Chapter 2

It was the fateful Tuesday night of the men's awful discovery. Sandy O'Connell got home at about 11:00 to find no sign of her husband Trent. Josh, 13, was still up, watching a movie downstairs. Since it was summer, that was not a crime, but Trent's absence was curious. Craig, 11, had gone to bed.

"Josh, where's your dad?"

"He left."

"Left? Where did he go?"

"I dunno."

"Josh. Look at me. When did he leave? How was he dressed? Tell me something." The first tendrils of fear began spreading from Sandy's gut.

"Geez, Mom! I don't know what to tell you. He just came in, hurried..."

"What do you mean, he came in? Wasn't he here all night?"

"Nah. There was a phone call. He grabbed some stuff from the garage and got in Bud's car and they took off."

It was getting difficult for Sandy to speak, but she had to find out more. "When he came home, what happened?"

"He went upstairs and came back with two suitcases and a punch of suits and stuff on hangers. He gave me a hug and just left."

"Did he say anything at all?"

"Nope. It almost looked like he was crying. Oh, and his face was all scratched up."

It is amazing what protecting and sheltering her children can enable a mother to do. Sandy's world had just crashed down around her ears. Her vision was closing down from the edges, and a dead faint was only moments away. Yet, somehow, she got to a chair and managed to keep herself from losing consciousness.

"Mom! Mom! Are you OK? What's wrong?" Josh asked, jumping to his feet at the sight of his mother's obvious distress. Helping her to stand, he held her arm and guided her up to the main floor and into the master bedroom. When she waved him away, he went back to watch the end of the movie.

Staggering into her bedroom, Sandy thought how much like his father Josh was. After that thought, she had to rush to the bathroom to vomit violently into the toilet. The dry heaves went on long after her stomach was empty, and then the shakes set in. Her shock reaction was potentially dangerous, but she could not even recognize the risk in her muddled state.

Right next door, Sandy's cousin Val was still puzzling over Will's absence. Her three children were already in bed, as per their orders. Even though the situation was totally unprecedented, the few drinks she had imbibed prevented her from becoming alarmed. But when she was ready to get in bed and there was still no sign of Will, she could not avoid some concern. That's when she called Sandy.

On Val's first call to Sandy, it rolled over to voice mail after five rings. She could not believe her cousin was already in bed, so she dialed again, and this time Josh answered. "Can I talk to your mom, Josh?"

"Um, I think she's sick, Val." It had been decided years before that only first names made sense among the three close-knit families.

"Oh? She seemed OK when we got home."

"Yeah. But when we were talking about Dad, she got pale and I had to help her to their room."

"What about your Dad?"

"He's not here."

"When did he leave?"

"Uh, earlier. With Bud. Then he came back later and left again."

"Unlock the door, Josh. I'm coming over."

In her sudden panic, Val just dashed out of the house in her thin nightie and panties. Josh was just going up the stairs when she burst through the front door, headed for the master bedroom. That the boy got a pretty revealing look at her did not even register.

Val skidded to a stop when she saw her cousin curled in a miserable, quivering ball on the bed. Sandy just turned her red-rimmed eyes toward Val and said "He knows. He's gone. I've lost him." Val flung herself down to hug Sandy, and they sobbed in harmony.

Cece also wondered at her husband's unprecedented absence. She first checked on twelve-year-old Francie, and found her fast asleep. Seeing the light on in fourteen-year-old Cameron's room, she knocked on the door, but got no response. Opening it slowly, she saw him asleep on the bed, clothed, with his earphones on. She would learn nothing from him.

It was as she lathered herself in the shower that CeCe felt the first jolt of alarm. She had, of course, showered before she left the party house, but she did not feel clean enough and she needed to treat her tender crotch.

Bud's shampoo and shaving gear were missing from the shower. Seeing that, she scrambled to the vanity, only to find his always-packed toiletries kit gone. Naked and still dripping, she dashed to the walk-in closet and found a number of clothing items gone. She was heading for the dresser to check the underwear and sock drawers, but she never made it. Barely out of the closet, the certainty of what it all meant hit her, and she fainted.

