Chapter 2

“Just tell me when and where” Janine said with disgust.

Betty nodded, trying to keep her excitement in. It wasn’t the right time for celebrating, after all.

“Our meetings are in the old Holiday Inn building. There’s one every Saturday” Betty explained.

“I’ll be there” Janine responded tersely.

After Mark left the house Friday night, Janine started feeling guilty about what she said- not anymore I’m not, she thought. She had assumed that Mark was blowing off steam by hitting one of the local bars- not getting hit on by some skank at the strip club.

Janine had always had a good eye for details, and her obsessive-compulsive type behavior not only aided her in accounting, but also in finding existing problems.

So when Mark came back late that night, reeking of alcohol and perfume, she knew right away that he had been around some girls.

Oh, probably some lonely, pathetic girl at the bar, she initially thought.

But the stains on his pants, although dried and only slightly discolored, were still very obvious to her.

Janine confronted Mark right then and there, asking where he went, waiting for him to trip up in a lie.

To Mark’s credit, he seemed genuinely contrite, and didn’t lie about where he went. But he also evaded her questions as best he could-

“I just went out, and had some drinks” he said.

“Where?” she asked, angrily.

“A club” he shrugged, “It’s no big deal”

But it was a big deal to Janine, who honestly believed that Mark wasn’t the type of man to cheat. In fact, despite all his protestations against feminism, he wasn’t even close to a being a ‘ladies man’. He always hated talking to girls, and usually felt nervous around them.

I guess it’s easy to find a homewrecker when you can pay them, Janine had thought.

The Friday night fight about sex turned into the Saturday morning fight about trust, and their yelling was so fierce, Janine saw Emma’s dried up tears later that day. It just about broke her heart to see her daughter affected so much, and it made her cry, too.

The whole weekend was stressful, with angry glares and deadly silences mixed throughout.

In terms of their relationship, not much progress was made- Mark continued to say he was sorry, but also that it was her fault, while Janine couldn’t bring herself to forgive him. She just couldn’t understand what kind of twisted logic it took for Mark to justify his actions.

And so Janine was exhausted going into a full work week, and Betty’s suggestion to attend a Women for a Better Tomorrow meeting sounded like the perfect idea. Janine just couldn’t tell if her newfound motivation was from wanting to get back at Mark, or from a genuine interest in the organization.

Surprisingly, however, the workplace seemed much more welcoming and rewarding for her, allowing her to focus on something other than her miserable marriage. It was as if everyone knew what she was going through, and was supporting her emotionally.

So when Saturday came and things still had not smoothed over with Mark, Janine was excited to accompany Betty to the meeting.

“All right ladies, please have a seat. We have a lot to talk about”, said the female presenter. She was in her 50’s, and looked young for her age. The suit she wore looked expensive, too.

“For those of you that are new here, my name is Doctor Freeman, and I am a sociologist by trade ... and president of the 3rd Northeast district of WBT by necessity.”

“I tell you that my job here is by necessity ... because as a woman in this hostile cultural environment ... fighting for women’s rights is necessary!”, she emphasized. Janine could tell from Dr. Freeman’s speaking voice and pauses that she had done this many times-

“As a sociologist, I have studied human cultures for many years ... and what I have found is a trail of injustice and corruption throughout all history. Slavery ... sex trades ... domestic abuse ... glass ceilings ... the list goes on and on.”

“But tonight ... we will dedicate ourselves to make the world a better place for women ... to break the chains of prejudice and violence ... and to make ‘his-tory’ ... into her story!”

The crowd erupted in applause, dying down quickly so Dr. Freeman could continue. Janine figured there were well over a hundred people in the conference room.

“My fellow women ... we are here today to make things right in America ... to take the shattered remains of this country ... and to forge a new, equal democracy.”

Dr. Freeman shook her head- “We have so much to accomplish, ladies ... and so little time to do so. Our country’s leader, Doctor President Sanderson, is doing everything she can to take advantage of her opportunities ... and we MUST do the same!”

Janine realized the power of Dr. Freeman’s charisma over the audience, which applauded her again.

“Ladies, we must work together if we are to succeed in this new America. As our first step, let us understand the prejudices and injustices that assail us.”

“Think of the gender gap ... and how women make 77 cents to every dollar a man makes ... doing the same exact work!”

Janine had remembered that statistic being thrown around, but it was from pre-war times. No one had current census data anymore.

“And the double standards! You know what I’m talking about- men do not have to worry about what message their clothing tells others ... but will mercilessly ‘slut-shame’ any woman who shows a bit of skin ... And if we cover up, she said with exasperation, raising her arms up, then we are prudes!”

