Decisions, Decisions

The next morning, the uneasiness of the situation seemed to resurface. Les didn't say anything, but I knew it was on her mind. A couple times during breakfast she opened her mouth as if to say something, but whatever it was, it never made it past her lips.

I spent most of the day mowing our one-acre lawn and thinking about Tony. I remembered all the good times we had through the years, as well as the few times when he acted like an ass. The more I thought about it, the more I felt guilty for promising to keep quiet. I kept asking myself if I'd really want to know if Les was cheating on me, and I always came back to the same answer, you damn well better believe I would.

Leslie was doing her best to keep busy switching back and forth between the laundry and her garden. I suspected, like me, her mind was preoccupied with our friends' infidelity. I knew my wife and I didn't care what any article said, if the shit hit the fan, her sense of morals would dictate her actions.

Later that night, I was surprised when Les turned to me in bed and started fondling my cock. "How's my favorite little buddy doing? Is he getting lonely?"

I closed my eyes and grinned as I pushed my hips up a little. "Mmmmm, you know how much he loves your company," I murmured.

"Oh, look, just like a true gentleman, he stands up for his lady. That deserves a kiss." She leaned over and kissed the top of his head before slipping those beautiful lips around little Brian and giving him one hell of a tongue lashing. It didn't take long before I was hard as steel.

"Now you did it," I kidded as I rolled Les over on her back. Her nipples were as hard as little pink pearls when I alternated between them, sucking and nibbling and rolling them around with my tongue. I swear she had two mini-orgasms before I worked my way south to that entrancing pussy of hers.

I felt her hands on top of my head as I continued with my oral love making. "Oh, God, don't stop, don't stop," she pleaded. As soon as my tongue touched her clit, she had another climax, only that time there was no doubt. She arched her back and clinched her fists around the sheet as she screamed in ecstasy.

I waited as long as I could for her to come down but my cock was stretched so tight, I was in pain. I moved up into position and it slipped right in. I needed to come but refused to rush things. I endured my pain while slowly working my gorgeous wife up into another amatory fever. When I knew the time was right, my thrusting increased in speed and passion until we both came with an intensity that shook the rafters.

It took both of us several minutes before we could talk again. Leslie was the first, "My God, that was incredible."

"Agreed," was about all I could muster while still trying to slow down my breathing. Neither of us had enough left to go another round so we cuddled in each other's arms and went to sleep with a smile.

The next morning, despite our cheating friends, both Les and I were in a good mood. Of course, we had made love hundreds of times in the past, but the previous night seemed special; it was as if we both recommitted our love for each other. Somehow, without words, we both knew the other never cheated and never would.

It seemed to reinvigorate our love for each other. We made sure we kissed and told one another we loved them before going off to work. I picked up a dozen roses on my way home that day. The following week, she bought me a fancy key chain and had it inscribed with her love.

Over the next three weeks, I didn't see or talk to Tony and Les had only talked to Sara twice over the phone. Arnie called, wanting to get together over another round of golf, but I made some excuse and said I couldn't make it.

It was over a month before Sara talked Les into going shopping together again. When she came home, she said Sara swore the affair was over and she apologized to her and me for putting us in such a bad position. I wasn't quite as trusting as my lovely spouse, but I had no proof to the contrary so I gave Sara the benefit of the doubt.

About a week later, Arnie called to invite us to a back yard Labor Day party he was having. I knew if I made another excuse he'd get suspicious and ask if something was wrong, so we accepted. Of course, Tony and Julie were there, along with several other friends and a couple of Arnie's neighbors.

At first, I was going to try and surreptitiously stay away from Tony but he wasn't going to allow that to happen. As soon as we walked in, he came over with his big, toothy grin, shook my hand, and kissed Leslie on the cheek. Julie, none-the-wiser, was right behind him. Arnie waved at us while manning the grill, and Sara came over and kissed us both on the cheek. Except for the giant elephant in the room, or should I say, back yard, it was almost like old times.

About an hour after arriving, Tony caught me alone. "Listen, man, I want to thank you again for not saying anything and I wanted to assure you that Sara and I called it off. I've known you a long time, I know how hard it must have been for you not to say something. I'm sorry."

