Chapter 1

"What do you mean you weren't born in Chicago?"

"What do you mean, what do I mean; I mean I wasn't born in Chicago, I was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan," I said trying not to laugh at my wife's obvious distress over something as trivial as my birth place. "Why, what difference does it make?"

"Steve, it makes all the difference in the world," she said angrily. "It means the astrological chart I did on you before we were married is all wrong."

I knew all this lunacy had to have something to do with the way the planets were aligned but this topped everything. Cora, my wife of four years, was pissed at me because I didn't make it a point to inform her where I was born before we were married. Now she has no idea if the stars say we're compatible as a couple or not. How the hell someone as intelligent as my wife can be so taken in by all that astrology crap, I'll never know.

Obviously I've known about her interest in it since we met a little over five years ago, but I've always thought it was more of a hobby than anything ... I mean, no one can really and truly believe in that junk ... right? Hell, I have golf; she has astrology, no big deal.

I first met Cora at a party and pretty much fell in love with her from the moment she smiled at me. She was smart and witty with an infectious laugh and sparkling blue eyes.

Normally I'm shy around women but she was very popular and I knew if I didn't make a move someone would steal her right out from under me, so I did; make a move that is. About ten minutes after we were introduced I asked her out and damn if she didn't say yes.

We pretty much hit it off from the very start. We liked the same movies, songs, artists ... everything; and we enjoyed doing things together, especially photography. That's what I do for a living.

Cora was very pretty, had an excellent figure and was extremely photogenic. She loved to model, but she also had a good eye and knew what went into creating a good photo. After some technical instruction using my equipment, she became a pretty good photographer in her own right; I loved the interplay that created between us. There was only one area where we didn't mesh ... astrology.

I think it was our third ... maybe fourth date when she mentioned it and I pretty much told her what I thought of all that drivel; so, except for telling me when Mercury went retrograde a few times, she never really talked to me about it that much.

Now, that's not to say she gave it up, she had a whole group of friends that shared her interest. Cora belonged to an astrology club that met every Thursday night; the lady who ran the club, Barbara, used to teach astrology out of her home.

She taught people, including my wife, what it meant when people were born at certain times of the year. That determined their zodiac sign, their rising sign, and what personality traits they would possess. Then there is the bit about stars lining up with certain planets and how all that mumbo-jumbo would affect your life; and of course we can't forget how to figure out some one's astrological chart and plot every aspect of their life from the cradle to the grave ... well, you get the picture.

Barbara was a sweet, middle-aged lady and probably my wife's best friend. She didn't teach any longer but the club was made up of former students and was mainly just an excuse for them to get together and gab over a couple drinks every week.

They all enjoyed themselves and I had absolutely no problem with it; in fact, they were always invited to our parties and outdoor BBQs; they were a nice bunch of people and apart from their fascination with the ruling planets, I liked them too. Out of respect and never wanting to embarrass my wife, when astrology came up in conversation I'd just smile and nod my head a lot.

Seeing the level of my wife's annoyance over something so trivial as being mistaken about my birthplace made me realize, that after all our years together, I had underestimated just how seriously my wife actually took all that crap.

"Honey, if it was so important why didn't you ask where I was born before doing the chart?"

"I just assumed; I mean both your mom and dad were born here in Chicago, and I know they were living here at the time you were born, so I just naturally assumed you were born here too."

"Well don't get pissed off at me, if you had asked I would have told you. Hell, honey, I didn't even know you did my chart before we got married."

"Of course I did your chart; I wouldn't have married you if I hadn't," she said curtly.

Cora immediately pulled some of her astrology books from the bookcase and sat down at the dining room table with a new, blank zodiac chart in front of her and proceeded to map out our future according to the stars ... again.

I could see she was in no mood to cook dinner so I looked in the fridge but didn't see anything I particularly wanted to cook either. "How about if I just order a pizza for tonight?" After speaking I realized I'd let my frustration with all this BS show in my voice but she didn't even notice.