Cece had no idea how long she was out. In fact, she was completely disoriented when she came to. She first noticed that she was cold, then sensed that she was naked and wet. Levering herself up on her hands, she could tell that she was in her bedroom, but had no idea why she was lying there naked.

It would have been merciful for Cece if she had not remembered, but realization soon hit her. She collapsed back onto the floor, almost fainting again. Instead, she broke into wrenching sobs, barely able to catch her breath.

Val regained some composure before her cousin and thought about Cece. Her call was answered before the second ring.

"Bud?" Cece said in desperate hope.

"No, Hon, it's Val."

"He... he's gone!" Cece wailed.

"They're all gone, I'm afraid," Val told her friend. "Come on over to Sandy's. We need to talk."

As Cece walked in, Val told her "Try Bud's cell, but I'll bet they all turned them off on purpose."

"How... how did they find out?" Cece wailed.

"I guess it doesn't matter, does it?" Sandy said between sniffles.

"We've got to find them!" Cece insisted, her panic showing.

"But what would we say, anyway?" Val asked.

"It didn't mean anything. It was just sex," Sandy said. "They shouldn't do this to us. I need to talk to Trent. I need to explain."

"I hope Will's not out driving drunk," Val said with obvious worry.

Even grief and panic like theirs could not last indefinitely, and after an hour or so, all three friends were subdued and tearful, but no longer frantic. "What do we tell the kids?" Val asked.

"They'll surely come home after work tomorrow, won't they?" Cece asked. When neither of the others answered, her voice rose in pitch. "They wouldn't just leave us over a little thing like this, would they?" she almost shouted.

"I... I wouldn't think so," Sandy said without any conviction.

"Maybe it's not a little thing to them," Val cautioned.

"Well, why didn't you say that before we got into this mess?" Cece shouted angrily at her friend.

"Hey, Cece! Nobody talked anybody else into this. We all knew what we were doing," Sandy said.

Deciding to change the subject, Cece asked again "What do we tell the kids?"

It was decided to tell the same story to all the kids in all three families. Dad had been called out of town suddenly, and Mom was not sure when he would be home.

There was one big problem with the women's story: Josh. Sandy assured the others that she would get Josh to go along with the story. With sorrowful hugs, Val and Cece went home to toss and turn in their own beds.

That unbelievable Tuesday night, there was no more chance of sleep in the hotel suite that the men had rented about ten miles away. Will, taking his customary leadership role when relationships were concerned, had gone purely on instinct to suggest a total break in communication. Beyond that, he was not in any better shape than the others.

Val had only been seen giving a blowjob, but Will had no doubt that it was just a matter of timing. The natural intimacy his wife had displayed made it clear that she was a full participant in the group's sex activities.

Although Will seemed more in control, and had been able to organize things, in some ways he was even more hurt than the others. He had been the leader in getting them all to increase the romance in their marriages. Though he had not shared it with the others, he had worked hard at learning and using new and better sexual techniques. He honestly felt that he had given Val the best he had. To learn that it was not enough sexually was devastating.

Will had the ability to impose rigid self-control on himself in a time of stress or crisis. It had made him a good high school quarterback, even though he lacked the physical tools to play in college. At some point, though, the control would give out, and Will would suffer a huge crash.

Bud was the most volatile of the three, not that he was a flighty or emotional person. His position as a successful corporate lawyer was not one suited to unstable personalities. Bud loved Cece deeply, and had since their very first meeting. He was a passionate, unrestrained lover, and he had thought Cece responded wonderfully to that. Seeing her brought to climax by two other men had left him barely functional.

An engineering manager like Trent would not be expected to have a confidence problem, but it had been a life-long problem of his. Upon meeting Sandy, he had immediately felt that she was beyond his reach. He courted her with everything he had, hardly able to believe it when he won her. His view through the fence had been the most destructive of all. It made him believe that he had never really won Sandy after all. She was still searching for something better.

