My writings are all rooted in truth. The characters are all real, always with changed names and sometimes with blended personalities. The events are sometimes purely made up, but more often are blends of actual events and fantasy. One thing that has bothered me is what would happen if someone read one of my stories and recognized themselves. It’s entirely possible. After some concern, it occurred to me that if they were reading erotica, then they shouldn’t take issue with me writing it, even if it was about them. Some should even be flattered.

Well, it finally happened. The sexual adventure of The Surrogate Husband was entirely made up, but everything and everyone in it are real. I was at Rob and Patty’s son’s coffee shop with my laptop enjoying the small-town ambience, wonderful coffee, and their wifi to pass some time. I went to the restroom (coffee in, coffee out) and when I came back, Rob & Patty were at my laptop, reading something and looking none too happy. As I approached, I saw The Surrogate Husband was open in Word, a program I had not been using. Oh, shit.

They didn’t try to hide that they’d been poking around in my computer, but rather Patty pointed at the screen and said, “Interesting story.” Rob just watched me like he was waiting for something. My initial reaction to something like that is to go onto the offensive, which is exactly what I did. “Why are you messing with my laptop?” I asked with an accusing tone. Rob and Patty looked at each other and Rob excused himself. Rob tended to avoid conflict but abandoning his wife at that moment seemed excessive. I looked at Patty, waiting. She softened slightly, looked down, and said she and Rob wanted to leave me a message of greeting, and accidentally opened the story. Okay, knowing them, that was believable.

“Your perception of our situation is remarkable. How did you know Rob and I were having intimacy issues?” she asked as she sat down on the stool next to mine. I followed suit and sat on mine, closing the lid on the laptop.

She no longer seemed upset, but rather a bit deflated. My defensiveness waned. “I really didn’t. I’ve had back problems before and simply extended them to a 24/7 experience like Rob has. The rest was common sense. I’m sorry that it’s true.”

“It’s been so frustrating for us both” she said. “Rob, bless his heart, has even suggested maybe I could find someone to ‘help out’, but that’s always been out of the question for me. Until right now.” She looked over to Rob who gazed back with a small smile and a slight nod. They were one of those couples who, after a lifetime together, didn’t need words. “We were talking about this very subject this morning. Now this,” she said, just above a mumble as she stared off into the distance through the closed laptop. Her hands clasped in her lap and she bowed her head for a moment before looking up at me. Her eyes were a bit wet. “This is too much of a coincidence.”

“So, you’re not mad? I’m not in trouble?” I asked. She smiled slightly and shook her head. “No.” I sat there waiting. The whole game was in her court. I glanced over at Rob, who still had that slight smile on his face and an almost quizzical look in his eye. It seemed he was waiting to see how she played this game out, too.