Chapter 1: Tony's Birthday

Tony Planko closes his laptop and slides it into its sleeve before depositing it into his backpack. It is 4:30 on a Thursday afternoon and he is leaving for the day. He is a professor of mathematics at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, so there is no concept of a time clock or leaving early. He slings the backpack over both shoulders, grabs his lunch sack, locks his office door, and heads toward the parking garage. It is about six blocks from the math building to the garage, and then up at least three flights of stairs. Tony doesn’t mind as it forces him to get a few minutes of exercise twice a day.

As Tony starts his commute home he wonders what his wife, Trisha, has concocted for the evening of his fortieth birthday. Because it is a milestone birthday she has been playing her cards very close to the vest. His guess is dinner at La Chateau, a five-star restaurant that recently opened. Afterward he would not be surprised if she booked a room at a nearby hotel for a one night stay-cation.

As he drives his thoughts transition from speculation on the night’s destination to last year’s birthday. When he turned thirty nine the previous March, the COVID-19 pandemic had engulfed the world. Even those that were willing, even desperately wanting, to go out and be part of a social, interactive world were told to shelter-in-place. Trisha had planned a romantic dinner aboard a riverboat, but it was canceled less than two weeks before his birthday. When Trisha tried to get groceries for a nice in-home dinner she found that there had been a rush at the store and only an odd-lot of foodstuffs remained. For dinner they ended up having frozen pizza and tater tots that had a vague taste of freezer burn.

As Tony pulls into the driveway he thinks of the heroic efforts the medical researchers and distributors have made to get a vaccine created and distributed to the vast majority of the country in such a short time. The swing back to normality was happening faster than anyone could have predicted. He was sure the evening of his fortieth birthday would be a welcome byproduct of the new normal.

Tony parks the car and collects his bags from the back seat. He finds his wife in the master bathroom clad in panties and a lacy bra. He grins as he approaches her from behind, giving her a hug, reaching around with each hand to cup a breast. He muzzles her hair and kisses her on the neck.

“Happy birthday, lover,” Trisha purrs as she pauses her work at the sink to enjoy Tony’s attention.

Tony straightens his back slightly so he can hold his hardening member against Trisha’s ass. She turns and gives him a peck on the cheek as she reaches down to his crotch and gives it a good squeeze.

“Sorry,” she murmurs, “but we have to leave in less than 20 minutes to make it in time for our reservation.”

With that she gives his hard member another light pat and strolls into the bedroom to finish dressing.

Tony turns and leans against the sink as his wife retreats. He crosses his arms across his chest and offers a wolf-whistle.

“18 minutes and counting,” she says as she reaches for her dress.

Tony pauses for another moment taking in the view of his wife. She is a svelte 5’10’’ with striking blonde hair that flows to just below her shoulders. Her height and hair color oftentimes cause people to assume she is of Scandinavian descent. She has small, b-cup breasts, and does nothing to maintain the sparse light brown hair that rests at the top of her very long, shapely legs.

Tony realizes the time is ticking, but he can’t help but think that he has been married to his lovely bride for eleven years already. They met while in graduate school. He was working on a doctorate in mathematics and she was in a doctorate program of psychology. It was a whirlwind courtship that culminated in a wedding the summer after they both graduated.