Angie and I had not been getting along for a couple of months. She barely spoke to me and when she did she was always pissed off about something. Our sex life had come to a complete halt, we didn't snuggle or cuddle anymore, but the worst of it was that I couldn't get her to tell me what was wrong. Then one night I came home from work and found Angie sitting on the bathroom toilet crying her eyes out. I asked what was wrong, but she wouldn't talk to me and when I persisted she screamed at me, "Leave me alone god damn it, just leave me alone!" As I turned and walked away from the bathroom Angie slammed the door and locked it.

The next day at work my secretary said, "What's wrong boss? You seem pretty down in the dumps today." Bambi has been my strong right arm for the better part of five years and I honestly believe that she knows me better than my wife. Bambi and I are as close as a man and woman can get and not be having sex (not that we both hadn't considered it at one time). I explained what was bothering me and Bambi said, "What do you expect? You have three kids, all under six, and she is constantly on the go. Being on call 24/7 for three kids and a husband and having to take care of a home have left her worn to a frazzle and she's doing it alone because you are always working. The poor girl needs some time off. I know just what she's going through, it happened to me before my kids were old enough to go to school."

"What did you do?"

"Dumped the kids on their dad and took off for a week by myself."

"What happened?"

"You don't want to know. I'd really prefer that you continue to think of me as a nice girl. It almost cost me my hubby, but I came home rested, relaxed and ready to handle things. And I vowed that I would never let it happen again. Now I take one night a week and one weekend a month for personal time."

I spent a couple days thinking about what Bambi said and then I called a friend of mine who is a doctor. I told him what the problem was and asked him if he could make any recommendations. He told me that Bambi was probably right and gave me the name of a health spa and said that several days there alone would probably work wonders on Angie.

I called the spa and made an appointment for a consultation and then I took a day off work and went and talked to them. I took a tour of the facilities and then I made an appointment for Angie for a one-week stay. When I went back to work the next day I made arrangements to take a weeks vacation and then I arranged for a babysitter to watch the kids on Sunday. I packed a bag of the stuff that the spa said that Angie would likely need and tossed it in the trunk of the car. Saturday I told Angie that I had arranged for a sitter and that I was taking her out on Sunday.

On Sunday we caught an afternoon movie, an early dinner and then I drove across town and pulled up in front of the spa.

"What's this?"

"A surprise for you."

I got out of the car, got her bag out of the trunk and then helped her out of the car. I walked her into the lobby and as she stood there looking around I handed her the bag.

" Took some time off from work to watch the kids. I've paid for a week and if you want to stay longer just let me know and I'll take care of it."

I handed her the car keys and an envelope, "Take a look at what they have to offer and if you don't like it or want it take the car and the cash in the envelope and go do what ever you want. Whatever you decide I don't want to see home for at least a week. I want you to have one entire week with no screaming kids, no dirty house to clean and no husband whose needs you have to meet. Take as long as you want and when you come home we will work out a way to see that you get time off on a regular basis."

I bent and kissed her. "I love you baby, have a good time" and I turned and left her there. I had a cab waiting and as I headed home I hoped that I had done the right thing.

The following week was a busy one for me and it did not take me long to understand how wearing it could be to stay on top of three kids and a house and how much Angie had really needed a break. Before the week was over I had a new appreciation for what Angie went through day after day, week after week and I also found out just how much I had depended on her.

I didn't call Angie, I just let her set her own schedule and hopefully enjoy herself. She called on Tuesday and asked how things were going and I told her that the kids and I were managing and weren't at each other's throats yet. She asked to speak to the kids and when the phone got back to me there was silence on the other end for several moments and then, "Thank you honey, I really need this." Then she told me that she loved me and she hung up. She called again on Friday and after talking to the kids she asked me if it would be possible for her to stay two more days. She said she was in a yoga class and needed a little more time to get the full benefit of the class. I told her to take all the time she wanted and she told me to expect her home on Tuesday evening.

Tuesday came and I had the house spotless, the kids scrubbed and in their Sunday best and all four of us were waiting anxiously for Angie to get home. She pulled into the drive at a quarter to six and the kids ran out to meet her. They monopolized her until she put them to bed and then she grabbed me by the hand and dragged me to the bedroom. It was the wildest evening of sex that I'd ever had. Angie was insatiable and every time I thought that I just couldn't get it up again she went to work on me and proved me wrong. The big surprise was that for the first time since we had started having sex together Angie let me cum in her mouth. She had always been willing to give me head, but she always made me tell her when I was ready to cum and then she would finish me by hand. This time when I told her I was ready she grabbed my ass in both hands and held me in her mouth until I was soft. She looked up at me, "I wanted to do something special for you. I'm sorry that I didn't do it sooner" and then she went to work at trying to get me up again. She was still trying when I fell asleep.

The next day we shipped the kids off to their grandparents and spent a lazy day together. She thanked me several times for sending her off to the spa and then we talked about how to make life a little easier for her. We decided that she would take one night off a week for her personal time to just get away from it all. I told her that she should also take a weekend a month, but she said that would be too much so I told her that we could play that one by ear - if I saw her getting stressed or if she felt the walls closing in we would see that she took a weekend off.

For the next couple of months Angie went out every Wednesday night with her girl friends or went out and took in a movie. Our sex life improved greatly and Angie always seemed to be in a great mood and every thing was fine - right up till the day I needed her car keys. It was a Saturday morning and I had just changed the oil in Angie's car. I needed to start it up and run it to check for leaks at the drain plug and filter housing. Angie was in the basement doing laundry so I went to her purse to get the keys. I found them and I also found three foil packets containing condoms. I stood there stunned as the implications of my find sank in. After the third child Angie and I had decided that three kids was enough and I had gotten myself a vasectomy after the birth of Jamie. I heard a noise behind me and I turned to see Angie standing there looking at me with her purse in my hand. I stared at her for a couple of moments and then said, "I needed your keys" and I put her purse down and walked past her on my way back out into the garage.

Ten minutes later Angie followed me out into the garage and sat down on the steps that lead from the kitchen to the garage and watched me finish with the car. I closed the hood and stood there looking at her while I wiped my hands on a rag. Finally she broke the silence, "It's not what you think it is."

I looked at her in disbelief, "How could it not be what I think? What other possible reason could there be for you having condoms in your purse?"

"When I said that it wasn't what you were thinking I meant that it didn't mean that I don't love you or that I'm thinking of leaving you or anything like that."

"Are you trying to tell me that you are cheating on me but that it is all right because you still love me and don't plan on leaving me?"

"No, not exactly. I'm not trying to say that it is okay because we both know that it isn't, but I do love you and I had hoped that I could find a way to end what I've been doing before you found out about it."

"Well lady, your luck just ran out" and I walked past her and went back into the house.

I took a shower to wash off the grease and grime and when I came out of the shower Angie was sitting on the bed waiting for me.

"What are you going to do?"

I don't know. I've never had to deal with an unfaithful wife before."

"Do you want to know what happened?"

"Not really. Knowing that it happened is already more than I wanted to know."

"Will you at least let me tell you? I need to try and make you understand that I do love you and that I don't want to lose you. I admit that I screwed up, but I didn't mean to do it. It just happened and I've tried to end it but I can't."

"What do you mean 'you tried to but can't?"

"He has pictures and he has threatened to show them around unless I keep seeing him."

"Pictures? How did he get pictures?"

"I guess I wasn't the first one to screw up like I did. He figured that it had a good chance of happening with me and he had a friend standing by ready to take photos."