Chapter 3

I jumped up startled by a strange sound. I looked over and Beth was sleeping next to me, the room was beginning to darken. I looked at the clock, it read 3:50 PM. Again the sound, it was a cell phone and it was not mine. I shook Beth gently. She opened her eyes and I am sure it took a second for her to remember where she was and what had happened.

“Your phone is ringing.” I told her.

“Oh shit, what time is it?” she replied startled.

She reached for her phone and answered it and as I suspected it was Lance. He was about to leave the Country Club and he had called home to see what Beth was doing. He received no answer at home so he called her cell. She told him she was shopping but would be home soon. They talked for a few seconds more then she hung up.

“I have to get dressed and go home.” she said, with a most disappointed look on her face.

“I know.” I replied, “I’m sorry I fell asleep.”

“It’s ok, I just have to get home before he gets there.”

She got up and put her panties on and went to the bathroom vanity. She stood in front the mirror and began to clean herself up. I watched her and could not help but feel wonderful and awful all at the same time. She was absolutely breath taking. I guess I had never really looked at Beth as a woman before, only as a sister. But here in the bathroom light, I really saw her for the first time. She was about 5’5” tall and weighed maybe 120 lbs. She had a tiny waist and full firm thighs. I am awful at breast size, but she was just right for her height. Then it dawned on me that we had been together twice and she had never removed her shirt.

“I will call you later.” she told me as she walked toward me.

She bent over and kissed me. Not just a quick peck but a long lingering, deep kiss. Her tongue slid between my lips and quickly found mine. I reached up and pulled her close, returning the passion. Soon I felt myself stirring again. She broke the kiss and pulled away slowly.

“We keep this up and I will be undressing again.” she whispered to me.

“That would be a good thing.” I replied.

She smiled and waved at me and walked out of the room. A few seconds later I heard the front door open and close.

Beth texted me later that night that Lance was watching her every move so a phone call was out of the question. She had to go to the bathroom just to message me. I decided not to reply in case he would be close. Although, it was not unusual for me to talk to Beth, I just though any increase in our normal pattern might be bad for her. Less is better, especially now.

I went to work the next morning and was soon deep in paper work. About 10 o’clock that morning Beth called. She had been at work only a few minutes that morning. She told me that Lance was being particularly interested in her every move. She told me that she woke in the middle of the night and saw him checking her phone. Thankfully she had deleted the message to me and I had not sent a reply. I told her maybe we should hold off on any more contact for a while and let things go back to normal. She agreed that might be the right thing to do at this time. We said our goodbyes and hung up.

The week trudged on and I could not believe how bad I missed Beth. It was not just the sex, it was the companionship. I had been alone for so long but never realized just how lonely I was. I guess no matter what situation you find yourself in, you begin to adapt. I was looking forward to the weekend thinking that maybe I would get to see Beth again. Soon it was Friday evening and I was on the way home. As was my normal ritual, I stopped and picked up dinner on the way. I passed Beth’s but saw no car in the drive so I continued home. Several times that night, I thought about calling but decided against it. I just sat there half watching TV constantly checking my cell phone. Soon I decided to just go to bed early and put myself out of my misery.

The next morning I got up about seven o’clock grabbed a bite to eat and went out. I went to the grocery and drug stores, returned home and put up the groceries. I went out again to wash and vacuum my vehicle. All day long I was hoping for my phone to ring, but it never did. Again I went to bed that night longing for Beth.

The next morning was Sunday and again it was my standing dinner engagement at my in-laws. I dressed and arrived at about noon as usual and went around the rear of the house. I entered through the kitchen door to the familiar sight of my mother-in-law standing at the stove cooking. As soon as the aroma hit me, I knew she was cooking chicken and sausage gumbo, one of my favorites. I kissed her on the cheek and sat down at the table. We made our usual small talk to pass the time. Then if by after thought she added that Beth and Lance were coming over today as well.

I was not sure how to take that news. While it would be great to see Beth finally, I would have to see her with him. Suddenly I realized that I really disliked Lance a lot more than I really had the right to. After all, Beth was his wife and no matter how poorly he treated her, I was still the bad guy here. I was going to have to be very careful how I reacted to both him and Beth in public from now on. This was not going to be every easy. About twenty minutes passed before I heard them pull into the drive. Here goes I thought, this is going to be awkward.

Lance walked in first followed by Beth. Her eyes met mine but she quickly looked away. I could see the panic in her eyes. They both went over to mom and kissed her. Lance came over and shook my hand and gave me his normal, you should be happy to see my face. Beth followed and leaned over, kissed my cheek and gave me a quick hug. It was extremely unpleasant to say the least. Not the contact, the situation.

They both sat at the table and made small talk. I made a real effort to look at Beth as little as possible. Lance was going on and on to my father-in-law about how he was supposed to be playing golf today. Apparently, two of the four members he normally played with could not make it this morning so it was called off. Soon my mother-in-law was finished and we were moving to the dining room to eat.

“Jeff, would you help me bring the food into the dining room?” she asked me.

“Sure, Mom, no problem.” I replied.

When everyone had left the kitchen for the other room, she touched me on the arm and looked at me with a very troubled look on her face,

“Are you ok, Jeff?” she asked, “You seem very quiet today. In fact you haven’t said a word since Beth and Lance arrived.”

“I’m ok Mom.” I answered, “He just gets under my skin sometimes.”

“I know, but he is family.” she said.

If you only knew I thought, as she handed me the large pot of gumbo. I carried the pot to the dining room table, returned to help her with the bread and drinks.

My in-laws took their usual seats at both ends of the table. Lance and Beth sat at the two chairs across from me. I took a chair across from them and made sure I was directly across from Beth. I sat down and began to eat.

As was usual when Lance was around, he was the center of the conversation. I only joined in when I was asked a direct question. I replied as quickly and briefly as I could and would return to my meal. I noticed that Beth was extremely quiet as well in spite of her Dad’s best attempts to get her in the conversation. I looked up a few times and caught Beth glancing over at me. I would quickly look away as to not let everyone know with my eyes, what was apparently written all over my face. I had fallen head over heels in love with my wife’s younger sister. Soon it was time to head home and I said my quick goodbyes and made for my car.