"Ah, yeah, fine," she muttered without looking up.

I patiently waited over two hours for my lovely wife to rejoin the living; during that time she didn't speak and barely ate.

Finally she lifted her head with a sigh and a scowl on her face.

"So, what's the verdict; are we going to grow old together or are we headed to divorce court?" I said sarcastically.

She gave me a dirty look and said very briskly, "I don't know; I'm just very disappointed."

I was astonished with her comment. "What! Disappointed in what?"

"Let's just leave it, okay? I don't want to talk about it."

That was fine with me; at least for the time being. I was aggravated and it was probably not the time to hash things out, I'm sure I would have said things I wouldn't have been able to take back so I dropped it.

For the rest of the evening she was pretty quiet and so was I, but I had a plan; it involved making love when we went to bed, thinking I would show her my love and everything would be back to normal by morning.

I know, typical male reaction, but what the hell, they say actions speak louder than words and I was prepared to show her I was the same loving husband I'd always been.

Unless it was that time of the month, we both always slept naked so when she came out of the bathroom wearing a three quarter length nightgown I started silently counting the weeks; she was nowhere near her period!

"What's with the nightgown?"

"I just felt like wearing it tonight," she flatly replied.

"Really ... just felt like it? We've been married for four years, and other than the baby dolls you wore on our honeymoon, this is the first time you've worn something to bed when you weren't having your period. What's going on Cora; is this still about that stupid astrology chart?"

"I don't want to talk about, Steve; just drop it," she said crawling under the sheet and turning her back on me.

"No, I won't drop it. That's what you said earlier and I said okay because I thought you were just in a bad mood, but if this is going to affect our love life then we're damn straight going to talk about it. Now what's going on?"

She lay silently ignoring me.

"Damn it, Cora, you're really starting to piss me off; if you think you're going to lie there and ignore me you're wrong. I can guarantee you won't get a wink of sleep until you answer me."

She quickly turned on her back with a big deliberate sigh meant to show me just how irritated she was. She still didn't look at me; she just stared at the ceiling. "You're just not the person I thought you were ... okay? Now, can we just drop it, please."

"No, we can't drop it; what do you mean, not the same person, in what way?" I was not about to let it drop and have a statement like that hang over me.

She took a while to answer again but I think she realized this was not going away until we cleared the air. "Okay fine," she finally spouted, "The chart shows you just don't have the integrity I thought you did; I thought you were honest to a fault but I know now that's not the case."

"You have GOT to be kidding me; for crying out loud, Cora, you've known me for five years; in that time have I ever lied to you? Have I ever done anything that would warrant a statement like that? Think about it; this is extremely important, Cora, this is about you and me. Use your own intellect instead of relying on the stars; I'm the same person I've always been, I don't give a fuck what that stupid piece of paper says. I'm your husband; I love you and I hope you still love me." I was waiting for a confirmation but it didn't come. "Don't tell me you've lost your love for me based on that chart."

"No, of course not; I just need some time, that's all. Can't you do that, please; can't you give me a little time?"

"Fine, how much time?"

"I don't know; I just have some thinking to do."

"Okay, you do your thinking then call me when you come to your senses; in the meantime I'm going to sleep in the spare room," I said as I got out of bed and stomped toward the hallway. "I'd rather sleep in a bed alone than have you lying beside me in that stupid nightgown and not be able to touch you."

After beating the hell out of my pillow and finally settling down I heard her weeping ... good, I thought, at least she still has feelings, anyway.

I don't know how well she slept but if I got two hours I was lucky. I tossed and turned all night; I just couldn't believe, after everything we'd shared over the last five years, she could make a statement like, "I'm not the man she thought I was? I'm not a man of integrity?"

My eyes were wide open when the sun started peeking in through the blinds. Screw it, I thought, there was no way I was going to get anymore sleep so I might as well get up.

I used the shower in the hall bathroom then walked into the master bedroom, grabbed some clothes, and went back to the spare room to get dressed. I don't know if Cora was really asleep or faking it but she didn't move while I was in there.