The crowd booed in displeasure. “And don’t even get me started on sexual partners- you know as well as I do ... that a man can have as much sex ... with as many women as he wants ... but when women have just TWO partners ... they are called ‘whores’”

Dr. Freeman stepped back, letting the crowd voice their displeasure again, before continuing-

“Ladies ... the list goes on ... and on ... and on. You know the prejudices we face every day ... just as well as I do. You know the uphill battle we face ... and the male privilege that stands in our way. Although we have tried for CENTURIES to be equal in society ... we have been rebuffed at every turn...”

Dr. Freeman paused momentarily, building the suspense-

“But today ... we FIGHT!”

The crowd clapped, forcing the speaker to project more loudly- “Today ... we stand ... UNITED!”

“We WILL overcome ... and we WILL STAND TOGETHER!!”

As one, the crowd stood up, Janine included. Although she did not care for the simplicity of the speech and some of the questionable statements, she had to admit that Dr. Freeman had built up the energy of the room. Looking around, Janine saw every woman clapping and cheering enthusiastically.

Taking it all in, Janine realized that she felt some of the same thing- Maybe she’s right about us needing to stay together. There’s so much we can accomplish, if we have the numbers. We can make this country great again- no, even better than before.

“Isn’t she awesome?” Betty said, smiling.

“She sure is”, Janine replied. Instead of thinking about Dr. Freeman, however, she was thinking about her Emma, and how much better the world could be for her. I need to make things right for her.

“No fucking way in Hell” Mark yelled.

“Mark! Keep your voice down” Janine chided him.

“There is no way my daughter is joining that man-hating cult” he replied, volume down to a normal decibel.

“It’s not a cult, Mark. They’re good people, just trying to make society better-”

“Yeah, for women”, mark interrupted, “They want a matriarchy, so that women are in control of everything”

“Mark, just listen to yourself, you sound crazy. Women just want to be treated equally.”

Mark gave a short derisive laugh- “Ha, that’s bullshit, and you know it. All that progressive ideology does is convince people that it’s okay to be sexist, as long as you’re the one that’s oppressed.”

“Aren’t we?” Janine asked.

Mark looked around in confusion, “What are you talking about, Janine?! Women make up the majority of the population, and make just as much as men!”

“And how do you know that?” she entreated him, doubt in her tone.

“It’s no worse than 30 years ago, when women made almost the same as men. So now that women are taking all the jobs, they probably make MORE than men do.”

“That’s absurd. There’s no proof of that.”

“Maybe not, but just take a look around. You even fucking work at an all-female law firm for fuck’s sake!” Mark yelled.

Janine was getting red- “Mark, I’m not interested in having a shouting match with you-”

“I mean, c’mon, Janine, they’ve got you brainwashed into thinking all these asinine lies.”

“You know what, Mark? You’re still in the doghouse, as far as I’m concerned” she replied, before walking away.

I can’t deal with this man. He upsets me so much!

Storming into the bedroom, Janine slammed the door. Uhh, I just want to slap some respect into him!

Brainstorming ways to get back at Mark, Janine picked up the phone and dialed a number-

“Yeah, hello? Yes, I’d like to make a donation to your organization...” Janine waited, thinking of a number that felt right, “2,000 dollars ... yup.”

Although Mark wouldn’t allow Emma to be sponsored by Women for a Better Tomorrow, it didn’t stop Janine from learning as much from the organization as she could, and passing it on to her daughter.

One of the more interesting lectures she attended was regarding the male psyche, and how men are taught from an early age to be physical and emotionally unstable. As the lecturer explained, society was teaching men to be hyper-competitive, while simultaneously stunting their emotional intelligence, causing all sorts of violent behavior later in life.

In fact, there were studies that boys age 4-5 were as emotional as girls, and that only through societal male norms did boys learn to suppress their emotions.

“Which leads to insecurity later in life, poor coping skills, etc.” the lecturer had explained. Part of that “etc.” were things like depression, and violence. She attributed the high male to male homicide rate, as well as the 4x higher risk of suicide in men, to emotional stunting.

And women were bearing much of this brunt, as well- “You see, 80% of domestic abuse cases involve a physically aggressive male.”

But when Janine heard the stories of battered women, she started fearing for her own safety- What if Mark goes off one of these days, and decides to do more than just yell? What about Emma?

There was no way Janine was going to let her daughter grow up with a battered mother. No way in Hell.

So Janine took the presenters next point to heart-

“So now that we see the problem in male childhood, we can correct it- that’s the easy part. The hard part is ... what do we do now with adult men?”

