there was no crowd to push through as earlier, but nonetheless, Francis’ held Sue’s hand as he led her back to our table.
The band said their thank yous and wished everyone a happy Christmas, encouraging everyone to make one final contribution to the shelter. As they started packing their instruments and sound system away, the hotel staff moved in to tidy, and I headed off to get our coats from the coat check.
As I turned back with our three coats, I stood a minute as I took in the sight of Sue and Francis’ hunched over the table in conversation. I took a moment to take in the sight, so strangely enjoyable for me, and thought how much I’d enjoyed the evening. As I reached our table, I found out what they’d been talking about.
“Pete, honey. Francis’ home is only about five minutes away, and as a thank you for a lovely evening, he’s invited us back for a nightcap. What do you think?”
Sue’s expression told me that she didn’t want the evening to end. I didn’t think there was anything sexual or inappropriate in her keenness to accept Francis’ offer. I remember thinking it was just a woman who had a stressful job and was missing her son. Who’d had a wonderful evening and didn’t want the evening to end yet.
With these thoughts in my mind, I turned to Francis.
“If you’re really sure Francis? We’d love to accept. That’s really kind of you.”
Still the familiar game, but up a notch or two
Francis’ home was only five minutes drive away, and as he handed us the promised nightcaps, we discretely looked around as you always do when visiting someone’s home for the first time. From the photos and assorted memorabilia, his home was a shrine to his family and the country of his birth. The walls were covered with photos of his late wife, Heidi, and his family. Some photos showed Heidi by herself, others Heidi and Francis together but most showed the story of the birth and growth of a happy family. Heidi was a strikingly beautiful blonde woman, apparently from Scandinavian stock, and their three kids all had caramel complexions from the mixing of their Father’s dark Nigerian skin and Heidi’s Nordic genes.
With Francis’ smiling encouragement, we walked around the various photos and we were soon hearing all about his family and life story. He’d come to the States ten years before me, in 1982, and had studied medicine at NYU. This is where he met Heidi who was training as a nurse, coincidentally at Sue’s alma mater, Myers college. Francis was lucky enough to come from a wealthy Nigerian family. They were quite liberal and when the young medical student took the woman he loved back to show her his homeland, they were welcoming and accepting of the young white girl from Minnesota.
As Francis’ well-to-do Father liked and accepted Heidi, they tied the knot about six months after they met and set up home together, supported by family money from back home in Lagos. Like ours, their marriage seemed to have been a very happy one. They were blessed with a baby boy soon after Heidi had finished her studies. But unlike us, Heidi was able to produce two more children, both daughters. The three kids had all now finished their studies and were not too far away. Francis’ son, Victor, was working in Chicago, but his two daughters, Esther and Joy, were both still in New York.
We talked a little about the passing of his wife, Heidi. She’d been struck down by a particularly aggressive cancer and had managed to fight it off until she saw her youngest child graduate, and then had given in to the inevitable and said her farewells to her loved ones. When Francis shared this part of his life story, the last days of Heidi, I had to turn my head to hide my watery eyes. I looked at Sue, and I think we both had the same thought, so grateful that we’d been spared ever having to experience such pain and tragedy.
I think we were all happy to move the conversation on to happier topics, and I asked Francis about some of the family photos. One that particularly drew my eye was the five of them posing on a couple of quad bikes in paintball gear, with the other four all seemingly kneeling in homage to Heidi. As Francis told the story, apparently she’d whupped their asses during the paintball event and they’d taken the photo to capture this special family memory.
As we looked around the photos, I happened to notice an invite to another Christmas fundraiser, which was actually later today. It caught my eye as one of the headline sponsors was one of our big competitors. Francis said that he wasn’t planning to go, as he had no one to go with and he’d feel quite awkward by himself. He said he didn’t really know anyone there, unlike the more low key party we’d all just enjoyed. This event was at a high-end venue in Manhattan, all black tie and designer dresses, very different from the boozy fun night we’d just had.
I smiled and joked, “Maybe you should take Sue! She’s always up for a bit of a dance and a boogie, aren’t you love?”
This earned me a slap on the arm from Sue, and a big grin from Francis.
“Thanks, Pete, that’s a lovely idea, but I think I’ve taken quite enough of your wife’s time tonight. Besides, Sue’s feet are probably black and blue from where I kept stepping on them, only she’s too much of a lady to have said anything.”
We all laughed at his joke, and the conversation moved on. But something had stirred in my mind, and although we were talking about the shelter, my mind was still thinking about the idea of Francis taking Sue to the black-tie event in Manhattan. Of course, I’d been drinking all evening steadily and so I wasn’t in my normal, sober frame of mind.
But the sight of Sue and Francis dancing together all evening had awoken the monster within. And now the thought of Sue spending another evening dancing with Francis was hanging tantalizingly out of reach, like that fruit on the tree in the Garden of Eden. And I couldn’t get my mind off this intoxicating thought.
After a few minutes, Francis left the room to use the restroom, and turning to Sue I asked her, “Honey, what do you say? Would it be okay if you were Francis’ plus one? If you went with him to the party?”
I honestly couldn’t fathom Sue’s expression, but she avoided answering my question. “Don’t be silly, Francis wouldn’t want to go with me. By the sound of it, he’d rather have a quiet night in at home.”
“Your kidding, right. You know he loved dancing with you tonight. Hell, I think he hardly sat down all evening. And he told us we made his Christmas. Are you really telling me he’d pass at a chance of another night of dancing with you?”
Sue pulled a funny face, a little upset at how I’d demolished her argument. “Well, anyway, it wouldn’t be right, honey. You wouldn’t be there, and married women don’t go gadding about at black tie dos with other men, in front of the great and the good. At least, not in my book they don’t.”
“Sue, honey, it’s only a dance, for heaven’s sake. Plenty of women go to dances with guys who aren’t their husbands. Honestly, as long as the husband’s okay with it, I don’t see what’s wrong. After all, he’s a lovely guy, who’s just lost the woman he loved, and so what’s wrong with making him happy with a little harmless fun.”
I paused for breath, wondering where this diatribe had come from, and softening my tone I added. “Honey, it would make Francis really happy. I don’t mind. And I know you’d have a great time. What do you say?”
Sue looked at me for what seemed like ages. She was thinking. And then her expression changed and a small playful smile appeared on her face. “I think this is more about my kinky husband’s little fantasies than about helping out a grieving doctor. Am I right?”
Sue was still smiling with that teasing smile of hers as she looked me directly in the eye, and I knew she wouldn’t move on until I answered.
“Maybe,” I answered in a shaky voice.
Sue fell silent, her face now serious again as she thought. Looking back into my face, she said, “Okay, if you really want me to go. But it’s only a dance, right.”
“Of course!” I answered, the tone of my voice giving away my surprise. I certainly had nothing else in my mind. I may have had my little fantasies that Sue and I had shared over many years now, but this was real life.
Months later, as I played back this moment in my mind’s eye, I wondered if Sue had thought I wanted something more.