That was the first time since we'd been married that I left the house in the morning without kissing Cora. Since I was two hours early, I stopped at Denny's for breakfast. I sat there wondering if I'd be able to concentrate on work; I had a client coming into the studio and had to shoot a layout for his ad campaign. I had to focus but I just couldn't get the prior night's events out of my head, and my emotions were all over the place. One minute I was pissed the other I'd be melancholy. I wondered if I could have handled the situation differently; maybe I should have given her more space and just backed off ... I don't know, who can figure out women; it was just so damn hard for me to believe that she put so much stock in that astrology gibberish.

As I suspected, it was a tough day at work; I just couldn't keep my mind on what I was doing. I loved my wife and did not want to continue our little feud, even if it meant being the first to blink. On the way home I picked up a dozen red roses and a card saying I was sorry.

I was surprised to see she wasn't home yet as I drove up. She usually beats me home by ten or fifteen minutes and with me stopping off, I was about twenty minutes later than usual.

I put the flowers in a vase and set them on the table in the foyer so she'd see them as soon as she walked in. I had the card leaning against the vase. I wanted to see her reaction so I was upstairs peeking around the corner when she walked in and watching as she opened the card with slight smile. She took just a second to read it then bent down and smelled the flowers; I thought I was in like Flynn but then she nonchalantly tossed the card back down on the table and walked into the living room. It was aggravating; I couldn't tell if my peace offering achieved its desired objective or not.

Well, I thought, I have one more trick up my sleeve, let's see what that does.

"Hi, honey," I greeted her coming down the stairs as if I hadn't been spying on her. I leaned in to give her a kiss on the lips; she didn't back away but she didn't meet me half way either. That ticked off but I tried not to show it.

I know people get angry at one another but it's usually when a person screws up somehow and does something wrong; I hadn't! I think that's what bothered me so much, the absurdity of it all; anyway, I kept my cool and just gave her a small peck.

"Thanks for the flowers, that was sweet," she said with just the hint of a smile.

"That's okay, honey, I also made reservations at Chez Louie."

Her smile got just a tiny bit bigger but she thought for a couple seconds before saying okay. She was still a little stand offish while we got dressed but finally started to melt over dinner. She started to relax even more when I got her on the dance floor a couple times. The smile that I love so much came back, and we started talking again.

"So how did the shoot for the ad campaign go today?"

"Everything went okay," I said. In reality it took me nearly all day and several attempts before coming up with something the client found acceptable. "You were late getting home today, everything ok?" I asked.

"Yeah, I just had a hard day at work and had to stick around till I was finished," she commented.

Again I was glad to hear that she had a tough day too; I figured that meant she was just as bothered by the previous night as I was.

Later, as we got home, I didn't give her a chance to put a nightgown on; as soon as we walked into the bedroom I moved in behind her, put my arms around her waist and pressed my hard-on into her butt. She closed her eyes with a sensuous moan and leaned her head back to rest on my shoulder.

I kissed the side of her neck; that always got her juices flowing. "No more nightgowns, okay?" I whispered in her ear.

"Mmmm, okay," she responded softly.

I nibbled on her earlobe, another one of her erogenous zones; "Take me to bed, honey," she said almost melting in my arms.

I unzipped the flirty, little cocktail dress she wore and let it slip to her feet. She wasn't wearing a bra so I slipped my hand in the front of her panties and felt the warm, moist recess of her dainty pussy before gliding the laced trim silk down her long legs. I picked her up in my arms, turned toward the bed, and gently laid her down. I removed her high heels then rolled the thigh highs down and off.

As I stood gazing at this magnificent woman, all I could think of was how much I adored her. Her beautiful smile told me she knew exactly what I was thinking.

"Hurry, darling," she cooed as I started to unbutton my shirt. Within moments I was pulling my shorts off, she giggled as she watched my rock hard penis pop free and do its best impression of a bouncing diving board. I climbed in next to her; the skin around my cock was stretched so taught I thought it would rip open.

