Chapter 1: New Domesticity

Sam Hartman was getting ready for bed. It was his first night in his new bedroom, in his new home. With difficulty, he pushed down on the arms of his wheelchair for clearance and tugged down his sweatpants and underwear and pulled his feet free. Then he pulled off his socks one by one, pulled off his t-shirt, and tossed the whole mess towards the open-topped hamper in the corner. (He missed, of course.)

“Lila wouldn’t like that.” He thought, wincing. Not just the laundry on the floor, but the clothing itself. She always preferred him in quality clothing: dress shirts, slacks, a fine leather belt and the best leather shoes, even on weekends. He had been agreeable, as her appreciation made the effort worthwhile. Because she was so worth it!

But now, she was gone. And he could not help but think back on when they were together.

In the years they were married, Sam never fully stopped worrying that Lila was out of his league.

In Sam’s eyes, she was a goddess. For others who knew her, Lila was a moderately attractive woman, average height, average build, brown hair, blue eyes.

To most everyone who knew her, she stood out for the warmth of her personality, her fierce intelligence, and her total focus on her work. She had risen through the corporate ranks to the executive leadership council, with responsibility for legal affairs and human resources.

When he picked her up at each weekday’s end, her smile was a balm on his spirit.

Sam’s part of their family life was much less pressure-packed and less lucrative. He was an associate professor at Stilten College in their Department of Business, Accounting, and Economics. In this position, his priority was teaching. Which suited him just fine. Stilten’s reputation and highly selective admissions guaranteed he was teaching exceptional young people in manageable classroom settings, that is, small interactive groups, seminar-style.

As an undergraduate student in a large state university, he had loathed the huge classes held in lecture halls. The more intimate style of teaching at the small college suited him.

Half (or more) of his students were young women, some amazingly beautiful. Yet Sam could honestly say he felt not the slightest temptation. Occasionally, a comely student would visit his office to “discuss” her grade. Invariably, they left disappointed.

For Sam, there was only Lila.

The only regrets in their happy life together was they didn’t, and couldn’t, have children.

Sam had completed his doctorate studies at that same large public university. (At the graduate level, he need not attend any more of the large lectures.)

With his Ph.D., hard work, and no small amount of luck, he obtained his first permanent appointment (at Stilten).

Concurrently, Lila’s determined focus on her career reaped rewards in both promotions and salary increases.

And so, in their fifth year of marriage, the couple had the resources to buy their first hillside home in a town near to both of their employers. After the movers had left, Sam picked his bride up bodily and carried her over the threshold, growling softly.

Inside, they left a trail of discarded clothing from the foyer up the stairs into the master bedroom. Lila received so much oral sex that she was begging Sam, “Stop! Get your tongue out of my pussy and fuck me, you filthy animal!”

Three hours and four positions later, they collapsed into an exhausted sleep.

When they finally got out of bed the next day, Lila looked Sam straight in the eye. “Honey, if that’s the kind of fucking I can get from you, I want to buy a new house every god damned year.”