"I still don't understand it, Tony, I really don't. You're right, we've known each other a long time and I would never have thought you were capable of such a thing. You know this is going to affect our friendship... if we even have one left. Right now, I don't even want to be around you." I walked away leaving him to think about what he destroyed.

When we got home later that night, Les said she saw us talking and was curious as to what Tony said. When I told her she said she and Sara had a similar conversation.

It was my wife's opinion that our two friends were genuinely remorseful and embarrassed. She thought we should put the past behind us and let bygones be bygones. She wasn't pleased when I said I couldn't do that. I said as far as I was concerned, a friendship was like a marriage, trust was a very big factor, without it there was no friendship and I no longer trusted Tony. I said "Maybe, and it's a big maybe, someday I'll trust him again, but it won't be any day soon." No more was said but I could see the concern in Les' face.

Again, there was no sex that night; in fact, there wasn't even any pillow talk. Les said good night as she climbed under the sheet and turned her back on me. About half an hour later, I heard her cute little snore.

I didn't find it that easy to fall asleep. Tony and Sara's affair was starting to cause complications in my own marriage. I kept trying to look at the situation from both sides. It wasn't difficult to see Leslie's point of view about keeping quiet. If the affair was truly over and both families lived happily ever after with no ramifications, then I could live with my guilt for saying nothing, but that was a big "if."

Everyone knows that when someone gets away with something the first time, they're more likely to repeat it and keep repeating it until they get caught. Even if Tony and Sara DID call it off, more likely than not, they'll get involved with someone else down the road, but I had already resigned myself to keeping my mouth shut... this time.

Where Les and I greatly differed was our relationship with them going forward. All that crap about being there for them and supporting them was bullshit as far as I was concerned. Once I knew the truth, my perception of Tony turned on a dime. I no longer thought of him as my magnanimous friend, but as a sneaky SOB who betrayed one of his best friends, and my attitude toward Sara was the same.

So--how was I going to be true to my personal feelings and still keep harmony in my marriage; that seemed to be the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question.

Over the next couple of months, things seemed to level off. I hadn't seen or talked to Tony since Labor Day, and Les wasn't pushing me. She, on the other hand, was seeing Sara fairly often, but I didn't push her either. Without verbally expressing it, we'd reached an armistice: you follow your conscience, and I'll follow mine. Of course, we both felt we were in the right and the other was in the wrong, but neither of us ever showed it.

That self-righteous attitude we both had disappeared on Thanksgiving. Both of our folks lived within a couple of hours drive, so we would alternate the holiday, one year we'd spend it with her folks and then my folks the following year. That year it was at Les' parents.

There's something about being with family. They, of course, knew nothing of our dilemma, so we simply had a great time laughing and telling anecdotes of life, growing up, and growing old together; they would be celebrating their thirtieth anniversary the following year. We spent the night, but since we shared a common wall with her parent's bedroom, we just quietly talked while cuddling in each other's arms until we fell asleep. Once in our own bed; however, we made slow, passionate love to each other the following night.

With the holidays approaching, I didn't have much time to think about Tony's affair. Chicago winters are not a lot of fun, and that one was no exception. We'd had several inches of snow and I had to travel in it for work. Luckily, Chicago and the suburbs are pretty good at clearing the roads; however, Indiana was a different matter. I hated it when I had to cross the state line, because they did nothing; they didn't even salt or put cinders down.

Despite the cold and all the snow, Les and I enjoyed the holidays immensely. The main topic of conversation with my folks was always kids and what a joy it was to have them... hint, hint. The truth was, we were seriously talking about starting our own family in another year or two.

Les' biggest concern was being pregnant during the hottest months of the year. She wanted to wait until summer before going off the pill and hopefully having the baby in February or March. I couldn't even imagine what a woman's body goes through while being pregnant, so I accepted her plan. It gave me something to look forward to.

Other than the loss of my good friend, Tony, life was moving right along. Little patches of grass were popping up through the snow and I no longer had to scrape the ice from my windshield every morning. Spring was right around the corner and I was feeling good... then I received a phone call. I looked at the display and saw it was Arnie.