She turned on her side in my direction and kissed me. "I do still love you," she assured me.

I smiled and kissed her back; now, this was the woman I loved. I followed the contour of every hill and valley of her delectable flesh as I worked my mouth toward the gates to heaven. I found that little button hiding under its protective hood and flicked it with my tongue. I felt her twisting and turning under my skillful manipulations and was silently proud of myself for bringing her from orgasm to orgasm.

Finally I positioned myself over my queen and guided my love tool inside of her; she moaned and grabbed me around the neck as I began to thrust my way to our mutual fulfillment. She screamed out just as I felt myself going over the edge and into paradise, pumping stream and stream of warm cum into my precious wife.

With the sheen of perspiration glistening on our naked bodies we both collapsed in exhaustion ... ecstatic, enraptured exhaustion.

Once being able to grab our breath, we rolled toward each other and kissed again. I had no trouble falling to sleep, I had my wife back; I was an extremely happy man.

Over the next couple of months, things couldn't have been better. Cora was the same sweet loving woman I had fallen in love with and there was no mention of my birth place or my integrity. I was convinced Cora realized she was being silly putting that much faith into the stars and had come back to reality.

Very rarely did I have to go out of town on an assignment but it did happen every once and a while. "Hi, honey," I greeted her as she answered her cell. I always liked to give her as much lead time as possible when I was going to be gone over night.

"Hi, honey, how's your day going?" she replied.

"Everything's fine, babe; I just wanted to let you know I'll be going down to Peoria next week. I just landed a new client and he wants to do the shoot on the River-Walk down there. I was hoping to make it a weekend shoot. I thought you and I could make a little mini vacation out of it, but we had to get permission from the River Front Association and all they'd give us was next Wednesday and Thursday, so I'll be gone overnight. I'll be home Thursday evening but probably not before you leave for your astrology club."

"Okay, honey; thanks for calling and letting me know. I hate to spend all Wednesday night alone; maybe I can talk my sister into going out for dinner; would you mind?"

"Mind, no of course not; why would I mind?"

"Well, you know; some men don't like it when their wives go out at night without them."

"Honey, I trust you implicitly, you know that; besides, how much trouble could you get in to with Doti along; she couldn't keep a secret if world peace depended on it."

Cora chuckled. "Yep, that's my sister, alright; okay, honey, I'll give her a call and see if she can go. Will you be home on time tonight?"

"Oh sure; no problem, Babe," I assured her. As I hung up I wondered how many couples out there had as strong a marriage we did ... not many, I was sure of that.

That Saturday night it was Cora who made the first move, I loved that about her. I'd heard from some of my pals that their wives never initiated sex; Cora did all the time, and when she did she usually became the aggressor. All I had to do was lay back and bask in ecstasy as she would perform a solo using my body as her instrument.

It was well into Sunday morning before we were both spent. Cora cuddled her sweaty body next to mine and promptly fell into a peaceful slumber. I could always tell when she was completely sedated from the cutest little snore anyone ever heard. I was still breathing a little heavily as I gazed up at the ceiling and let my mind start to wander.

I was happy; happier than I'd ever been or even thought possible. Only one thing would now make me happier ... a child. When Cora and I were married she had been working at the bank for less than a year and I was a young photographer desperately struggling to make it on my own. We decided to wait until we were more secure financially before having kids.

I hadn't told Cora yet because a lot hung on the shoot in Peoria and I didn't want to build up her hopes until I was sure; but if everything went right, and the client was pleased with my work, he would go to the top of my client list overnight. His company's advertising work would almost double my yearly income.

I was thinking it may be time to finally start that family. I'd wait until after I got back and made sure everything worked out, but as soon as things were definite, I was going to sit down and talk to my lovely wife to see how she would feel about walking around with a big tummy for nine months. I could feel the big grin stretch across my face; God, I could hardly wait.