Chapter 1

Mary Ellen Jakowski sat in her kitchen with her good friend Dana Carter having their usual morning coffee. The two women had been friends since the Carters moved into the neighborhood five years ago. Their husbands, Richard and Drew, had become buddies as well. They were "backyard" friends, as their privacy fences were connected. In fact, they rarely went to one another's house through the front door. It was a one-block walk around the neighborhood to get to the front door.

The two women normally shared a lively morning conversation but today for some reason, Mary Ellen seemed quiet. She had just had her 35^th birthday and was feeling a little down. However, it wasn't only the age thing that was bothering her. It seemed that her relationship with Richard was losing its spark. She knew that that wasn't unusual for a twelve-year marriage and after two kids, but it was difficult to accept nonetheless.

Suddenly, as the women sat at the kitchen table, the door from the dining room flew open and the two Jakowski children came running through. "Leslie and Brett, slow down," Mary Ellen yelled as they chased each other out the back door. "Summer vacation is getting near and they will be home all day soon," Mary Ellen lamented, adding, "There goes my peace and quiet."

"Why aren't they in school today?"

"Some teachers conference or something like that."

They're getting big," Dana said with a smile, remembering how fast her daughter had grown.

"Brett had his tenth birthday two days ago and suddenly he thinks he is grown up," Mary Ellen laughed.

"Leslie is eight now?" Dana asked.

"Yes, going on fifteen. She is quite a handful already so I don't know what I'm going to do when she becomes a teenager."

"I know all about it. We had a tough time with Jill at that age," Dana said, speaking of her 19-year-old daughter who was now away at college. Dana had gotten pregnant with Jill when she was eighteen and just barely out of high school. Sometimes she regretted having a child that early. However, the advantage was that now Jill was out of the house and she and Drew were still young.

Drew was in his twenties when they met and married and he had wanted children right away. Dana had refused at first but she was young and eventually gave in to his pressure. It had all worked out for them anyway. They were financially well off now and life was good.

Mary Ellen sighed and gazed out the window at the children playing in the back yard. At least the kids were happy and well adjusted, she thought.

Rockmont was a great upper-middle class community with good public schools and plenty of public parks for kids to play. It had been a strain when they had bought the house eight years ago but it had been worth the struggle. Richard was making great money now with his PC support business and they had even joined the local country club. She knew that she should have been very happy but, unfortunately, there was a price to pay at home for Richard's success. He was rarely home since he started the business. He had promised in the beginning that the long hours and hard work was only temporary, until he got the business going. However, that was five years ago and he still worked eighty hours a week.

While Richard's work was a big part of Mary Ellen's problem it was not the entire issue. Sometimes she thought he worked just so he didn't have to be around her. It seemed they rarely even touched anymore. Then there were the issues in the bedroom. It had been a long time since they had been intimate. For a while she thought that maybe Richard was having an affair and even considered hiring a private detective. However, deep down she knew that there was a major gap between their desires for sex. Unfortunately, the gap was about as wide as it could get now. Besides that, Richard had always been hung up about sex and refused anything but the basic missionary position. She had tried to talk to him about it but he refused to even discuss the subject.

On the other hand, it appeared to Mary Ellen that Dana had the perfect life. Drew seemed to be around her all the time. The fact that he worked out of the house had something to do with it, however it was more than that. She could see how loving the two of them acted around each other. They were like newlyweds, always touching and whispering little secrets to one another. They just seemed compatible. Besides that, Drew was incredibly handsome and sexy. He was in his forties but looked younger, even with his slightly graying hair around the temples. He was tall and well built as well-the rugged outdoors type. He owned some kind of marketing company and appeared to make it work by the sheer power of his personality. Mary Ellen was envious. Not because he was so handsome, but because he was so attentive to Dana.

Dana knew that something was bothering Mary Ellen. They had been friends too long. She knew it had something to do with Mary Ellen and Richard's relationship because there had been several strong hints. While she didn't want to pry, she was her best friend. "What's the matter?" Dana finally asked.

"Oh nothing." Mary Ellen sighed and looked into her coffee cup.

"Sure something's the matter," Dana responded. "I've known you too long not to see it. We have always been able to share our problems. Come on."

Mary Ellen took a deep breath. She was dying to tell Dana but didn't want to burden her with personal problems. It was now or never she thought. "It's... it's just that... oh I don't know, something's missing in our... in Richard and my relationship lately. He doesn't seem to pay any attention to me anymore." She knew that she was dramatically understating the issue.

"Have you tried sexy underwear?" Dana laughed.

"I'm serious," Mary Ellen said and a little tear came to her eye.

Dana saw her eyes start to tear up and realized that she was indeed serious. "I'm sorry Mary Ellen. However, I wasn't entirely joking when I said to try new underwear."

"It's more than that," Mary Ellen said and paused.

"What then? Don't tell me you're old. I'm older than you are. Besides, you have the body of a teenager." The older woman looked at Mary Ellen's slim form and sighed. "I would love to have your shape. Nice sized boobs and a dynamite ass," she said with a wide grin.