The rest of the lecture went into various ways that women can keep control in male-female relationships. There were some really good pointers on communication, including body language, avoiding trigger words, and speaking in a placating manner. Janine wasn’t too keen on the idea of tiptoeing in conversations to avoid making men upset. After all, that’s what she had been doing with Mark for months.

“So what if none of that works?” Janine had asked at the end of the lecture, “What if all our attempts at making the relationship fail?”

“There is another school of thought”, the lecturer explained, “That is ... more aggressive than what most women are used to. It involves using a man’s strong evolutionary instincts. But I wouldn’t know much about that.”

“Oh” Janine had replied, despondent.

“Let me get back to you on that” the lecturer said, apologetically. It was the kind of thing lecturers said, when they didn’t know an answer.

So when Janine opened a special WBT invite at work, she was surprised.

“Sexual energy workshop- learn to harness sexuality to command the male brain” Janien read aloud. It sounded hokey, but it was legitimately from WBT. “You are cordially invited to learn from Maria Cordoba, famous seductress and personal trainer of powerful women everywhere.”

At $200 per workshop, there was no way Janine was going.

For Mark, things were never the same after that Friday night at Hunee Bunz.

He had told himself on the way there that he was just blowing off some steam, that it was no big deal. He was just going to walk in, sit down, and enjoy the show.

Now I can’t stop thinking about her, he thought. Her amazing tits, like bowling balls in my face.

Mark vividly remembered the first time she sat on his lap, presenting her body like a Christmas-day present.

So round and firm...

Mark gave himself a hard-on just remembering the look, smell, and feel of Jade. It was intoxicating him.

Leaving his section of the house to take a work break, Mark hoped none of the other guys noticed the bulge in his jeans. As he made his way to the port-a-potty, he recalled Jade’s words-

Always remember me, Mark, she told him. Remember these tits, she told him, placing his hands on her jutting breasts, and this ass, as she pushed his arms down to her waist.

Getting to the john, Mark quickly unzipped his pants and pulled his fully erect cock out for a quick jerk off.

“Uhhh” he groaned, visualizing Jade’s body on top of his. It felt so good to give into his lustful desires, and his cock rewarded his brain with pure pleasure.

You won’t ever be the same now, she explained, my body, my touch ... will always be with you

“Fuck, yeah” Mark agreed to the voice in his head. He stroked himself hard, trying to bring a climax as fast as possible.

And you WILL be back, she commanded. The thought of returning to Jade made him shudder...

A part of Mark knew that he could never go back to Hunee Bunz, not after the fight he and Janine had. Once was a mistake; a second time could end their marriage.

But Jade’s words floated in his brain all the time, and the more he thought about her, the closer he was to giving into her again.

“Oh ... fuck” Mark moaned, getting close to climaxing. He pumped harder and faster, eyes closed and mouth slack.

Always remember me, Mark...

“Yes!” Mark breathed, climaxing. “Ohhhhh ... yeah”. Mark continued to close his eyes, reveling in the pleasure that Jade brought him, now for the second time today.

“I love you” Mark whispered, before a small sting of regret hit him.

I shouldn’t say that ... I love my wife.

But Jade made him feel ... so alive inside. He hadn’t had this kind of libido in years.

Janine came home to see Mark sitting on the couch again, watching the news. Mark’s job as an electrician started earlier in the day, so he always got to plop himself on the couch and watch what he wanted when he was done at work.

So not fair, Janine thought. Going into the kitchen for a snack, she realized that it was probably for the best-

He’s been sleeping out there anyways, he might as well make himself comfortable.

Although they were in a rough patch now, Janine still loved Mark and believed they could make things work. Maybe I’ll let him come back to the bed in a couple days, she thought. It had been a couple weeks since their Friday night fight, and Mark seemed very sheepish ever since then.

Janine heard a familiar commercial on the tv; the one with the nearly-topless models eating burgers. It was criminal for the network to show that kind of filth, when kids like Emma could be watching.

I should check in on her, Janine thought. She hoped Emma was not under the impression that mom and dad were getting divorced. She was such a sweet girl, so quiet and unassuming. I’ll check on her now.

As Janine was making her way to the hallway, she saw Mark rush past in a hurry, stopping her dead in her tracks.

Huh, that’s odd. Mark was in the bathroom now. Maybe something he ate.

Janine walked slowly down the hallway, not even realizing that she was listening into the bathroom.

Something’s wrong, she realized. She paused by the door, and turned her head to the side-

Sounds like a struggle ... but he’s not ... oh my gosh, really?!