"Arnie, my friend, this is a rare surprise, what's up?"

I immediately got a feeling of impending doom when I heard the stress in his voice. "Hi, Brian, I was wondering if you'd be free for lunch tomorrow?"

I could feel it in my bones, this was not going to be a fun lunch. "Yeah, of course, where and when?"

"I'm taking the day off tomorrow, so wherever you say is okay with me."

Shit, I thought, this is not sounding good. Arnie worked construction, and except in cases of bad weather, didn't get paid unless he worked. "Okay, how about Mama D's on Chicago and Milwaukee?"

"Okay, what time?"

"They're busy as hell at noon, how about one-thirty, that'll give it time to clear out. We'll have the place to ourselves."

"Perfect," he replied. "And, ah... don't say anything to Leslie, Okay?"

If I had any doubt about what we would be talking about, his request clinched it. I thought, sure enough, when Tony called it off Sara moved on to someone else... just as I had predicted. "Okay, Arn, I won't say anything. I'll see you tomorrow at Mama D's."

That night, I was dying to pump Les for information. I wondered if she knew anything about Sara having another affair, but anything I mentioned could lead to her warning Sara. I knew that's what Arnie was afraid of when he asked me not to say anything.

I didn't get a lot of sleep that night. I knew if I told Arnie what I knew about his wife and Tony, all hell would break loose, especially in my own house. Just when I thought everything was back to normal, too.

The next morning, I actually thought of calling in sick or calling Arnie and saying something came up, but that would only be putting off the inevitable.

I walked into Mama D's a few minutes early and took a booth on the far wall. When the waitress came over with a menu and a glass of water, I informed her there would be two of us. Arnie walked in just as she brought over the second set-up. He waited until we ordered, then wasted no time getting to the heart of the matter.

"Brian, I hope I'm just being paranoid but I think Sara might be cheating on me."

I think he was expecting a little more reaction from me and was a little taken aback when he didn't get it. I probably should have tried a little harder to act more surprised but in my soul, I knew it was coming and I'm just not that good an actor. "What makes you think so?"

"It's just a bunch of little things, mostly. I took her car in for an oil change last month and was surprised at the mileage. It was way over what she normally drives. A couple of times she'd be just starting dinner when I'd walk in from work, then tell me she'd been home all day. I never said anything, but I'd wonder why the late dinner if she was home.

"A few times after work, I'd head into the shower and notice it was wet. I could understand if it was summer, but she showers every morning when she gets up. Why would she need a second shower that late in the day during the winter? It just seems suspicious.

"What really got me thinking, though, was last week. We had an accident on the job and a guy got hurt so they sent us all home for the rest of the day. The house was empty when I got there, so I thought I'd be nice and do a load of laundry. When I started sorting everything, I found a really sexy bra and panty set, one I'd never seen before. Now, I know that women sometimes like to dress sexy just to feel good about themselves, but we always get undressed together at bedtime, why wouldn't I have seen it... unless she was wearing it for someone else."

Just then the waitress came with our food. I waited till she left. "Have you confronted her?"

"No, if she is having an affair, I don't want to tip her off. I want to find out who she's sleeping with and catch them in the act if I can. On the other hand, if I am just being paranoid, I don't want to falsely accuse her of anything. Jesus, she'd never forgive me."

"Have you thought of hiring a PI?"

"Shit, man, those guys cost money. I'd have to put it on a credit card and if Sara saw it, I'd be right back in the dog house. That's why I wanted to talk to you; you're a pretty smart guy, any suggestions?"

I was relieved that he didn't ask me if I knew anything, because I wasn't about to lie to him even though, technically, I was lying by omission. Any lawyer will tell you: if you're under oath, answer the questions truthfully but never volunteer anything.

"Do you have that "Find My Phone," app on your phone? You can use it to check her location during the day," I suggested.

"I thought of that, but we can't have our phones on the job. We have to leave them in our vehicles when we start work. The only time I'd be able to check would be lunch."