An angry Bud, a totally crushed Trent, and a Will just hanging on looked at each other across the sitting room of the suite. The other two looked to Will, but he felt his control slipping away. "Sorry, guys! I... I guess all that stuff I've been feeding you all these years was just bullshit."

"Aw, Will. That's not true," Bud assured him. "You worked damned hard to help us all keep the girls happy - Shit! Shit! Shit! It didn't work, did it?"

"I didn't know such things really existed," Trent lamented. "How could our wives... ? What did we do wrong... ?"

"I've never come close to hitting her," Bud snarled, "but I feel like going home and making her cheating ass so damned red..."

"Bud! Bud! Don't even talk that way. Things are bad enough without any of us getting arrested. Let's just... let's just stay away from them," Will told them. "No contact at all. Call in sick tomorrow. I... I can't talk any more right now."

Trent had stopped at a liquor store before he joined the others. They went to their three separate sleeping areas, and each man did his best to dull his own grief, anger, confusion, and despair.

It was different for each one, but each of the three wives struggled to haul herself to some kind of wakefulness Wednesday morning while wishing they could just stay asleep until it was all over. Between their sexual exertions at the party and the severe trauma of learning that they had been discovered and their husbands had left, all of them were totally exhausted. They could not help falling asleep, but neither could any of them stave off the dreams and the panic long enough for any restorative slumber.

The cousins first had to deal with one of the dozens of little things that that would tear their hearts out over the next several days. Both Sandy and Val had Golden Retrievers from the same litter. Trent and Will, both early risers, always took care of pottying and feeding the dogs in the morning. That Wednesday, both cousins were roused by agitated, nearly panicky dogs needing their morning attention.

Because of the way the three husbands talked about things, it was a routine in all three houses for the wife to get up to the smell of fresh coffee. It was a small thing, but to all three wives, it was one of the huge pile of things that would underscore what was wrong with their situation.

The biggest immediate problem haunting all three friends was the children. Their carefully rehearsed tale did not seem very realistic on that appropriately rainy morning. But since it was all they had, they delivered it to their children.

Sandy was the one with the big problem - Josh. It turned out that he was the only one of the kids who had seen their father leaving the night before.

"Are you gonna tell me what's really goin' on, Mom?" Josh asked after Sandy had delivered the prepared version and her youngest, Craig, had dashed off to play with very little reaction to the news.

Her initial reaction was to stonewall, but Josh did not deserve that, and she had promised the other women that she would keep him from being a problem. Josh was a really good kid, and he was too bright and perceptive to buy any bullshit.

Pulling her son into a hug, Sandy could not hold back the tears. "Something has gone very wrong between all three of us and the men," Sandy told him. She could sense him about to ask for more, so she cut him off. "I am going to ask you, please, don't ask who did what wrong. Can you live with that, Honey?"

"Um, I guess. When will Dad be home?"

"I assume he will come home after work tonight."

"Then why did he take all of those clothes for one day?" The only answer she could come up with was sobs. He showed his unusual maturity by giving her a hug and asking no more questions.

With no prior arrangement, the wives all called their husbands' offices almost in unison, and each reached only a secretary who had as yet heard nothing from her boss.

None of the three men could really afford to take the time off from work, but if there was ever a true emergency, this was it. All three went to a pay phone after starting time the next morning and called in to announce their absence. All three found that their wives had already called, and all three were told of the frantic nature of the calls.

Only two of the three women were scheduled to work that Wednesday, but they called in sick. With the children dispersed to their usual vacation activities, the wives quickly assembled at Val's house, which happened to be in the middle. Just as her husband, Will, was the de facto spokesman for the men, Val had become the focal point of much of the women's interaction.

At first it was hard for anyone to speak, which for that group was unthinkable. Sandy broke the ice by asking Val "How bad do you think it is? Josh said Trent took two suitcases and a whole bunch of hanging clothes."

Val just shook her head and Cece started crying. "Will took a lot of stuff, too," Val finally answered to Cece's silent nod.

"Are they just going to leave us - divorce us without a word?" Cece asked through sniffles.

