Thanks to the Hip and Knee Doctor for editing assistance.

My name is John Turrell. I am thirty nine years old, married, and have sixteen-year-old twin sons. I have been a heavy equipment operator for the past twenty years, and enjoy my work while making good money. My marriage sucks.

It is Friday, and it is raining buckets, so that means no work today. I am standing just outside one of the entrance doors to the Green Dragon Farmers Market watching my wife, Marsha, and her boyfriend digging through one of the knickknack stands just inside. My heavy rain parka makes it almost impossible to identify me without looking directly into my face, but I still remain outside. I have been following them for the last thirty minutes. No kissing, but lots of hand holding and hugs. A sudden flurry of excitement indicated that they found something interesting. She held it up in front of him and smiled. A white puffy looking Michelin tire man key chain. She couldn’t get the money out of her purse fast enough. I watched as he put the new prize on his key ring and she gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. After thirty more minutes they meandered back to the parking lot. They were half way back to Reading, when both of them pulled into the Sunset Motel. I got the license plate number off of his F150 and then went home, stripped off my rain gear, and had a Black and Tan.

I was large all my life. Not fat and flabby, but not hard and muscular either. I was not particularly good looking either. I didn’t fit in anywhere. Can’t say I ever had a girlfriend and never had a date until senior prom. Marsha Blanchard fell into the same social category that I did. She was overweight and flabby. She had acne and suffered from a severe shortage of grooming skills. Her wardrobe consisted of hand-me-downs and Walmart specials. When I asked her to go with me to the prom she was thrilled. She had pretty much given it up as a lost cause.

Things progressed normally from there and we were married within the year. I was deep into heavy equipment training and Marsha was barefoot and pregnant. Everything seemed to stabilize after the birth of our twins. We soon had our own house, two cars, and a comfortable lifestyle. There were two major changes however. The more I worked the stronger and firmer I got. Unfortunately I still looked the same. Marsha did tease me about it a bit. In her case, it was totally different. Marsha got a ten dollar a month gym membership and used it regularly. She taught herself how to do her hair and makeup. She jogged daily.

That is when the problem started. We were no longer a pair. She was now a hot chick saddled with an ogre. Over the years, she seemed to lose her enthusiasm for sex and anything else remotely romantic. The relationship was becoming platonic. The boys were coming up on seventeen when I decided to look into things. That is what I was doing today.

“Hi Honey! What are you doing home? Never mind. I got it. The weather.” She was jabbering as she walked through the mud room door. She plopped the two canvas shopping bags full of fresh vegetables on the table. “The market was jammed today. I couldn’t find any of that white corn that you liked.” She was nervous. She talked a lot when she was nervous. I just smiled and nodded my head.

“I am going to get out of these wet clothes and grab a quick shower. I’ll be down to start supper in a second. Are the boys home yet?”

I smiled again and nodded my head to indicate ‘no’.

I wasn’t purposely trying to be a smart ass. I just didn’t feel very sociable. Actually, I was on the verge of tears when the boys burst through the door. I had gotten them an older CJ jeep when they turned sixteen. I felt that it would be both fun and safe. Anyhow, they loved it.

“You know you would stay a lot dryer if you put the canvas on that thing.”

“Yeah Dad, we know, but that ain’t no fun.” Their grammar sucked.

They shucked their boots and coats before heading upstairs for showers. Why didn’t I think of that. I was sitting there still wet from my afternoon out.

Supper conversation was normal, but I was not in the mood to participate. Marsha ask me if something was wrong and I just said I was tired.

I had a few friends in low places so I was able to track down my wife’s paramour without trouble. Todd Langford was thirty-five years old, single, and still living with his parents. That explained why they used the motel. He worked as a forklift operator on the 4:00 p.m. to midnight shift at Acme Boot. This company had moved into town about six years ago and was in one of the old Penske buildings down by the Schuylkill river. Todd had previously been married and divorced. With the boys in school and me at work, Marsha had her afternoons free to spend with her lover.

It happened so gradually that I didn’t realize it, but I started spending more money on beer. I was depressed as hell, but I never let it show. That was a trait that I developed growing up. The gradual increase in beer consumption was noted by my wife and she mentioned it on several occasions and then stopped. Sex with Marsha had become so devoid of any type of emotion that I lost interest altogether. I didn’t lose interest in sex, just sex with Marsha. I would stay up past our normal bed time sipping on a brew, while waiting until I felt she was asleep. I didn’t put a tap on her phone or the computer, but I did install a GPS in her car. I didn’t constantly track her, but reviewed her daily trips in the evening on the computer. Todd must be getting a discount rate at the Sunset Motel because they visited several times a week.