"Yeah, that wouldn't work," I admitted. "Most of the tracking apps are real-time. I think some of them will also show a brief history, but I think it's only a day or so if that." I thought for only a few seconds, then it hit me, "Oh, wait... 'Timeline.'"

"What's 'Timeline?'"

"It's what I have for work. It tracks everywhere you've been on a monthly basis then sends you an email at the end of the month. I use it to keep track of my mileage for tax purposes. It works with Google Maps. It'll give you a map and the address of everywhere she's been, the route she took and the mileage. Unfortunately, it won't tell you how long she spent in each location, but you'll be able to see if she's going to a motel somewhere or to somebody's house that you don't know."

"And she won't know she's being tracked?"

"No, not at all. You'll have to set up an email account that she knows nothing about... "

"That's no problem, she has her email and I have mine. We never look at each other's."

"Are you sure? If she is having an affair, she might be keeping track of you to make sure you're not getting suspicious."

"Yeah, that's a good point. Okay, I'll set up another account, what else?"

"Can you get into her phone? You'll need to download the app and put in the email you want everything sent to."

"Won't she see it on her phone?"

"Make sure the icon's not on the front page; slide it to the back."

"I knew you'd have the answer," he commented.

"I just hope you find out she's not cheating on you. Have you decided what you'll do if you find out she is?"

"Brian, I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I have my pride and I won't let anyone take that away from me, not even Sara."

"What about the kids?"

"Yeah, I know, I thought of that and tried to put myself in their shoes. If I was a kid and knew my dad allowed my mother to sleep around and did nothing about it, I'd be ashamed of him. Brian, I'd rather be a part-time dad who was respected by his kids, than a full-time dad who wasn't."

I nodded my head in agreement. If it was me, I'd feel the same way. "Well, let's hope and pray it doesn't come to that, Arnie."

"Believe me, I am praying. I've loved Sara ever since I first laid eyes on her. I still remember the first time I asked her for a date and couldn't believe she said yes. Every important event in my life has to do with her: the first time we made love, when she said yes to my marriage proposal, when our kids were born... everything."

He was having a hard time keeping his emotions under control. I could see his eyes getting watery and I could tell he was embarrassed. I knew my words were hollow, but I had to try and give him some hope. "Keep good thoughts, Arn, you don't have any proof she's cheating, just hope for the best."

He changed the subject as we finished our lunch and talked about how anxious we were for good weather.

Later that evening, I had my own emotional turmoil to deal with. I hated keeping secrets from Les, but for the first time in our marriage, I didn't trust her. I could make her swear on the Bible not to reveal what I told her about Arnie and I still wouldn't trust her not to warn Sara. I knew her loyalty to her friend was extremely strong, but was it stronger than her loyalty to me? I wasn't sure, and my decision not to chance it was depressing.

A few days later, Arnie called me at work again to tell me he had everything in place. He was surprised when he found Sara's phone was all of a sudden password protected but he said she never was very creative with passwords and he got in with his third guess. After installing the app, he looked around for text messages but she evidently was wiping them clean.

Now it was just a waiting game. He had three weeks before the end of the month. Over the phone, his voice sounded like he didn't have a lot of hope. I wondered if he found more clues, but he didn't say anything and I didn't ask. I knew things were going to explode sooner or later.

I didn't get my own March Timeline report until April 3rd. I figured it'd be the same for Arnie and expected some news sometime that week but it didn't come, nor did it come the following week. I was beginning to think he found nothing out of the ordinary and maybe... just maybe, Sara had learned her lesson.

It was mid-April when I came home and heard Les from the kitchen talking on her phone. She didn't hear me come in nor could she see me so I stopped to listen. Les was talking a mile a minute and her voice was panicky and loud. "No, he promised he wouldn't say anything, Sara. I know he didn't... Because I know him, Yes, he has a moral streak a mile wide but he also keeps his promises."

I decided I should get in there. Leslie jumped with surprise when she saw me, but immediately launched into her query with Sara still on the other end of the line, "Did you tell Arnie about Sara's affair?" she asked in an almost accusatory tone of voice.