"Oh, God! Don't say that word! Please!" Sandy begged.

"What do you think happened?" Cece asked.

"They obviously found out about the parties," Val told her.

"Do you think they were actually there?" Panic was evident in Cece's voice. "Did they see us?"

"If they did, we might as well talk about the 'D' word," Sandy moaned.

"I just don't understand why Will won't talk to me," Val wailed, her composure no stronger than the others'. "We've always talked about everything!"

"Not everything," Cece reminded her sharply. Val opened her mouth to say something, but just snapped it shut and hung her head. "Let's go to their offices. We should be able to catch them there."

It took a while to get dressed and ready and make sure the kids were covered, but they left together, heading in somewhat different directions.

An hour and a half later, they were all once again in Val's kitchen, tear-smeared makeup showing on all of them as they compared notes.

"It was so embarrassing!" Cece cried. "Not to know that my husband had called in sick."

"And the way everyone looked at me!" Val said, in no better shape than Cece. "I was sure they all knew exactly what I had done."

"And I couldn't stop the tears when I heard he had called in sick," Sandy lamented. "Val, I just don't think they would have told everyone."

"We don't know how angry they are," Val pointed out.

"I guess... or how hurt," Sandy added.

"Hurt? Why should they be hurt?" Cece asked.

"Well, we'd be hurt if we found out they were doing this, wouldn't we?" Val asked.

"But that's different," Cece objected. "They're men. I would think they would just be mad."

"I can't believe Trent would just walk out on the kids like this," Sandy said. They others expressed agreement. "The guys have to know we love them. How could they think this meant anything?"

"Yeah. Maybe they just have to get over the shock," Val encouraged.

"If only we were sure just what they knew," Cece complained.

"Since it happened the night of the party, we have to assume the knew where we went. They probably followed us and saw us there," Val opined. That assertion was met by all out sobs that overtook all three of them.

As conscientious as the men all were, they each called in later in the day and learned that their wives had come to the office trying to see them. All three wives were described as looking highly distraught.

In the hotel suite, the men discussed whether they should go to work on Thursday.

"If I know Cece... Shit! Damn it to Hell! I don't know her at all, do I?" Bud was unable to finish the thought he had started.

"You were going to say that she would keep trying the office, weren't you," Trent asked softly, to Bud's agreement. "I think we have to take two more days off. I know I would be worse than useless at work."

"That's for sure," Will added. "Guys, I know I said we should not communicate with them at all, but we need some kind of a plan. I think we should get some professional help."

"You mean like a marriage counselor?" Bud asked.

"Well, yeah."

"Say," Trent interjected, "Remember how bad Sarah Tolliver was after those videos got out? She found a psychiatrist that she thought was just awesome. Said the shrink saved her marriage and her sanity. A woman. Would you guys be willing to pay for that? Maybe we should try to go as a group."

It was decided that they would have to skip work the rest of the week. Trent volunteered to contact Sarah and find out who the psychiatrist was.

By Friday, the original story told to the kids was not wearing very well. All three women had had to field requests to call Dad and questions about why he had not called them. None of the men would normally let two days of a trip go by without some conversation with their children.

Josh was the techie of the group, and on Friday morning, when Sandy had reluctantly gone to work, he had emailed his dad.

Joshalmighty@yahoo.com: Dad, I don't know a lot, but I know this is no business trip. Mom made me promise not to give anything away to the other kids. Won't you at least send me an email? Mom doesn't know my password, so she won't see it. If the others want to, they can send messages to me and I'll take them to their kids.

Josh's email was sent while the men were heading for Julia's office and their preliminary meeting. All three had their laptops, and the hotel suite had a high speed Internet port. In the spirit of their shared anguish, Trent showed the message to the others. After a long discussion, he sent the following back to his son.

iraengr@sbcglobal.net: Josh, thanks for keeping things quiet. I apologize for not communicating. I need to ask you to just hold on until at least Sunday. Can you do that for me and keep this message a secret? Love you, Dad.